Who Verifies Nonprofit Information? Understanding Trust Mechanisms in the Nonprofit Sector

ABSTRACT Although trust serves as a crucial foundation of legitimacy for the nonprofit sector, prior studies have largely focused on public perceptions of individual nonprofit organizations, with comparatively little attention given to perceptions of the sector as a whole. Similarly, despite verification behavior being a form of communication that could lead to higher giving and volunteering, the literature has paid scant attention to it. This research aims to address this gap in the literature by examining public perceptions of the nonprofit sector's social roles and transparency, the public's trust in the nonprofit sector, and the impact of these perceptions on individual verification behavior. Using the 2020 Giving Korea survey data, we found that perceptions of the nonprofit sector's social roles and transparency have a positive impact on sectoral trust. This study also identifies sectoral trust as a mediator between verification behavior and both perceptions of the nonprofit sector's social roles and transparency. Notably, the mediating effect of sectoral trust is more pronounced among Millennials and Generation Z than among their older counterparts. This study also offers practical insights for nonprofits targeting younger donors, recommending that the verification of nonprofit information by young donors be seen as a positive indicator of trust.