Transparency Levels Go Live on GlassPockets
Janet Camarena is director of transparency initiatives at Candid.
Earlier this year, we announced a new Transparency Level framework on GlassPockets that would recognize grantmakers for having Core, Advanced, or Champion-level transparency practices based on how detailed the websites are for each profiled foundation. This announcement coincided with GlassPockets reaching its 100th publicly shared profile when the Walton Family Foundation joined and doubled down on their commitment to transparency by supporting GlassPockets in developing the new tiered-approach to transparency. Now, for the first time in the history of the platform, these levels are publicly visible when viewing the funders profiled on the site.
Each GlassPockets profile now comes complete with a transparency badge denoting the level that funder has attained. We encourage foundations to proudly display this badge on their websites as a way to demonstrate their commitment to transparency. You can get your badge here. Visitors to “Who Has Glass Pockets?” can also sort by transparency level to see which foundations comprise each. This sort feature also lists foundations by the number of transparency indicators they currently have, making it possible to quickly determine which foundations lead the pack when it comes to their online transparency practices.
Currently, the distinction of which foundation has the most transparent website goes to Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF), so a big congratulations to RBF for living its values when it says that it “is committed to sharing information to promote understanding of its mission and to advance the work of its grantees. The RBF values transparency, openness, and accountability, and has long provided detailed information about its history, program strategies, grants, impact, governance, operations, and finances.” The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The Wallace Foundation, the Brazil Foundation, currently round out the top four foundations on GlassPockets based on the variety of types of data that is shared on their websites.
The transparency levels are designed to motivate foundations to continue to improve their transparency practices over time, as well as to use the data GlassPockets has collected to create suggested pathways for how transparency can evolve over time. The Core-level transparency practices are a natural entry point for new participants and reveal the data that is most commonly shared by foundations, which tends to be information about what the foundation does. Advanced transparency practices reveal not just what a foundation does, but also reveals how they do it by sharing information about a foundation’s operations. And Champion-level transparency practices push the current boundaries of what most foundations share online.
If it’s been a while since you’ve updated your GlassPockets profile, or reviewed your website’s transparency practices, now is an excellent time to do so, and you might just level up!
--Janet Camarena
