The Charity Insights Canada Project (CICP) published insights into ethics, transparency & accountability in the Canadian charitable sector. According to the research, 92% of organizations reported feeling very or somewhat confident that their decision-making processes are ethically sound and transparent, with the majority of charities reporting they have a formal code of ethics (30%) or a written policy on ethical issues (43%).

Survey Highlights:

• Accountability measures vary across the sector — large majorities record board meeting minutes (91%), share audited financials (76%), maintain conflict-of-interest or complaints policies (72%), and publish annual reports (71%).
• Some charities further strengthen accountability through community-based practices such as involving staff and stakeholders in decision-making (63%), gathering regular feedback (58%), providing donor impact updates (49%), and offering accessible complaint mechanisms (46%).
• Some of the survey participants confirmed that their charity had faced an ethical concern in the past year, including:
  • 33% experienced issues related to staff conduct.
  • 20% encountered conflicts of interest involving staff, boards, and/or funders.
  • 14% grappled with ethical questions about AI use.
  • 14% dealt with ethical challenges regarding board governance and/or decision-making.
  • 13% noted concerns around equity, inclusion, or representation in their work
• Notably, 38% of charities reported facing no ethical concerns in the past year.

Check out the CICP data for further insights, click here.