BENEFACTS connect 2017 • 32 Benefacts: Restoring Trust and Improving Accountability in Ireland’s Nonprofit Sector Ireland’s 20,000+ nonprofits are a vital contributor to Irish society and have an effect on Ireland far beyond their positive social impact. In addition to addressing causes that improve the island and care for those often on the margins, the nonprofit sector contributes €5.5 billion to the Irish economy each year and employs over 149,000 people. Yet the last few years have also been difficult for nonprofit organizations in Ireland. Negative press and financial impropriety of a few highly-visible groups have eroded the public’s trust in the larger sector. When polled, 58% of people across Ireland stated that they did not trust charities to use donations wisely. This has motivated many organizations to seek new ways to increase both their transparency to the public and their skill-set in serving the causes they care deeply about. The Ireland Funds have been at the forefront of this new era of account- ability by supporting Benefacts, which provides access to new levels of governance, financial and regulatory data in a user-friendly way on a free online public website. Benefacts is changing the nonprofit landscape by rebuilding trust and presenting information in an organized and easy-to-understand way. Here, Patricia Quinn, Managing Director of Benefacts, explains what Benefacts is doing to present data for the social good. Thanks in part to The Ireland Funds, new tools are helping the Irish public make informed decisions around philanthropy.