• The aura of moral goodness coming from within charitable organisations can blind their employees and volunteers, leading to corruption, reveals new research from the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM).
• The research found that this internalisation of moral goodness can lead to an extreme self-glorification of the charity and its people, known as the NGO halo effect.
• The NGO halo effect happens when charities glorify themselves which can lead to unethical behaviour.

Corruption has followed mankind since the dawn of time.

We hear time and time again about deceptive politicians to the point we no longer trust them.

In April 2024, Conservative MP, Mark Menzies, allegedly aided £6,500 to ‘escape captors’ and spent £14,000 of campaign funds on medical costs. The Conservative party has allegedly been aware of these accusations for 3 months, leaving many wondering what other funds has government officials been misusing.

Thanks to multiple other allegations of tax fraud, sexual assault and abuse within Parliament across the decades, for many people politicians have become synonymous with the word corruption even though not all are corrupt.

But, corrupt politicians aren’t the only bad eggs here.

Multiple big brands and corporations have engaged in unethical business practices.

Nestle, the world’s largest food and drinks corporation, has faced allegations of human trafficking, and exploiting child labour and uneducated mothers in third-world countries. Additionally, Nestle’s CEO has been heavily criticised for claiming that water is not a human right  and has seemly put this belief into practice by taking clean drinking water from areas that severely need it.

Corruption in organisations has become the expectation, not an exception.

NGO’s, however, have been given that exception.

With the championship of doing good and changing lives for the better, charities have cemented themselves in the general public’s good graces.

Despite the good they do, new research from Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM), led by Dr Isabel de Bruin, has found that a sense of goodness isn’t enough to keep corruption away.

Corruption in charitable organisations

Dr Isable de Bruin found that at NGOs, in 45% of all cases of reported unethical behaviour, colleagues were given another chance.

Many NGO employees strongly believe their cause to be “sacred” or an “embodiment of their moral identity” and that “believing in the greater good necessarily means that we are all good people and so less inclined to bullying and harassment.”

But, this couldn’t be further from the truth.

Dr de Bruin found that this internalisation of moral goodness can lead to an extreme holier-than-thou, self-glorification of the charity and its people which can lead to unethical behaviours.

She named this the ‘NGO halo effect’.

A respondent who worked 7 years with their NGO said they, “encountered racism, sexism, intimidation, sexual and other transgressive behaviour, lying, slander, nepotism, and not addressing unethical behaviour even though you see it.”

It was seen that working towards a goal deemed to be for the greater good meant that often any forms of misconduct were deemed “mistakes without malicious intent.”

Turning a blind eye

Dr de Bruin surveyed 256 employees from various charities across the globe to gather this data about the way employees perceived their charity and its mission, as well as how that linked to unethical behaviour.

“Some organisations believe their mission is so important that they’re above the law, or that they believe the law to be unjust,” commented one respondent.

Dr de Bruin found that individuals’ self-justification led to many instances of turning a blind eye to instances of sexual harassment, bullying, and discrimination even when policies and procedures are put in place.

Dr de Bruin dubbed this form of using morals as a way to turn a blind eye to corruption, ‘moral naivety’.

“A strong sense of identity with the mission can also explain an ‘ends-justifies-the-means-mentality’. Our survey showed that charity staff and volunteers at charities strongly believe that achieving their charity’s mission by any means necessary is OK. This can extend to organisations manipulating data to exaggerate the impact of their work to raise more funds for their mission,” says Dr de Bruin.

What does this mean for the future of NGOs?

Simply having good intentions does not mean organisations will lead with good actions.

It’s easy to get swept in the motions and think everyone’s on the same page, however, as Dr de Bruin’s research shown the ‘NGO halo effect’ is a dangerous risk factor if gone unchecked.

Corporate misconduct goes beyond just the individual.

Organisations help shape an individual’s behaviour and must realise that their management impacts not just the way a business runs but the ethics as well.

It’s time for NGOs to examine themselves and their staff and take into account their biases to ensure the NGO halo effect is reduced or removed entirely for a work environment that is not hypocritical and keeps everyone safe.

One way this could be done is through organisational integrity, says Harvard Business School professor, Lynn S Paine. This involves setting an example from the top by taking responsibility and accountability, reinforcing values, and being transparent and taking action where it is needed.

by Sharmin Ahmed

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