At GuideStar International (GSI), a charity based in London, UK, we believe in the fundamental importance of strong, vibrant and responsive civil societies. We seek to ensure that the work of these vital organisations is revealed and enabled. We believe that the provision of transparent information on the objectives, activities, accomplishments and finances of civil society organizations (CSOs) is a critical starting point to propel a more generous and effective allocation of society’s resources and promote public trust in these organisations.

Our vision is of globally connected civil societies where decisions within and across borders are driven by transparent, high quality and comprehensive information. To that end, GSI works with national civil society leaders to build highly searchable, sustainable and transparent online databases into which exhaustive information about each country’s civil society organizations (CSOs) is captured and displayed for all to see.

By making the work of CSOs transparent, over time, these national GuideStar systems:

• make CSOs more visible, accountable and effective;
• enable more confident and effective philanthropy; and
• promote vibrant and democratic civil societies.