Earning trust in public service
The public deserves to be able to trust the services, and people, who serve them
That trust should be a given, but too often, it isn’t.
People rely on public institutions in their most vulnerable moments: when a child needs help, when disaster strikes, when justice is at stake. They deserve more than promises. They deserve actions that consistently deliver.
And yet, trust is too often treated like a checkbox—a survey metric, a performance goal, a slogan. But trust isn’t something we declare. It’s something we earn—over time, through presence, care, and accountability, like in any meaningful relationship.
This image of a kintsugi-repaired bowl illustrates the central theme of the blog post: trust as something that can be fractured and painstakingly repaired over time. The golden seams highlight not just the break, but the care taken to restore it—mirroring how public service must rebuild trust through presence, transparency, and integrity.
A story of broken promises
Earlier this year, a well-known nonprofit in San Francisco raised $3 million from donors to build two playgrounds in an underserved neighborhood. Parents volunteered weekends. Families imagined a new gathering place. Children drew their dream jungle gyms in sidewalk chalk.
The organization failed to deliver. It redirected $1.9 million to overhead and staff bonuses, leaving families without the playgrounds they had hoped for and helped fund.
As one donor put it, the emotional impact went far beyond dollars:
“The money was not for general operating expenses. … I just feel a real sense of betrayal. … The fact that they took money away from families, I’m speechless.”
Families who had once envisioned summer afternoons on the swings were left with empty foundations—and a deeper sense of disillusionment.
That kind of breach doesn’t just damage faith in one organization. It ripples outward, undermining trust in every public institution that claims to serve.
Trust is built in relationship
Whether it’s civic government, a local nonprofit, or a federal agency, the relationship between public institutions and the people they serve is built up—as in all relationships—through honesty, reliability, and care. And like all relationships, it can fracture. Especially in communities where trust was already eroded by exclusion or harm.
In an ideal world, trust might be the default. But for many, it’s already been broken. That means we can’t take it for granted. We have to earn it, day by day.
Earning trust is a practice
Trust isn’t earned through claims of perfection. It’s earned through presence and practice—over time.
Transparency: Sharing both progress and setbacks with clarity and humility
Consistency: Showing up again and again, not just when it’s convenient or high-profile
Integrity: Choosing mission over margin, ethics over expedience
Service: Making decisions that reflect the real needs of the public, especially the most vulnerable
Engagement: Co-creating solutions and listening deeply, not just surveying
Commitment to the public good: Keeping outcomes and effects at the center—not ego, politics, or appearance
Each honest update, each follow-through, and each act of care strengthens the relationship between public institutions and the communities they serve.
Earning trust takes time
Like any relationship, trust takes time to build—and just moments to break. It’s incremental, fragile, and cumulative. Sometimes, we’re not rebuilding trust so much as tending the soil—creating the conditions where trust can grow again, even if the harm runs deeper than any one project or generation can repair.
That’s still public service. And it still matters.
Earning trust is worth the work
At Public Servants, we work with mission-driven organizations and civic teams who understand that trust isn’t a deliverable—it’s the result of showing up with integrity, over time. We help design transparent processes, foster meaningful engagement, and strengthen the conditions that allow trust to take root and grow.
Because trust isn’t a reward for doing the bare minimum. Trust is the quiet outcome of doing the right thing, again and again, in relationship—even when no one’s watching.
Trust isn’t our goal. It’s our responsibility. And it’s worth the work.