Measuring Legitimacy in Non-Profit Organisations
Author: Dr. Anna Neya Kazanskaia
Publisher: NEYA Global Publishing
Article | NEYA Global Journal of Non-Profit Studies
Year: 2025
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-5669-1676
DOI: https://doi.org/10.64357/neya-gjnps-orglgernsustpbltrst-08
This material forms part of the NEYA Global knowledge architecture. Institutional, organizational, professional, training, consulting, curriculum, program design, or implementation use requires an active license from NEYA Global
Explore Architecture →
Module Overview →
Request Institutional Access →
About the Article
Legitimacy is one of the most critical yet methodologically challenging constructs in non-profit research. Rooted in social perception rather than objective performance, it defies simple quantification. This article reviews key approaches to assessing legitimacy—direct measures, proxy indicators, and methodological pluralism—highlighting their respective strengths and limitations. Surveys and polls provide perception-based insights but remain sensitive to context and design bias. Proxy indicators such as donor support, policy access, and media coverage offer indirect evidence but risk conflating elite approval with societal trust. Methodological pluralism, which combines qualitative and quantitative approaches, offers the most balanced framework, integrating perception data with discourse analysis and observable outcomes. The article argues that legitimacy measurement must be reflexive, multidimensional, and context-sensitive, recognising the political and cultural forces that shape credibility. It provides scholars with a methodological roadmap for advancing legitimacy research and guides practitioners toward more accurate and ethical assessment practices that value both community trust and institutional recognition.
Key Topics
- Measuring legitimacy in non-profit organisations
- Surveys and stakeholder perception analysis
- Proxy indicators and elite endorsement
- Methodological pluralism and triangulation
- Reflexivity and contextual sensitivity
- Balancing donor, policy, and community trust
Suggested Citation
Kazanskaia, A. N. (2025). Measuring Legitimacy in Non-Profit Organisations. NEYA Global Journal of Non-Profit Studies. Neya Global Publishing. https://doi.org/10.64357/neya-gjnps-orglgernsustpbltrst-08
References
Banks, N., Hulme, D., & Edwards, M. (2015). NGOs, states, and donors revisited: Still too close for comfort? World Development, 66, 707–718.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2014.09.028
Barman, E. (2007). What is the bottom line for nonprofit organizations? A history of measurement in the British voluntary sector. Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 18(2), 101–115.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-007-9039-3
Bryson, J. M. (2018). Strategic planning for social impact. NEYA Global Publishing.
Hilhorst, D. (2003). The real world of NGOs: Discourses, diversity and development. Zed Books.
Kazanskaia, A. N. (2025). Organizational Legitimacy: Earning & Sustaining Public Trust. NEYA Global Publishing.
https://doi.org/10.64357/legitimacy-2025
Kazanskaia, A. N. (2025). Legitimacy in different contexts: Organisational, political, and regional variations in non-profit credibility. Neya Global Journal of Non-Profit Studies.
https://doi.org/10.64357/neya-gjnps-orglgernsustpbltrst-06
Kazanskaia, A. N. (2025). Legitimacy and trust-building in non-profit organisations. Neya Global Journal of Non-Profit Studies.
https://doi.org/10.64357/neya-gjnps-orglgernsustpbltrst-04
Kazanskaia, A. N. (2025). Strategies for building and sustaining legitimacy in non-profit organisations. Neya Global Journal of Non-Profit Studies.
https://doi.org/10.64357/neya-gjnps-orglgernsustpbltrst-07
Kazanskaia, A. N. (2025). Participatory legitimacy reviews in NGOs (Teaching Paper). Neya Global Journal of Non-Profit Studies.
https://doi.org/10.64357/neya-gjnps-orglgernsustpbltrst-tp-02
Kazanskaia, A. N. (2025). Assessing and strengthening non-profit legitimacy (Teaching Paper). Neya Global Journal of Non-Profit Studies.
https://doi.org/10.64357/neya-gjnps-orglgernsustpbltrst-tp-01
Kazanskaia, A. N. (2025). Accountability: Building Trust through Transparency. NEYA Global Publishing.
https://doi.org/10.64357/accountability-2025
Schofer, E., & Longhofer, W. (2011). The structural sources of association. American Journal of Sociology, 117(2), 539–585.
https://doi.org/10.1086/661593
Suchman, M. C. (1995). Managing legitimacy: Strategic and institutional approaches. Academy of Management Review, 20(3), 571–610.
https://doi.org/10.2307/258788
