Skip to main content

Why Transparency Matters

The Foundation of Everything We Do

Transparency isn't a feature of Amply. It's the foundation.

The Problem with Trust​

Traditional charitable giving relies heavily on trust. Donors trust that organizations use their money well. Organizations trust that platforms handle their funds correctly. Everyone trusts that fees are fair and clearly stated.

But trust doesn't scale. It breaks down when:

  • Donors can't see where their money goes after they give
  • Organizations can't prove their impact with verifiable data
  • Platforms operate as black boxes with hidden fees and opaque processes
  • Platform fees eat into donations, creating misaligned incentives
  • Scandals erode confidence in the entire nonprofit sector

We believe there's a better approach: don't ask for trust—provide proof.

Transparency as Infrastructure​

Amply treats transparency as infrastructure, not as a marketing claim. This means:

Every Transaction is Recorded​

From the moment a donation enters the system to when it reaches an organization, every step is logged in a tamper-evident ledger. Not summaries. Not reports. The actual transactions.

Public by Default, Privacy Where Needed​

Data is public unless there's a specific reason to protect it. Organizations' financials, fee structures, fund allocations—all visible to anyone who wants to look.

But transparency doesn't mean exposing vulnerable people. Sensitive payments (HR, legal, security) can be aggregated or anonymized while remaining on the ledger. We hide faces, not money.

→ How we balance transparency and privacy

Verifiable, Not Just Visible​

Visibility isn't enough if you can't verify that what you're seeing is accurate. Amply's ledger is cryptographically secured so that any modification after recording would be detectable. And every donation links to an independent Stripe payment record—a source of truth outside Amply's control.

→ How verification works

Same Rules for Everyone​

Amply uses Amply. Our own finances are tracked on the same platform, with the same transparency, as every organization we serve. No special treatment.

Zero Platform Fees​

Amply takes no platform fees. We sustain ourselves through donations, just like the organizations we serve. The only fees that exist are unavoidable third-party costs—payment processors like Stripe charge for transactions, and we pass those through transparently. But Amply itself doesn't take a cut. This means our incentives are aligned with donors and organizations: we succeed when giving succeeds, not when transaction volume grows.

→ More about pricing and fees

What This Enables​

When transparency is the default, new things become possible:

For Donors

  • See exactly where your money went, not just which organization received it
  • Verify that fees were as stated
  • Track impact over time with real data

For Organizations

  • Prove your legitimacy without constant audits
  • Build donor trust through openness, not promises
  • Attract support from donors who value accountability

For Businesses

  • Report CSR spending with verifiable data
  • Demonstrate impact to stakeholders with proof, not claims
  • Meet compliance requirements with built-in audit trails

For the Sector

  • Raise the standard for what donors should expect
  • Reduce fraud through visibility
  • Rebuild trust in charitable giving

The Pragmatic Case​

Transparency isn't just ethically right—it's practically better.

Organizations that can prove their impact attract more donors. Donors who can verify their impact give more confidently and consistently. Platforms that operate transparently face fewer compliance issues and build stronger reputations.

We believe that making transparency easy and automatic—rather than an extra burden—creates a system where doing the right thing is also the easiest thing.

Next: How Transparency Works — the technical implementation behind these principles.