Building the future of trust

By Shelley Polansky, President & CEO, BBB Serving Northern Colorado and Wyoming, Sep 2025

Trust is the cornerstone of every strong relationship—between businesses and customers, nonprofits and donors, and within our communities. In today’s rapidly evolving, digital-first economy, trust has never been more important—or more fragile.

That’s why we’re proud to launch our new campaign: I Choose BBB – The Future of Trust. This initiative is more than a celebration of our long-standing legacy—it’s a call to action for businesses, charities, and consumers to actively choose integrity, transparency, and ethical practices in every interaction.

For over a century, BBB has been the standard for ethical business practices. Our Accredited Businesses are independently vetted against our Eight Standards for Trust, giving consumers confidence in organizations that operate with integrity. Likewise, our Accredited Charities are evaluated against 20 Standards for Charity Accountability, ensuring donors can trust that their contributions are managed responsibly and that the organization is transparent and effective in its mission.

This campaign shines a spotlight on organizations that consistently go above and beyond to build trust in their communities. Through feature stories, community events, and our revamped Future of Trust newsletter, we highlight the real-world impact of ethical business practices and accountable nonprofit operations. We will also celebrate 28 years of the Celebration of Ethics, honoring organizations with our Torch Award for Ethics and Spark Award for Entrepreneurship, showcasing the outstanding contributions of companies and entrepreneurs who lead with integrity.

By choosing BBB, you are doing more than earning a seal of approval—you are making a statement that trust matters. You are helping shape a marketplace where honesty, transparency, and ethical practices are the expectation, not the exception.

I encourage all of our Accredited Businesses, Charities, and community members to join us in this campaign. Share your stories, highlight your commitment to ethical practices, and inspire others to do the same. Together, we can create a culture where trust is the standard and integrity drives growth.