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Ethical Issues in Fundraising
The ethical standards of right and wrong that govern nonprofit behavior urge organizations to demonstrate integrity in fundraising. You should use any donated funds for the purposes stated at the time of collection, and your organization should serve your constituency effectively and attempt to avoid conflicts of interest.
Donors’ Rights
A “donor bill of rights” put together by the Association of Fundraising Professionals and other professional organizations outlines the courtesies all donors should be afforded. These include the rights to:
- Have access to the organization’s most recent financial statements
- Be assured their gifts will be used for the purposes for which they were given
- Be assured that information about their donation is handled with respect and with confidentiality to the extent provided by law
- Have the opportunity for their names to be deleted from mailing lists that an organization may intend to share
- Feel free to ask questions when making a donation and to receive prompt, truthful, and forthright answers
Your organization also has an obligation to protect the privacy of your donors by taking appropriate steps to protect sensitive salary, donation amount, or other donor data. Your organization should use firewalls and antivirus software to protect computer systems, and access to your donor information should be limited.
Other Ethics Resources
To learn more about ethics in fundraising, visit the websites of professional organizations such as the:
- Association of Fundraising Professionals (www.afpnet.org)
- Council for Advancement and Support of Education (www.case.org)
- Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (www.ahp.org)
- National Committee on Planned Giving (www.ncpg.org)
- The Giving Institute (www.aafrc.org)
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