At a recent AFP Idaho Chapter presentation on ethics, I asked for audience members to share situations they dealt with personally. One man shared a doozy. While serving as CEO of an organization, he received matching gift forms from a board member that reflected an amount far larger the actual gift. This same board member admitted to encouraging his employees to submit similarly fraudulent information to benefit the charity. Neither the board member in question, nor the board chair, saw anything wrong with the practice. If one can get away with something that ultimately makes more money for an organization, what’s the harm?
This clear-cut ethics case is one that makes fundraisers puff out our chests out and proclaim “fraud is fraud.” After all, even my second grader knows that just because he can get away with something doesn’t make it right (although that doesn’t deter him from lying about brushing his teeth most mornings).
As professionals, we have an obligation to our organization, to those who bear the consequences (the board) for illegal or unethical behavior, to the donors who have entrusted their resources to us, and to all those who stand to benefit from the good works the organization does and might do in the future, works that will be jeopardized by any appearance of impropriety.
The fact is, however, most of us will face ethical issues that are not as clear cut as the one I’ve cited. Pair this with the fact that we are under ever increasing pressure to perform in an economy where people and organizations are forced to consider their dwindling resources when making donations, and you have fertile ground for ethical obstacles that are difficult to navigate.
At the same time, fundraising practices are under ever-increasing scrutiny. We owe it to ourselves as professionals, and to the profession as a whole, to make sure we meet the highest possible ethical standards.
The Association of Fundraising Professionals was founded on a series of ethical principles that we as members sign on to every time we renew our membership. AFP takes this issue so seriously, that calls regarding ethics to the national office are answered directly by the organization’s CEO, if available, or the next highest-ranking officer who can take the call immediately. We have a local chapter member who called the AFP switchboard to ask about an ethics issue. She was put through to CEO Paulette Maehara. You should be impressed. I am. AFP is a membership organization of more than 30,000.
I have to admit to rarely taking the time to read over the AFP Code of Ethical Principles and Standards of Professional Practice. It’s a one page document that outlines 25 standards related to compensation, presentation of information, solicitation and use of donations, and member obligations. Useful stuff. But I know, it’s not riveting and we all have deadlines.
But consider the everyday, sticky ethics questions. Few of us may be faced with a situation where an outright crime is being committed, but fundraisers are regularly approached with seemingly less harmful situations:
- A board member wants to use our donor list to solicit potential clients for her own business. She works hard for the organization, maybe she should have access to this information as a perk.
- Our CEO wants to hire a contract grant writer who would only get paid a percentage of each grant he secured – no one loses in this scenario, right?
- Your emergency fund exceeded its fundraising goal, and your board wants you to transfer some of the money raised to another fund that isn’t doing so well.
In each of these cases, we can benefit from a basic understanding of the AFP standards and the fundamental values upon which they’re founded. AFP members are expected to adhere to the principles of
- donor intent,
- the law,
- the mission of the organization,
- personal honesty and integrity,
- philanthropic purpose and
- the overriding principle that all of these values take precedence over personal self-interest.
Apply these principles to the situations outlined above, and the answers become clear. The intent of the donor when giving the gift comes into question with every point. The donor neither supposed that making a contribution would render him prey to unwanted solicitations from other organizations, nor intended to benefit anyone personally when giving the gift. Finally, if a donation was accepted for an express purpose, it should be used for that purpose, or returned.
It’s also important to remember that few people involved with an organization aren’t there to commit fraud, or behave unethically. That’s where the “sticky” part comes in. Most situations arise from a lack of understanding of ethical principles, but the people proposing them aren’t necessarily unethical.
Rather than take a defensive stance when confronted with an ethically challenging suggestion or directive, view it as an opportunity to engage, educate and enlighten. You’ll be doing your organization a favor by helping a valued donor, employee or board member develop as an asset to the organization. You’ll be doing the profession a favor by illustrating how we act according to industry best practices (rather than just making stuff up as we go). Finally you’ll be doing yourself a favor by building a reputation as an ethical professional.
For questions about ethics standards, visit www.afpnet.org/Ethics, or contact a member of the AFP Idaho Chapter Board at afpidahochapter@gmail.com.