Ethics Never Takes a Back Seat at AFP

Last week one of the regularly scheduled meetings of the AFP Ethics Committee took place. I came away energized and impressed with the extreme care and diligence that goes into the care and feeding of the AFP Ethical Guidelines. In fact, the ethics section is one of the most widely used areas of the newly designed AFP web site. I strongly encourage anyone involved with non-profits in just about any manner to peruse.

Directly related is the Donor Bill of Rights developed in conjunction with AHP, CASE and the Giving Institute. These rights have stood the test of time since their release and are such a must read I have them listed below.

The Donor Bill of Rights

Philanthropy is based on voluntary action for the common good. It is a tradition of giving and sharing that is primary to the quality of life. To ensure that philanthropy merits the respect and trust of the general public, and that donors and prospective donors can have full confidence in the nonprofit organizations and causes they are asked to support, we declare that all donors have these rights:

I. To be informed of the organization's mission, of the way the organization intends to use donated resources, and of its capacity to use donations effectively for their intended purposes.

II. To be informed of the identity of those serving on the organization's governing board, and to expect the board to exercise prudent judgment in its stewardship responsibilities.

III. To have access to the organization's most recent financial statements.

IV. To be assured their gifts will be used for the purposes for which they were given.

V. To receive appropriate acknowledgment and recognition.

VI. To be assured that information about their donation is handled with respect and with confidentiality to the extent provided by law.

VII. To expect that all relationships with individuals representing organizations of interest to the donor will be professional in nature.

VIII. To be informed whether those seeking donations are volunteers, employees of the organization or hired solicitors.

IX. To have the opportunity for their names to be deleted from mailing lists that an organization may intend to share.

X. To feel free to ask questions when making a donation and to receive prompt, truthful and forthright answers.

I am proud to part of the organizations responsible for the creation of such a critical set of rights to be followed by those in our sector. It is hard to believe with so many of the ethical guidelines being based on common sense and honesty that they could ever be violated. However, just like the laws which govern any country they are violated from time to time. It is also reassuring to know that AFP has complete and proper hearing procedures in place to address such breaches. Being part of the hearings has been some of the most eye opening experiences I have had in this sector. It is also been some of my most wisely invested volunteer time!

If you have a chance to explore these ethical guidelines at any upcoming educational conferences I urge you to do so. Discussing them is quite fascinating and often revealing. For those of you attending the upcoming Blackbaud Conference for Non-Profits please note that just such a session will be offered with an interesting pairing of an AFP Ethics committee member in myself, a truly respected fundraiser in Joy Simpson and a journalist from NPT in Paul Clolery.