Ethical Dilemmas in Fundraising

This Ethics Awareness Month, we asked AFP members to share ethical dilemmas they have faced in their careers and how they were able to resolve them, successfully or perhaps not so successfully.  

Conflict with Board Member over Donor Intent: I had started working at a small nonprofit as the director of development. Two months after I started, a long standing board member, and much loved and respected philanthropist in the community, passed away. Fast forward a year later and we learn he had left a $1M donation to be endowed. Another board member and friend of the deceased, tried to get me to use half of the funds to run a challenge campaign. He wanted me to tell donors that every donation would be matched by this bequest. Continue Reading.  

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Funding for Closed Programs: Our current organization is very large and has multiple programs at 30 different sites around the country. When a program is struggling to meet revenue goals through governement grants and private funding, it goes on a Watchlist prior to being closed within the budget year. The ethical dilemma is whether or not to continue fundraising for the program once it is on the Watchlist. Recently we were awarded a grant from a private foundation for a program that closed between the time of the application and when the check was received. Continue Reading. 

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Sexual Harassment from a Prospect: An employee of mine told me she was feeling uncomfortably harassed by a new potential large donor she had visited but still viewed as an excellent prospect. I asked if she would like to have me take over the solicitation with all financial credit for any subsequent gift(s) being credited to her for having found and nurtured the relationship. She thanked me but said she’d like to still work on it. I said OK as long as she felt she could manage it safely. As it happened, she left the company shortly after that for a new position in another state. Continue Reading 

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Booking Pledges Without Written Confirmation: My organization continually books pledges for donors and prospective donors without written confirmation from that individual. Oftentimes, a secondhand text message or email from a volunteer fundraiser, usually a board member, is used to secure the pledge, and then we are in a rush to "book it" so that the pledged amount will count toward the fundraising goal before the next board meeting, finance committee meeting, or other important metric review period. This practice was greatly encouraged by a former CEO who is no longer with the organization in any capacity, although it still happens on occasion. Continue Reading 

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Scholarships Not Following Donor Intent: I worked for a community college foundation where I was responsible for entering gifts for scholarships including endowment payments from our local community foundation for scholarships. The gift and bequest agreements were kept on file and specifically outlined how the payments were to be used. I had not worked there very long when I noticed that it appeared that the payments were not going towards the scholarships intended by the donors (even considering administrative costs). Continue Reading 

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Donation in Exchange for Admission: I worked as the chief advancement officer at a university. A parent of a prospective student met with me and promised a six-figure gift upon the acceptance of their child for admission. I met with the senior university official and together we informed the parent that we would not consider a gift anytime near the admission review of their child, nor while they were attending the university. Continue Reading