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Ethics Rapid-fire for Your Next Staff Meeting

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I’d like to improve on a quote I often use; “philanthropy, an awkward word that does so much good” by adding “ethics, a simple word that can ruin or fix everything.”

The thing is, ethical lapses don’t have to happen. It’s helpful to be talking about general ethical issues to help your staff how to respond should something crop up. Or, at least make ethics present in your organizational culture. To help keep the discussion of ethics alive in your organization, here are some rapid-fire questions to use at your next staff meeting. Use these general examples to discuss how your organization should handle similar situations.

Ethical scenario rapid-fire – What would you do?

  • A donor, whom you did not invite to your wedding, sends you an expensive wedding present, or gives you a gift when you have a baby.
  • Your organization’s expense policy forbids the purchase/reimbursement of alcohol. You are having dinner with a donor and she orders a glass of wine.
  • You receive a memorial gift made out to your organization praising a staff member who does not work at your agency.
  • When you are running a donor’s credit card, it comes up as “stolen.” What do you do? What if the person is right there, say at your event?
  • A board member wants you to issue her a receipt for all of her gifts to your organization; including $1,200 she spent at your events last year.
  • You receive a matching gift for $50, the price the person paid to attend your black-tie dinner.
  • You have a board member that sits on a Foundation grants selection committee. Is it ethical for them to do both?

For further consideration

  • Does your organization have policies in place to guide ethical decisions?
  • At what point should you release staff or donors engaged in unethical behavior?
  • You know of ethical breaches in your organization, how should you respond?

For more information on fundraising ethics visit the AFP International web site.

How to Build a Philanthropic Plan

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Over the past several months I have been participating in the mentoring program with my local chapter of AFP. The majority of the meetings with my mentee have focused on helping her articulate a case for support and building a philanthropic plan for the organization’s integrated strategic plan.

To extend the value of the work done with my mentee to others looking to improve their strategic planning skills, we will  spend the next several weeks breaking down the parts of a philanthropic plan. The philanthropic plan typically consists of five basic parts. These parts build on one another as your plan progresses to give your strategy clarity. The early sections give detail so that the latter sections can concentrate on providing a concise road-map of actionable items to achieve your development goals.

As with grammar, these parts are listed below to simply to provide structure and a general guideline, but rules are made to be broken (provided you understand the rules and the reason for them). These parts include:

  • Organizational Context – mission, vision, history, values
  • Philanthropic Environment – fundraising resource audit, SWOT analysis
  • Philanthropic Goals – strategic, financial, timetable
  • Philanthropic Strategy – cases for support (audience, case, and implementation)
  • Benchmarks – staff performance metrics, strategic, financial

Next: Organizational Context

Managers value quantity not quality

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The ears of executive directors and fundraiser managers everywhere are burning. This article from onPhilanthropy.com is a must read for anybody that manages a development staff.

I have found that nonprofit leadership (when removed from frontlines fundraising) often times loses touch with the character qualities that define a productive fundraiser. These managers replace quality with quantity and have a deadfast focus on contacts and moves rather than the soft skill of making and maintaining sustainable donor relationships. Their focus tends to favor the here and now, meeting nearterm goals. This approach is to the detriment of a philanthropic culture that will outlast the tenure of current leadership.

I have yet to see a management system or measurement matrix that recognizes and rewards organizational pratices and policies that orientate the management structure as a donor-centered and mission-focused.