Author Archives: Maria Di Mento

October 24, 2012, 9:16 am

Conservatives and Liberals Are Equally Generous, Study Finds

Political views do not predict how much money a person will donate to charity, according to a new study. But conservatives and liberals do support different kinds of causes.

Conservatives and people in conservative-leaning states are more likely than others to donate to religious organizations, while people in liberal-leaning states are more likely to donate to secular nonprofits, the study found.

The study was conducted by MIT researchers Michele Margolis and Michael Sances and was based on data from NORC at the University of Chicago. It follows a study by three scholars released in May that suggested fundraisers should phrase pitches differently when appealing to Republicans versus Democrats.

Still, the findings about overall giving rates run counter to previous studies by scholars that have shown that religious conservatives give more than secular liberals.

Arthur Brooks…

September 29, 2011, 9:35 am

New Ethics Tool Available for Fund Raisers

By Maria Di Mento

Fund raisers now have a new online tool available to figure out whether they give ethical issues enough priority and to measure how well their organization does in treating donors ethically.

The Association of Fundraising Professionals says that the tool—called the AFP Ethics Assessment Inventory—will help fund raisers identify steps they can take to do better in conforming to fund-raising codes of ethics. The tool asks fund raisers to gauge their accountability, courage, integrity, and whether they operate in a transparent and trustworthy manner.

The tool was built from research conducted by the Center for Ethical Business Cultures at the University of St. Thomas-Minnesota, in St. Paul, and with advice from about 2,000 members of the fund raisers’ association.

The tool is also gathering data from fund raisers on how they rate themselves on such attributes as keeping the…