The lion’s share of fund raisers — 82 percent — face ethical dilemmas once a month or less, according to a new poll.
The informal online survey, conducted by the Association of Fundraising Professionals on its Web site from from late July to late August, garnered 493 responses. Fifty-eight percent of participants said that they encountered ethical challenges less than one a month, while 24 percent said once a month.
Ten percent of respondents reported facing ethical quandries at least once a week, and 8 percent said they encountered such situations two or three times per month.
“Ethics is critical to the success of fundraising and philanthropy, so it’s important to understand just how often fundraisers face ethical situations,” Paulette V. Maehara, chief executive of the association in Alexandria, Va., said in a written statement.
The organization plans to conduct future online polls to find out what kind of ethical challenges fund raisers face the most.
9 Responses to Ethical Dilemmas Relatively Rare in Fund Raising, Says New Poll
paul61877 - September 21, 2010 at 3:00 pm
Perhaps the survey structure or the respondents understanding of ethics resulted in these findings. Everyday fundraisers who model professional values navigate a course that enable others to act in avoidance of an ethical compromise. Perhaps a train-wreck/dilemma is avoided monthly, but I feel “Relatively Rare” diminishes the role that ethics plays in the daily lives of fundraisers.
mlinnovations - September 21, 2010 at 4:22 pm
The headline is misleading. It could just as easily and more accurately read, “Funddraisers Encounter Ethical Dilemmas Regularly.” The value judgement inherent in the headline used is unfortunate and misstates the point of the data.There are also other problems with the brief article itself. First, the poll is unscientific. So, is this sample of 493 really representative of the 1.5 million nonprofit organizations in the U.S.? Second, the article assumes that everyone of the poll respondents would recognize an ethical dilemma if it hit them in the head. Unfortunately, one reason folks do not think they encounter more ethical dilemmas is simply because they do not recognize all ethical dilemmas when encountered. Third, people want to believe that they are ethical and, therefore, are likely to understate the number of ethical dilemmas they encounter; its not a “dilemma” if they “know” the solution, right?The bottom line is that sound ethical practice is essential to maintaining the public trust which in turn is essential to the development process. The poll found that plenty of fundraisers are encountering plenty of ethical dilemmas on a regular basis. This means that ongoing ethics education is essential. It also means that fundraisers need to understand how to better identify and deal effectively with ethical dilemmas when encountered.To obtain a free download of an article about ethical decision-making for fundraisers, visit http://mlinnovations.com/in_print. (http://twitter.com/mlinnovations)
jameyc - September 22, 2010 at 2:41 pm
Hmmmm…so is it ethical to discredit a poll (not to mention those who participated in it) that says right up front it was “informal” and then point people to your web site where you sell consulting services to help us dumb fundraisers? You know, the ones who would not “recognize an ethical dilemma if it hit them in the head”?
wegsman - September 22, 2010 at 2:45 pm
How does the frequency of ethical dilemmas reported here compare with those in other professions? Was “once a month” the lowest frequency given as an option? On what basis was it decided that encountering an ethical dilemma once a month is infrequent? Without answers to these questions, the results of the survey are meaningless.
dpurdon - September 22, 2010 at 2:50 pm
Some examples of these ethical dilemmas would have been very helpful.
charitywatch - September 22, 2010 at 3:08 pm
To have an ethical dilemma requires that the one has ethics. Perhaps what the study is finding is the lack of or low level ethics of pro fundraisers, particularly the ones who can feel okay with themselves when they keep most of the money raised.Daniel BorochoffAmerican Institute of Philanthropy
doeke - September 22, 2010 at 3:09 pm
In my experience, ethical decisions arise every day in nonprofit work, particularly in fundraising. In my opinion, practitioners in the field must constantly be aware of the ethical ramifications of decision-making, should ascribe to a code of ethics, and should be aware of the environments in which they operate. The survey outcome suggests to me that many practitioners do not readily identify situations as ethical dilemmas. I concur with mlinnovations and paul61877.
ccasdev - September 29, 2010 at 9:35 am
Honestly, I think that facing an ethical dilemma at least once a month would qualify as a regular issue, not a rare one. As a higher education fundraiser, I deal with these issues quite frequently – alumni seeking favors and influence over the admissions process, parents who dangle the promise of big gifts in exchange for preferential treatment or handholding of their children, individuals who want to offload toxic assets onto the institution, etc. etc. etc. My ethical evaluation of these situations has everything to do with basic fairness (i.e. admission can’t (or shouldn’t) be bought, and the children of the rich and connected should not have advantages over the poor) and what is best for my institution. Anything that seems more self-serving than charitable on the part of the donor sets off immediate alarm bells. I find it hard to believe that fundraisers don’t confront ethical dilemmas more frequently than this study suggests.
dougwhite - September 29, 2010 at 9:37 am
If the results reflect accurate responses – that fundraisers say they don’t often (concede for a moment that 24 percent is no big deal or that the number measures anything real) encounter ethical dilemmas – I’m not at all sure that all fundraisers would recognize several types of ethical issues. I haven’t see the questionnaire and so am unable to analyze for myself the validity of the questions and how the answers relate to the conclusion as it’s written in this article (above).I’ve spent my life on this topic within the nonprofit arena and I can guarantee you that the results of this survey do not in any way reflect my own research. My Ethics Corner piece on the National Capital Gift Planning Council website is filled with issues. And there’s plenty more material out there. As well, my upcoming book, “The Nonprofit Challenge,” is a study of ethics at nonprofits; although it’s not focused on fundraising, fundraising is an integral and important part of the whole. Doug WhiteAcademic DirectorNYU Heyman Center for Philanthropy and Fundraising