The Debate Over Fundraising Costs

What we can learn

Rather than rehash the accusations and cases here, I simply want to explore what we can learn from these painful situations.

At a minimum, let's agree to some key principles:

• Nonprofits operate based on the public's trust; hence, like Caesar's wife, we must behave in a way that it is entirely above suspicion.
  
• Fundraising appeals must be accurate and honest.
• Nonprofits must do what they promise and should be judged on the impact of their programs.
• The nonprofit (not the consultant) must be in control of its own programs, fundraising strategies, budgets and lists.
• Common business ethics dictate that consultants should never recommend something to a client that is good for the consultant but not for the client. Those who do will soon find themselves without any clients.
• Certainly, nonprofits (and their consultants) need to understand and obey all applicable federal, state and local laws.

The recent cases should have been about transparency, honesty, the impact of a nonprofit and ethical business practices. Instead these key issues have been eclipsed by a debate on the cost of fundraising.