Ethics/Accountability

Those of us in the nonprofit arena have a responsibility—and an accountability—to build things that outlast us. It's not about us as CEO, or chief development officer, or board chair, or board member. It's about building an organization that is sustainable and can grow in support of a worthy mission.

It is up to the thousands of honest and ethical fundraising professionals to look out for potential fraud and abuse in our profession.

Liz's worthy organization sought to be frugal for years. Not a bad thing. Gradually, but surely, this desire to be financially responsible morphed into a cost-cutting monster. That's when the need to keep faith with investors, donors — those who pay the bills — somehow got lost in the desire to maximize cash flow and reduce overhead to zero — if possible.

St. Joseph's Indian School responds to CNN's claims that the school used fundraising letters "signed by fictitious kids." It's a lesson in responding to negative press.

How do you handle donor requests to be removed from your list? This may surprise some of you, but, "Duh! We remove them!" isn't always the right answer. Given that your donor file is so valuable, a well-thought-out strategy is needed for responding in a way that both honors the donor's intent and safeguards your asset.

When we cave in and take shortcuts, we truly shortchange the project at hand, the mission of our organization, those we serve, ourselves and our noble profession!

While you work for one charity, remember that your actions affect all charities and our profession as a whole. There must be zero tolerance for any perceived act of unethical behavior.

Fundraising isn't painless — but the joy it brings makes our profession amazing.

Privacy concerns could be preventing you from getting donor feedback.

At the 2014 Bridge Conference, Wounded Warrior Project's Steve Nardizzi took on the charity watchdogs and media, saying nonprofits should manage to their missions, not to misguided assumptions about overhead ratios.