Ethics for Fundraisers

Albert Anderson (Indiana University Press, 1996)
While nonprofit practitioners in philanthropy usually have good moral instincts, most would welcome a reliable framework for ethical conduct. Invoking a variety of classical and contemporary models, Anderson poses the choice between what we understand to be our moral duty and what will likely result in the greatest good for the majority. He applies these notions to a wide range of situations familiar to nonprofit development officers, volunteers, and organizations. His goal is to help readers select a process for decision making and to consider and adopt a set of durable principles for justifying action. To clarify and test these principles, Anderson presents a hypothetical case and a program for developing and refining (through experience) a code of ethics for the organization. The book will equip nonprofit staff and volunteers, professionals, and grant makers with frameworks for understanding and taking principled action and preventing bad behavior. It presents a wide range of cases to show the tensions that arise in the attempt to apply ethical ideals in real-life situations. But if they are aware of what makes an issue ethically demanding, practitioners will be better able to make decisions and develop principles for justifying action.
Ethical issues faced by practitioners include misusing donor funds; giving prospects false information; and displacing charitable intentions with other motives. Charities as institutions face similar issues, including conflicts of interest; questionable charges or expense for services; and hiring disreputable consultants or fund-raising firms. The book uses real cases to illustrate these and other lapses in action. Softcover, 155 pages, $12.95