Chapter 2: A Commitment to Ethical Fundraising
Nonprofit arts management and fundraising specialist Anne Bergeron and acclaimed philanthropy and fundraising scholar Eugene R. Tempel explore the ethical practice of raising money for public sector causes. They discuss the foundation of trust that anchors all philanthropic relationships, consider universal values that undergird moral behavior, and explain three approaches to normative philosophy and their proponents as these relate to fundraising—the ethics of care, consequentialism, and deontology. They also review professional ethics and codes of conduct as promoted by the Association of Fundraising Professionals and Independent Sector offering guidance to practitioners to serve as the “moral compasses” for their organizations. The authors note six ethical issues that commonly afflict nonprofits: conflicts of interest, accountability and reporting, tainted money, donor privacy, compensation, and financial integrity. Distinguishing between right-from-wrong and right-from-right ethical dilemmas, they summarize a practical, five-stepped process for ethical decision-making from the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University. And they close the chapter with a discussion on the 21st century imperative of integrating ethics and social justice in all public sector endeavors. To support racial and economic justice-focused fundraising and philanthropy, they propose a new Beneficiary Bill of Rights that promotes equity, collaboration, and power-sharing among nonprofits, donors, and beneficiaries.
Anne Bergeron
Anne Bergeron is a specialist in nonprofit cultural enterprise. She has served in senior management at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) Institute and Museum of California Art, Brown University’s Arts Initiative, Dallas Museum of Art, and Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, in addition to running her own consulting firm. In 2010–2012, she was visiting practitioner at Georgetown University’s Center for Public and Nonprofit Leadership researching Magnetic: The Art and Science of Engagement (AAM Press 2013), her co-authored book on high-performance museums. Anne is an advisory board member of Performa, a member of The Museum Group, and currently studying philanthropy at Indiana University.
Eugene R. Tempel
Eugene R. Tempel, Ed.D., is Professor Emeritus of Philanthropic Studies, Founding Dean Emeritus of the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, and President Emeritus of the Indiana University Foundation. Professor Tempel has three decades of philanthropy leadership, administration, and fundraising experience. He played an integral role in establishing the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy’s precursor, the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, and served as the center’s executive director from 1997 through 2008. Professor Tempel served as the Indiana University Foundation president between 2008 and 2012 before being named founding dean of the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. Under his guidance, the foundation completed IU Bloomington's $1.1 billion Matching the Promise campaign, exceeding the goal by more than $40 million and launched and completed the $1.25 billion IMPACT campaign at IUPUI.
Dr. Gene Tempel, Professor of Philanthropic Studies and Founding Dean Emeritus at Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, and Anne Bergeron, consultant and specialist in nonprofit cultural enterprise, discuss Chapter 2 with editor Bill Stanczykiewicz, Director of The Fund Raising School.