Apresentação de Roberto Soto Acosta, realizada no Festival ABCR 2019, entre os dias 09 e 11 de junho de 2019, em São Paulo.

1. Ethics in Fundraising
& Nonprofit Management
Roberto Soto Acosta, Ed.M.

2. Roberto Soto-Acosta
President – IMAGINE Consultores

3. ● Ethical dilemmas -- situations that may represent ethical
conflicts.
● The need to be ethical, transparent and accountable
● Incorporating norms and standards of ethics within an
organizational culture.
What are we going to talk about?

4. ● Standards of conduct used by a member of a profession to
determine the correct course of action in a given situation
● Codes of principles and norms in the exercise of the profession
● Members of the profession are expected to adhere to those
standards
What is ethics in relation to civil society?

5. Usually, it’s in the negative
sense - related to a
controversy or scandal.
Let’s examine our ethical perspective

7. ● Donors demand it.
● It is the # 1 reason not to give (when requested):
people do not trust NGOs.
● Good administration requires it.
Why do we need to talk about ethics,
transparency and accountability?

8. ● Integrity - Integridade
● Transparency - Transparência
● Respect - Respeito
● Honesty - Honestidade
● Commitment - Compromiso
What are the ethical principles in fundraising
and in the management of NGOs for ABCR?

9. ● Philanthropy makes possible
the work of civil society
● Trust makes philanthropy --
the acquisition of gifts –
possible.
● Being ethical make trust
possible
The Ethical Equation
Philanthropy
Trust
Ethics

10. An ethical dilemma implies a conflict
between two or more ethical principles:
● Integrity
● Transparency
● Respect
● Honesty
● Commitment
Important to know the scale of values ​​of your organization.
Ethical Dilemmas
Shareni-Toonpool.com

11. The Seven Ethical Dilemmas
Tainted
Money
Compensation
Privacy
Appearance of
Impropriety
Stewardship
Honesty &
Transparency
Conflicts of
Interest

12. ● Conflict between your mission and the source of funds.
1. Contaminated Money

13. ● The people who give you the names
of prospects or donors should not
receive any type of compensation
● The compensation of fundraisers or
consultants should never be based
on a percentage of the funds raised
2. Compensation

14. 2. Compensation
8th June 2003
Solutions RMC scandal
Solutions RMC, the fundraising company whose controversial dealings with charities
have been exposed in The Herald over the past few weeks. The firm's sole director,
Tony Freeman, was accused in the Court of Session last month of keeping (pounds) 8m
in commission out of the (pounds) 13m his firm collected for Breast Cancer Research
(Scotland).

15. ● Fundraisers, consultants, board
members and volunteers should not
obtain or retain non-essential or highly
personal information.
● The information obtained must remain
within the organization.
● The fundraiser should not be the
custodian of confidential information.
3. Privacy

16. We can comply with the law and comply with
regulations, but still not act in an ethical manner.
4. Appearance of impropriety

17. ● Assure the public that
philanthropic funds will be
used in accordance with the
wishes of the donor.
5. Stewardship

18. • Comply with what was written
by the donors, both in the
stipulations as well as with
their spirit and intention
5. Stewardship

19. ● Promote decision making by
donors and prospects based
on complete and accurate
information
● Honesty with our "donors and
prospects" is the basis for
healthy relationships
6. Honesty and transparency

20. 6. Honesty and transparency

21. A conflict of interest can occur when:
● your personal interests (including
financial, family)
● your duties and obligations, and
● the purpose of your charity
come in contact and potential conflict.
7. Conflicts of Interest

22. Business transactions involving board
members must:
● be completely transparent
● have open processes
● be subject to the same rules and
regulations as any other transaction
(for example: auctions) be addressed
openly
7. Conflicts of Interest

23. The Donald J. Trump Foundation

24. ● Ethics ought to be a consideration
in even the most routine of
transactions
● Just because something is legal
doesn’t mean that it is necessarily
ethical.
Ethics: Observations

25. Ethical fundraising and managing
philanthropic funds – whose job is it anyway?

26. Whose responsibility is it?
Program staff and
other personnel
Executive
Management &
Administration
Fundraising &
Grant StaffThe Board of
Directors and
other
Volunteers

27. ● Strive to practice the profession following ethical standards
● For members of professional associations, such as the
Associação Braileira de Captadores de Recursos, efforts should
be based on the Code of Ethical Principles of your organization
Fundraisers

28. ● The Board should be particularly
candid about possible conflicts,
which can lead to many
controversies
● Establish high standards and a
code of ethics for the Board
The Board of Directors

29. The Board should adopt:
• Code of Ethics
• Conflict of Interest Policy
• Donor Bill of Rights
• Donation / Gift Acceptance Policy
The Board of Directors

30. ● See ethics, transparency and accountability, with respect to
philanthropic funds, as an integral part of management and
the organization’s operations.
● Take appropriate and corresponding measures to that end.
● Integrate ethics in the organizational culture.
Executive & Administrative Staff

31. ● Integrate transparency and ethics into all possible
decision-making processes, and organizational policies
and procedures.
● Familiarize new employees, volunteers and board
members with the organization's professional standards
and commitments.
Executive & Administrative Staff

32. ● Incorporate references to the ethical standards of your
organization as part of staff performance evaluations.
● Use your website, social networks and other means of
communication to share your organization’s ethical
standards and provide examples of ethical behavior.
Executive & Administrative Staff

33. ● Stay informed about program funding sources, and donor/
grantmaker intent. or restrictions. on use of funds
● Take appropriate and corresponding measures to ensure
that the donor / grantmaker wishes are being met
Program & Fiscal Staff

34. ABCR Código de Ética e Padrões da Prática Profissional
https://captadores.org.br/codigo-de-etica/
Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP)
https://afpglobal.org/ethics/code-ethics
Examples of codes of ethical principles
and standards of practice

35. Declaración Internacional de Principios Éticos en la
Recaudación de Fondos Filantrópicos
https://www.afpnet.org/Ethics/IntlArticleDetail.cfm?itemnu
mber=3729
Examples of codes of ethical principles
and standards of practice

36. • A Code of Ethics sometimes seems like this black-and-white
document sent from the heavens
• It’s a living document that represents just the floor for ethical
behavior
• The key is for us to slow down, think through the sort of lives
we want to live, our moral values, the ethical situation we face,
and then
• To encourage discussion about our professional moral lives.
Baseline of Pinnacle?

37. The US Internal Revenue Service ("the IRS"), as part of its oversight
role with respect to charities, provides a sample of the conflict of
interest policy in:
https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i1023
See, “Instructions for the 1023 form - Additional material.”
Appendix A: Example of a conflict of interest policy.
Sample Conflict of Interest Policy

38. Created by:
● Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP)
● Association for Health Philanthropy
● The Council for the Advancement and Support of Education
(CASE)
● The Giving Institute
The Donor’s Bill of Rights

39. The Donor's Rights Statement is available in English, Spanish and
French at:
https://afpglobal.org/donor-bill-rights
The Donor’s Bill of Rights

40. The eDonor's Rights Statement is available at:
https://afpglobal.org/principles-edonor-bill-rights
The eDonor’s Bill of Rights

41. Principles for Good Governance and Ethical Practice Resource
Center at Independent Sector.
https://independentsector.org/resource/principles/
Ethics, Conflicts of Interest, etc.

42. What should you do?

43. ● It is April 30, and you are in your first week as director of
development for a home for abused and abandoned children
when you get a phone call from the home’s largest donor.
The donor is the chairman of a very influential Brazilian
corporation who has given several tens of thousands of reals
to the home.
1. The Big Favor – What should you do?

44. ● He announces that his tax advisor says he needs to make
another donation for the previous year and that he is sending
over a check for R$25,000. He asks you to prepare a letter of
acknowledgment dated prior to the previous December 31.
Before you can think of what to say, he hangs up.
● What should you do?
The Big Favor – What should you do?

45. ● Suppose you inform your Executive Director about the offer
and the Executive Director says, “Don’t worry about it, I’ll write
the letter.” What should you do?
● Suppose that upon further investigation you learn that
occasionally, in the past, the institution has done similar favors
for some of its large donors. What should you do?
The Big Favor – What should you do?

46. ● You work for an organization that serves the homeless and has
a counseling program that is minimally operable. You know
that clients of the program could receive better service
elsewhere. The executive director and board are not willing to
make the comprehensive changes required to improve the
services. A donor calls, wishing to give a substantial sum to the
counseling program.
2. Helping the Homeless – What should you do?

47. ● Should you accept the gift and thank the donor? Advise the
donor that the gift can be put to better use elsewhere? Give
the donor the name of another organization that can make
more effective use of the money for the same purpose?
● Would it be a violation of the ABCR Code to tell your CEO that
you will accept the gift only if certain specified improvements
are made to the counseling program?
Helping the Homeless – What should you do?

48. ● You direct an international emergency relief program. Within
one month, 3 disasters occur in the world — a major Caribbean
hurricane, a damn collapse in South America and a massive
earthquake in Central America. Due to the severity of the
disasters and thorough, constant media coverage, donations
are pouring in.
3. Helping Disaster Victims – What should you do?

49. ● Most gifts are designated to hurricane and earthquake relief,
yet, many of the dam victims have lost everything and are in
desperate need of help.
● As time passes, you see that the relief needs of the hurricane
and earthquake can easily be met with 60% of the donations.
However, more than 95% of the money is designated by donors
for hurricane and earthquake relief, leaving you with
insufficient funds to meet the needs of the dam victims.
Helping Disaster Victims – What should you do?

50. ● Would it be a violation of the ABCR Code, or simply unethical,
to use some of the donations designated for the hurricane or
flooding victims to assist victims of the volcano?
● To comply with ethical principles, should you return the
donations that were not needed in the areas for which they
were designated?
● Once the relief needs of the hurricane and flooding have been
filled, would it be ethical to use some of these designated funds
for flood relief?
Helping Disaster Victims – What should you do?

51. Agradecemos a sua participação!
Roberto Soto-Acosta, Ed.M.
RobertoSoto@IMAGINEConsultores.com
www.IMAGINEConsultores.com
1-787-366-9812 (WhatsApp)