Fundraising

Charitable fundraising provides an important source of financial support for the work of most nonprofit organizations. An organization's fundraising program should be maintained on a foundation of truthfulness and responsible stewardship. Its fundraising practices should be consistent with its mission, compatible with its organizational capacity and respectful of the interests of donors and prospective donors.

A. Fundraising Activities

1. A nonprofit’s fundraising costs should be reasonable over time. On average, over a five-year period, a nonprofit should realize charitable contributions from fundraising activities as set by the hoard (i.e. at a minimum, revenues from fundraising activities should equal three times the amount spent on fundraising). Organizations should demonstrate that they are making steady progress toward achieving this goal, or should be able to justify why the goal has not been met.
2. Solicitation and promotional materials should he accurate and truthful. Materials should correctly identify the organization, its mission, and the intended use of the solicited funds.
3. All statements made by a nonprofit in its fundraising appeals, concerning the use of a contribution, should be honored.
4. Nonprofits should honor the known intentions of a donor regarding the use of donated funds.

B. Donor Relationships and Privacy

1. Nonprofits should respect the privacy of donors and safeguard the confidentiality of information that a donor would reasonably expect to be private.
2. Nonprofits should provide donors an opportunity to state that they prefer to remain anonymous.  Donors should also be able to prevent the release of their names, the amounts of their gifts, and/or other information.
3. Nonprofits should provide donors an opportunity to have their names removed from any mailing lists which are sold, rented, or exchanged and should have the donor’s written permission prior to selling, renting and/or exchanging mailing lists.
4. Nonprofits should honor requests by a donor to curtail or stop repeated mailings or telephone solicitations from in-house lists.
5. Solicitations should be free from undue influence or excessive pressure, and be respectful of the needs and interests of the donor or potential donor.

C. Acceptance of Gifts

An organization should have policies in place to govern the acceptance and disposition of charitable gifts, solicited or unsolicited, that are received in the course of its planned or unplanned fundraising activities. These policies should include procedures to determine any limits on individuals or entities from which the organization will accept a gift, the purposes for which donations will be accepted, the type of property which will be accepted, and whether to accept an unusual or unanticipated gift in light of the organization’s mission and organizational capacity.

D. Employment of Fundraising Personnel

1. Fundraising personnel, including both employees and independent consultants, should not be compensated based on a percentage of the amount raised or other commission formula.
2. When utilizing fundraising consultants, organizations should use the services of a reputable fundraiser with documented experience. The organization should he responsible for setting policy regarding experience requirements.
3. Organizations should have a written policy to exercise control over staff, volunteers, consultants, contractors, other organizations, or businesses who are known to be soliciting contributions on behalf of the organization.

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