Summarize each of the five ethical and legal issues you have selected and discuss its implications for leaders of nonprofit organizations. Please include a heading for each of the five issues selected. Following these sections of the paper, provide a titled Reflections section in which you reflect on how ethics and legality pertain to the first three sections of the course, to include a discussion of your ideas regarding steps leaders in nonprofit organizations.
The standard of ethics and principles are the main elements of foundation that is needed for building trust for all non-profit organization. The ethical polices of fund raising is the basic for the foundation of the philanthropy that is made in accordance with the codes of the ethical guidelines. The guidelines are the basic of maintaining clarity within the public and ensure that the funds that are raised are used properly and are not misused that can compromise on the level of trust of any non-profitable organization.
It is the duty of the leaders of the non-profitable organization to ensure that the sufficient funds are being collected that is needed for the activities of the organization. It is also their duty to properly imply the codes of ethics in the policy implementation process of fund, which will help in the overall process of the growth of the organization. The current study will focus on the five ethical issues related to the fund raising policy and also the role of the leader of the organization for proper implication of ethical codes in practice.
Appearance of improprietyis the phrase that is used to provide knowledge about some vital subject that can raise doubts about the ethical issue. This term is specially used to provide knowledge to the layman about the ideas related to the fund-raising activities. It is one of the important parts of the applied ethics that help in the issues that are raised in the fund raising activities. It is important for the non-profit organization to have effective policies related to the ethical issues that are raised in the funding strategy. This is one of the most effective ways to deal with most of the works related to the fund raising activities. It is also important for the fund raisers to understand the importance of the fund raising ethics that will in maintaining clarity with the fund donors. According toSargeant and Shang (2017), the ethical dilemma is one of the common parts that are related with all the fundraising activities. It is important in the context that it is one of the challenging tasks is to define the ethics of that is in relation with the context of the fund raising policies. Ethics And Legal Issues In Fundraising For Non-Profit Organizations Essay Paper
The individual or the groups, who are donating the funds the non-profit organization needs to have a clear idea about the purpose and need of the funds, which will help them to understand the needs of the farms. This can be the most effective ways to deal with the doubt that are related with the fund raising activities. Bowman (2016), has argued that the complexities that are associated with the understandings of the ethical dilemmas are the primary challenges for the fund raising activities for all the non-profit organizations. It is the duty of the leaders of the organizations to ensure that the proper guidelines of the ethics are being followed in order to deal with the cause of the ethical dilemmas and also to help the unaware people understand the function and the contribution of the organization in respect of the society. Proper information about the all the activities of fundraising are also needs to be provided to the people in order to better understand the circumstance. By providing proper knowledge and information it is also possible for the leader of the organization to maintain clarity about all the activities of the organization and also ensure that there are no ethical dilemmas among the funds donating individuals.
Rights of the donors
The philanthropic activities based on voluntary action which is meant for common good and tradition of giving is always being fulfilled. In order to ensure that all philanthropic activities merits the respect and is trustworthy of the common public it is important for fundraising organisation to have a basic right for all common donors.Tempelet al. (2016) have mentioned about the common rights that every donor in a fundraising organisation which helps to maintain clarity and gain the trust of the fund donating people. The donor has the right to get information about the mission of the organization and also the purpose of the resource that are being used from the donating activities. It is also important them to get proper information about the identity of the people and stakeholders of the organization who are controlling the governing board. They can also expect the boat to exercise judgmental prudent in order to maintain stewardship responsibilities (Kintzi & Williams 2013). The financial statement of the non-profitable organisation is also an important part that is required to provide the basic rights to the donors. They also have the right to get assured about the correct purpose of the gifts they are providing to the organization. Piteland Malecki(2014), believes that the donors also have the right to get proper appreciation and recognition for their philanthropic activity.
The information related to donating activities is very sensitive and needs to be handled carefully in order to maintain confidentiality that is a part of donating law. The donors also have the right to get proper information about every detail activities and thereby ensure that they have a healthy relationship with the governing body of the organization. The professional and personal relationship is also an important aspect of the donor’s right. It is also important for them to get the information about the people who are seeking donations and also they are exact purpose that needs to be genuine. Besides these the donors also have the right to ask every question related to the activities of the non-profitable organization and also expect to get detail and truthful answers. Macauley (2014) on the other hand have mentioned about the fundamental and ethical duty of the donor is not to misuse the information that are being provided regarding the confidentiality of the organization and also the exact purpose.
One of the most important activities of the leader of the non-profitable organization is to ensure that they maintain a healthy relationship with all the donors at personal and professional level. They also need to ensure that the laws regarding the rights of the donor are maintained properly in order to follow the basic ethical duties of fundraising activities. The leader also needs to ensure that the donor bill of rights is being followed while maintaining relationship with any fund donating individuals. On the other hand, the leaders must also ensure that information related to fundraising activities and mission objectives of the organization are not misused by the fund donors
Public Privacy
With the matter related to privacy, it is important to imply the legal acts that are related to the ethics of the fund raising activities. The rights of privacy related to the fundraising also help in the matters related to public versus individual rights. The ethics of privacy also needs to have the capability to deal with the confidentially related to the matters of fund raising (Menzel, 2016). However, it can be noted in the context that the issues related to the ethics and privacy are not very clear among the fundraisers and it may lead to the misunderstanding between the both the groups.
There has been a huge debate about the matters related to the privacy about the fund donators in the context of the customer rights of the non-profit organization. According toMenzel (2016), the matters related to the privacyof the fund raisers and donors it is important to deal with the responses that are provided by the government in the given context. In the matters related to trading, it is important to consider the laws of privacy that can help to deal with the ethical issues in the respective fields.Weiss(2014), believes that both as a matter of the federal or provincial legislation and also as a result of the expectation of the donor, it is important to consider the issues related to privacy that can lead to the personal information. Due to the fact that is a huge concern about the matters related to the high level of protection of the personal data, it has led to the changes within the legislation of personal information privacy. There are different organizations all over the world that can help to deal with the privacy issues related fund raising and the also protect the important vital information related to the personal and professional information.
As the demand for having high level of data protection and maintaining the confidentlyis increasing in the modern days, the leaders of the non-profitable organization has vital role to play as they have the duty to follow the ethical guidelines that is relevant in the matters of the fund raising activities. With the help of dealing with the issues related pubic privacy is important to have a healthy relationship with the fund donors and also able to have the built high level of trusts. The leaders of an organization, initially needs to verify the data that is provided by the fund donors, which will help them to deal with the matters related to the privacy and personal information (Landi, 2016). It is also important in the matters related to fund donors, which will help to deal with all types of advanced issues in the confidently. It is also the duty of the leaders to regularly update themselves with the changing laws that can be applied in the ethical issues related to the private information.
Tainted Money
There are various cases, related to the fund raising activities that are related with the unfair or dishonest ways of dealing and collecting funds. This can raise serious questions about the activities that are related to the fund raising capability. According toPettey (2013), the tainted money can raise the questions about the clarity of the objectives of any non-profitable organization. The stakeholders of the organization can also face legal challenge due to the fact that they are not able to provide the correct information about the source of their spending. The integrity of the organization with the social affairs can also be questioned as there can be legal chargers for corruption of the company. Heyman(2016), has mentioned that the integrity is one the main components of the ethical issues that are faced by a non-profitable organization. This can help to deal with the dilemma in the minds of the fund donors. The tainted money within the organization can be of different types depending on the actual role of the organization and also its objective within the society. Andersson and Valentine(2015), have argued that there are many cases, where the organization may not be able to accept thefunds that are being provided due to the fact the source of the funds may not be clear and there are many unethical source that can raise questions about the integrity of the organization.
Dealing with the issues related to tainted money can ultimately raise the question about the trustworthiness of the organization. With the help of all the ethical issues, it is important to deal with the matters related with the tainted money as any non-profitable organization can face the issues related to legal action that can lower their reputation within the society. There are also many cases, where the donors, might have some unethical intensions of getting some benefits in some unfair manner. These unfair advantages can have serious effects on the reputation of the organization. The illegal money is the most common consequence of the acceptance of the tainted money.
The organizational leadership quality is one of the effective ways to deal with the adverse consequence of the tainted money. According toSargeant and Jay (2014), the decisions taken by the leaders of the organization tend to depend on the fact related of acceptance related to the matters of tainted money. It is the ethical role of the leader of an organization to carefully verify the source of the funds, which will help them to maintain clarity in all the operational activities. When the source of the funds that are collected by a non-profit organization becomes tainted they can face legal challenges and can also have the chance to face cease order related to all activities of the organization. It is also the duty of the leader to ensure that all the activities related to collection of the funds is done with accordance with the legal terms.
It is essential for the people to understand the importance of all the ethical problems that are related with the fund raising activities. The decisions related to the ethical process also help to deal with the matters that can help in the overall process related to the honesty and also full disclaimer related to all the activities. The privacy levels of the donor are often the issues that are raised in all the major fund raising activities. The questions that are related to the ethical dilemmas in fund raising will have the ability to deal with all the major activities that can help in maintain honesty within the organization.
It is important to maintain honesty in encouraging diversity of fundraising. The individual levels of values are an important factor that is considered in the fundraising activities. The cultural and religious background of an individual plays an important role in maintaining individual values. Maintaining honesty in fundraising activities can be a source of inspiration and encouragement for other people on the society to take active participation. The reputation of all non-profitable organisations also depends on the values of their honesty to the people of the society. According to Remy (2015), it is important to maintain honesty in all fundraising activities that ensures that the purpose of the collected funds is fulfilled successfully and they are able to contribute to the society.
The Hallmark of full disclosure in fundraising activity is the transparency of all the transaction. It is important to provide detailed information in the full disclosure agreement between the fundraisers and fund collector. Moreover it is also important to represent the information correctly to the public which will ensure that there is no misunderstanding and the purpose of fundraising activity is fulfilled. The information in the full disclosure agreement has helped the public understand the importance of fundraising activity and also provide their opinion in order to improve the purpose of fundraising campaigns. It is also possible for the public to raise their awareness about the activities that are related to fundraising. However, Sargeant and Jay (2014) argued that maintaining confidentiality cannot be done due to the fact that all the information is provided within the full disclosure agreements.
The leader’s role plays an important part in disclosure of the information by maintaining high level of honesty. Nevertheless, there is an ethical dilemma between maintaining confidentiality and publishing full disclosure about the activities that are involved in fundraising campaigns. It is a challenging work for all leaders of the non-profitable organisation to maintain a balance between confidentiality and disclosure. Moreover as honesty is a main part of the disclosure element, false or fake information can seriously home the reputation of the organisation. Effective leadership qualities needed in the process in order to maintain high level of clarity.
Reflection
In the context of the purpose and requirement of fundraising activities, I believe maintaining clarity and transparency is an important part of fundraising ethics. I also strongly recommend for the non-profitable organisation to provide full detailed information about the activities that are involved in the fundraising campaigns. I also feel that the people who are making significant contribution in fundraising activities also have the right to get proper information about the fate of their donations and also its purpose. Nevertheless I also believe that it is the duty of the leaders of non-profitable organisation to have a healthy relationship with all the fund donors, in order to ensure that there is no discrepancies and ethical dilemmas within the fundraising activities and it is also clear to the society about the importance of fundraising campaigns. I also think that it is important to prevent the funds that are collected from illegal sources and also for purpose of getting some unethical advantages. This will prevent the misuse of fundraising activities and also ensure that the collected funds are properly utilised for its purpose.
Reference:
Andersson, J., & Valentine, G. (2015). Picturing the poor: fundraising and the depoliticisation of homelessness. Social & Cultural Geography, 16(1), 58-74.
Bowman, W. (2016). Ethics and Nonprofits. In Practicing Professional Ethics in Economics and Public Policy (pp. 229-236). Springer Netherlands.
Heyman, D. R. (2016). Nonprofit Fundraising 101. John Wiley & Sons.
Kintzi, A., & Williams, C. (2013). Regulation, Ethics, and Philanthropy. Nonprofit Fundraising Strategy: A Guide to Ethical Decision Making and Regulation for Nonprofit Organizations, 281-304.
Landi, C. G. (2016). The Dark Side Of Ethics In Finance: The Value Relevance Of Esg Rating For Italian Listed Companies.
Macauley, R. (2014, December). The Ethics of Cultivated Gratitude. In HEC forum (Vol. 26, No. 4, pp. 343-348). Springer Netherlands.
Menzel, D. C. (2016). Ethics Management for Public and Nonprofit Managers: Leading and Building Organizations of Integrity. Routledge.
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Pitel, S. G., & Malecki, M. (2014). Judicial Fundraising in Canada.
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