Social Entrepreneurship Fund Raising -- Ethics or Results

Recently, a colleague in the nonprofit sector asked me "In these tough financial times, what should be the major criteria in selecting an individual to head up our agency's fund raising efforts: a record of successful selling; or strong personal ethics?"

I told him, "Ethics, of course." He asked, "Why?

The difference, as I see it, is that when soliciting funding for a non-profit, it is the mission of the organization that is the product. If the mission and message are in conflict then forget any expectation of ethical performance on the part of the fundraiser or the organization.

I said, "Non-profits have a mission, a purpose which is something other than to make a profit for the investors. The mission is an intangible product. And the donors are the investors in that product. The organization, as perceived by the donor or potential donor who is being asked to support it, will be judge by how committed the fundraiser is to the mission."

"But does it hurt to be a good sales person?" he asked.

"Of course not. In fact a good sales person is one who real believes in the product and who can transfer that passion for the product to the potential customer."

"What does it mean then to be ethical?" he asked.

"That is very simple," I said. "When soliciting support for a cause, be honest. Make no promises that you personally can't keep. And 'Say what you mean and mean what you say'."

In my opinion, there are three main reasons for placing ethics over salesmanship in a nonprofit organization first.

1. Personal ethics are critically important for establishing and maintaining trust between the non-profit organization and its donors.

2. Selling an intangible is really selling trust. Trust is the most valuable and powerful product in the world and, yet it is also the most fragile product. Once broken, it may never be recovered. If the fundraiser does not care about the mission they represent, how can the organization expect that the fundraiser will care about the impression they leave with donors?

3. The fundraiser is often the only organizational face the public and donors sees. She will be the one they hold immediately accountable for how the organization uses the funds solicited.

So long story short, the idal ethical fundraiser can be summed up as someone who is:

1. Personally commitment to the message and honestly presented to donors
2. Insists on organizational transparency about the purpose and use of the funds.
3. Holds herself personally accountable to the donor for reporting on Mission integrity and reporting honestly what the organization has done and achieved with the funds.