Rachel Beer
11 Jul 2009

Mike ;D

Mike and Ian both make some very good points. I would also venture that, particularly during a recession, most charities paying for delegates to attend the IoF National Convention would be making that investment in the hope that it will result in more effective fundraising (increased net income, better response rates and higher ROIs).

Whilst I'm not suggesting charities and fundraisers would pay any *less* attention to ethics during these challenging economic times, I would expect them to put more emphasis on ensuring they are not missing any tricks with their fundraising strategies and tactics. If I were a director of fundraising, I would feel far happier knowing my fundraisers were investing time (and the cost of their delegate pass) in sessions that would improve financial returns, and sustain funding in the long-term, than exploring ethics. I wouldn't mind betting most donors would feel similarly.

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Mike Naidu
7 Jul 2009

The constant backslapping and praise gets very tiring after a while. I was told 4 times at the awards last night that I am amazing and do amazing things to help amazing people. No one added the caveat that I get paid a decent salary to be so amazing but there we go.

Ethics are important in fundraising. As in life, there is always the potential for breaking the rules and the boundaries for fundraising can vary greatly between different people or organisations.

But to say that a low turnout at a seminar called "Ethics, Tiresome Restriction or Project Multiplier?" is a reflection of the sector is just to easy a judgement to make. I read the blurb about the seminar, it made no sense to me. The last time I actually attended an IoF conference I was tasked with bringing back practical and tangible ideas that would improve our fundraising. Reading the blurb about the seminar, I am unable to see how this seminar would do that.

And remember, the large majority of fundraisers attending the conference are fairly junior in status. Practically they do the work and raise the money, but rarely set the "ethical tone" of the organisation. If you don't believe that there is a culture of ethics in the charity sector you need to start at the top - sector bodies, CEOs and directors of fundraising. From their leadership we will become more ethical. Whether we are insufficiently ethical at the moment is a point to debate after we (including the public) have actually defined where our ethical boundaries are.

Mike

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