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Home > Ethics

Introduction to Ethics

Ethical standards and principles are the foundation for maintaining public trust, for every AFP member. AFP provides a self-governed process for addressing ethical concerns.

*new* AFP Launches Tool to Help Fundraisers Assess, Strengthen Ethical Performance
AFP is proud to launch an online survey tool that allows fundraisers to assess their individual ethical performance and strengthen ethical practice. The AFP Ethics Assessment Inventory™ (EAI) allows association members to examine the alignment between their personal ethical performance, that of the organizations in which they work and their peers within AFP.  

Emerging Issues

Ethical standards and principles are the foundation for maintaining public trust, and it is the goal of AFP to stay current and focused on emerging ethical issues. The follow are just some of the emerging issues articles and stories available for review.

New Accounting Standards on Reporting Fundraising Expenses
(July 30, 2007) The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) released new guidelines for the reporting of fundraising expenses by charitable organizations.

Behavior of Management, Supervisors Critical in Reinforcing Ethics
(July 9, 2007)  Employed adults ranked the behavior of management and direct supervisors as the top two factors contributing to the promotion of an ethical workplace, according to a new survey by audit, tax, consulting and financial advisory firm Deloitte & Touche USA.

AOL and Yahoo to Begin Charging to Send Emails
(Feb. 13, 2006) Both America Online (AOL) and Yahoo have announced they will begin charging commercial emailers a fraction of a cent for every message sent to one of their users.

Featured Articles and Papers

AFP provides a number of position papers and articles to help guide members through ethical concerns and issues. The follow are just some of the available articles and papers available for review.

Process for Development of AFP Position Papers
So how does AFP write and develop position papers?

Position Paper: Face-to-Face Fundraising Guidelines (Canada)
These guidelines represent voluntary principles that apply to charitable organizations, non-governmental organizations, paid fundraisers and relevant third parties who utilize face-to-face fundraising as part of their fundraising activities.

Position Paper: Payments in Lieu of Taxes
AFP's 1997 position paper on the issue of Payments In Lieu of Taxes (PILOTS).

Donor Bill of Rights

To ensure that philanthropy merits the respect and trust of the general public, AFP and other fundraising organizations declare that all donors have the following rights.

International Ethics

"The ideas of philanthropy, trust and ethics are shared by people around the world, and everyone involved in the philanthropic process—no matter where they are—should know that that fundraisers are bound by a common set of standards and best practices."

Paulette V. Maehara, CFRE, CAE
President and CEO of AFP