Core Organizational Values and Fundraising

“I refunded their donations and focused on our mission.” 

When do you turn down financial donations to your organization? With all the pressure to secure the financial resources needed to make budgets and achieve organizational goals, is it ever appropriate to say ‘thanks but no thanks’ to somebody who is willing to provide financial support? 

An Executive Director we know well recently did just that. The organization she leads had a booth at this year’s Denver Pride Fest event, after which she received complaints from donors about the organization’s support of this event, and its purpose to bring the community “together with Pride.” After a meeting with those donors to address their concerns, the Executive Director refunded their donations. In our book, this was an example of outstanding leadership on the part of the Executive Director. As a nonprofit leader, what would you have done in this situation? 

The choices seem quite clear. Change your organization’s Core Values, withdraw your organization’s support of a key partnership, or refuse the financial support. The scenario brings up so many questions about fundraising. We want to focus on just three of those questions:

Does your organization have:

• Clearly defined Core Values which guide its approach to day-to-day business and are adhered to by the board, staff, and volunteers?

• A Gift Acceptance Policy?

• Strong partnerships with other community organizations to strengthen efforts through collective impact?

The ethical questions we face as nonprofit leaders are not always easy to find answers to - but some are. We are inspired by the approach taken by the Executive Director in the scenario described above. Prioritizing core beliefs and partnerships in the pursuit of shared goals should take precedence over efforts to placate funders. And by doing so, we can always celebrate the contributions of our donors because we know that they too share the Core Values of our organizations.