You’ve just started as a major gift officer at a nonprofit, and your first task involves beefing up your new employer’s donor list. Thinking of calling on those donors you had spent years cultivating at your previous nonprofit? Think again.
Bringing donor information from a previous employer to your next job is unethical, says Jason Lee, interim head of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.
Following Ethical Standards
The association addresses the issue in its Code of Ethical Standards. Standard 18 makes it clear that an organization’s donor information is the property of that nonprofit and should not be taken from one organization to the next.
Although such a move goes against professional fundraising principles, some nonprofits either tacitly or openly expect a fundraiser new to the organization to bring along donor information from a previous employer.
“When a nonprofit hires a major gift officer with the sole purpose of getting that gift officer’s donors, that’s completely unethical for a fundraiser,” says Jeff Schreifels, a fundraising consultant.
Mr. Lee says his association has heard from gift officers who, several weeks into a new job, have been fired for refusing to provide a donor list from a previous employer, even though no such expectation was expressed during job interviews.
“That’s something fundraisers should find out before they take a new job and make sure they’re not expected to bring a donor list,” says Mr. Lee.
He suggests asking in an interview what the organization expects regarding attracting new donors. Ask the question diplomatically, says Mr. Lee, and you can find out if the organization operates ethically.
If a nonprofit expects you to bring donor information with you, fundraising experts warn, you should think carefully about pursuing the position. It is bad practice and could signal other dishonorable behavior.
“It’s blatantly unethical, and any organization that would do that has no clue what fundraising is all about,” says Mr. Schreifels. “It’s not about money. It’s about developing relationships in the context of the donor wanting to change the world and the organization’s projects and programs that can help them do that.”
Nonprofits should know better, Mr. Lee says, but some charity leaders who have come to an organization from the corporate world may not understand why it’s problematic to share donor lists. Establishing clear internal policies that forbid such tactics will safeguard nonprofit leaders and gift officers. It also can’t hurt, he points out, to explain to a CEO that fundraisers who pilfer donors from a previous job are likely to do the same when they move on.
When a Donor Wants to Give to Your New Charity
Bringing donor information to a new job is clearly wrong, but the rules governing contact with donors who gave to your old employer are less clear-cut. In fact, there are no rules, just a lot of blurred lines, say fundraising experts.
When you leave one nonprofit to join the staff of another, it is right to let donors know, says Lynne Wester, a donor relations consultant, but make sure the donors understand you are keeping them informed about developments at the charity, not talking to them as a fundraiser from your next post.
“The donor doesn’t know it’s a gray area, so you need to talk to them openly and make sure they understand,” she says.
And under no circumstances, Ms. Wester says, should a gift officer attempt to cultivate a donation from those donors for their new employer. If the donors are passionate about your new employer’s cause, it is best to let them approach you, says Ms. Wester.
If a donor you know well from your previous job is showing an interest in supporting your new organization, disclose the relationship to your new employer’s CEO and a board member, and then hand that donor over to another gifts officer there, says Mr. Lee. And if the charity is a small shop and you’re the only fundraiser, ask the CEO to become that donor’s handler.
All three experts say that, above all, the job of a fundraiser is centered around understanding that major gift officers “are ambassadors of the organization they’re working with,” says Mr. Schreifels. “They hold the trust of the organization and of the donor.” That means bringing a donor from one organization to another should not be a part of regular practice, but a rare occurrence and one initiated by the donor.
“You don’t have to be a fundraiser who relies on bringing donors with you,” says Ms. Wester. “You just have to be a good new relationship builder who can bring every donor relationship from zero to 60.”
