Standards of
Professional Practice
Adopted and incorporated into
the AFP (NSFRE) Code of Ethical Principles November
1992 Furthermore, while striving to act according
to the above values, AFP members agree to abide
by the AFP Standards of Professional Practice, which
are adopted and incorporated into the AFP Code of
Ethical Principles. Violation of the Standards may
subject the member to disciplinary sanctions, including
expulsion, as provided in the AFP Ethics Enforcement
Procedures.
Professional
Obligations
1. Members shall not engage in activities that harm
the member's organization, clients, or profession.
2. Members shall not engage in activities that conflict
with their fiduciary, ethical, and legal obligations
to their organizations and their clients.
3. Members shall effectively disclose all potential
and actual conflicts of interest; such disclosure
does not preclude or imply ethical impropriety.
4. Members shall not exploit any relationship with
a donor, prospect, volunteer or employee to the
benefit of the member or the member's organization.
5. Members shall comply with all applicable local,
state, provincial, federal, civil and criminal laws.
6. Members recognize their individual boundaries
of competence and are forthcoming and truthful about
their professional experience and qualifications.
Solicitation and Use of Charitable Funds
7. Members shall take care to ensure that all solicitation
materials are accurate and correctly reflect the
organization's mission and use of solicited funds.
8. Members shall take care to ensure that donors
receive informed, accurate and ethical advice about
the value and tax implications of potential gifts.
9. Members shall take care to ensure that contributions
are used in accordance with donors' intentions.
10. Members shall take care to ensure proper stewardship
of charitable contributions, including timely reports
on the use and management of funds.
11. Members shall obtain explicit consent by the
donor before altering the conditions of a gift.
Presentation
of Information
12. Members shall not disclose privileged or confidential
information to unauthorized parties.
13. Members shall adhere to the principle that all
donor and prospect information created by, or on
behalf of, an organization is the property of that
organization and shall not be transferred or utilized
except on behalf of that organization.
14. Members shall give donors the opportunity to
have their names removed from lists that are sold
to, rented to, or exchanged with other organizations.
15. Members shall, when stating fund-raising results,
use accurate and consistent accounting methods that
conform to the appropriate guidelines adopted by
the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
(AICPA)* for the type of organization involved.
(* In countries outside of the United States, comparable
authority should be utilized.)
Compensation
16. Members shall not accept compensation that is
based on a percentage of charitable contributions;
nor shall they accept finder's fees.
17. Members may accept performance-based compensation,
such as bonuses, provided such bonuses are in accord
with prevailing practices within the members' own
organizations, and are not based on a percentage
of charitable contributions.
18. Members shall not pay finder's fees, commissions
or percentage compensation based on charitable contributions
and shall take care to discourage their organizations
from making such payments.
Back
to Fundraising Standards
|