The Association of Fundraising Professionals mandates that its members abide by an extensive code of ethical principles and standards http://www.afpnet.org/Ethics/EnforcementDetail.cfm?ItemNumber=3261.
These guidelines were adopted in 1964 and have been updated many times since then. AFP is a good organization that protects nonprofits and their donors from unethical fundraising practices.
Recently (2007) AFP expanded their guidelines to apply to business in the fundraising industry. http://www.afpnet.org/Audiences/NewsReleaseDetail.cfm?ItemNumber=3799
Kudos to AFP. I've always believed that AFP's ethical guidelines should apply to fundraising software businesses (my industry) as well. Now that AFP has expanded its guidelines, the next challenge is to get the leadership at these fundraising companies to actually give a crap.
There are two clauses in particular, that fundraising software vendors absolutely need to adhere to.
The first,
"Members shall not engage in activities that conflict with their fiduciary, ethical and legal obligations to their organizations, clients or profession."
Replace "Members" with "Vendors" and we would be all set. Software vendors that are publicly traded companies would inherently violate this clause. Their fiduciary obligation is to their shareholders. That's the law. Period.
The second,
"Members shall not accept compensation or enter into a contract that is based on a percentage of contributions; nor shall members accept finder’s fees or contingent fees."
All vendors that charge based on a percentage of contributions would fail to meet this standard. And there are a lot of them. Some good, well-intentioned companies fall in this category of offenders and they need to change their practices.
For decades, AFP's code of ethics has protected nonprofits and donors from unfair fundraising practices. Now that these guidelines to the technology companies that are in the fundraising industry, its time to get the vendors and customers to care.
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