AFP’s New Code of Ethics: ‘Written for today and for the future’

FRANÇAIS

After two years of work, and input from hundreds of AFP members, AFP’s new Code of Ethics was launched on October 1—the start of Ethics Awareness Month— and will come into effect on January 1, 2025. “It’s a code that has been written for today and for the future,” says Canadian Andrea McManus, FAFP, co-chair of the AFP Code of Ethics Review Task Force, and past chair of AFP Global.

“The code has always been central to AFP and the fundraising profession,” says McManus. “Parts of it have been updated since 1964, the most recent revisions being made in 2014, but it’s never been looked at in its entirety and in the context of who is a fundraising professional and what fundraising looks like today.”

The project of revamping the Code of Ethics started in 2021 when the AFP Global board asked its ethics committee to form a task force specifically to review, refresh and revise the current code. The process of revising the code has been robust and far reaching.

“We started by having a broader philosophical discussion about the meaning of a code of ethics, what it needs to be, and clarifying the purpose,” says McManus. “We wanted to address the why of these ethical standards and considered how we packaged the code so the why could be included. We left no stone unturned, and our goal was to make it more accessible and understandable.”

As it reviewed AFP’s ethics-related documents, training materials, white papers, cases and the existing code itself, the task force expanded to broaden the perspectives it was considering. Demographics such as age, gender, ethnic background and geographic location were factored into the makeup of the larger group. 

“We did a lot of research on the research we needed to do—the point of the code, the use of the code,” says McManus. “We talked about values, diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, respect, lived experience, implicit and explicit biases—many deep and philosophical conversations that are so significant to ethics. And we were very lucky to have two ethicists on our committee—Dr. Paul Pribbenow, president of Augsburg College in Minneapolis, Minnesota and Dr. Kathi Badertscher, who is on the faculty of the Lilly School of Philanthropy.”

By September 2022, the task force had a draft version of a code of ethics that it felt was ready to “take out on the road” for testing. Dr. Amir Pasic, also a member of the ethics committee and professor of philanthropic studies at Lilly School of Philanthropy, assisted with the structure of the testing.

In January 2023, the process of generating feedback on the document began through focus groups and consultations. Listening sessions were held, including one of all chapter presidents at ICON 2023, and an ‘every member’ survey was undertaken in May that year. Based on that the task force worked on revisions and in December 2023, the AFP Global board approved the revised Code of Ethics. In April 2024, it was rolled out at ICON in advance of January 2025 implementation. In the interim, work on the interpretive guidelines, the cases and chapter support materials has been underway so that everyone is ready for a January 1, 2025, implementation.

The most notable comparison in looking at the revised Code of Ethics is its length. What was once a one-pager expanded into four pages.  In the previous versions of the code, AFP it was presented as one-page document and the interpretive guidelines as a separate document. The task force felt it was imperative that the Code and its interpretive guidelines always be presented together so that we never lost sight of the ‘why’.

“When the Global board approved the Code, they did so with the requirement that both the Code and its guidelines always go hand in hand, so that we never lose sight of the why.  Both elements were embedded in the AFP enforcement policy, and the task force feels this will significantly enhance the understanding of, and adherence to, the code. Increasing the length of the code allowed for an introduction to the statement of ethical practices, and to each category, to keep sight of the why of those principles” says McManus. “Interestingly enough, the principles remained unchanged from the 2014 version.”

The new Code of Ethics has five categories instead of the previous four including:

1.    Public Trust and Transparency;
2.    Conflicts of Interest;
3.    Solicitation & the Stewardship of Philanthropic Funds;
4.    Donor Privacy; and
5.    Fair, Equitable, and Transparent Compensation Practices.

The task force felt public trust and transparency, and conflicts of interest are very much related to, but are also different from solicitation and stewardship of philanthropic funds, donor privacy, treatment of confidential and proprietary information, and fair, equitable and transparent compensation practices. There were granular discussions about the meaning of words from “donor” to “stewardship” to understand how they resonated in a contemporary context.

“A great deal of time was spent on the discussion of solicitation and stewardship of philanthropic funds because a lot of this depends upon what role you have,” McManus adds. “The solicitation, receipt and stewardship of donations must fulfill the organization’s promise to the donors and should be handled with the utmost care, concern and consideration. Honouring a donor’s wishes is core to the work fundraisers do on behalf of their organizations. We had a lot of conversations about when donors want to fund something that isn’t aligned with your priorities. That’s a pretty hard no. It’s not a fundraiser’s job to figure out a way to say yes to every donor. It is a fundraiser’s job to make sure the gifts your donors are giving support the work of your organization.”

The AFP Code of Ethics is an active part of a fundraiser’s toolkit. Fundraisers in Canada turn to the code for guidance when dealing with issues with donors, board members and questions around compensation for fundraisers.

Chelsey Lemke, CFRE, had already established a career in marketing when she first joined a nonprofit organization as a paid employee, and joined AFP’s South Saskatchewan chapter. “I wanted to be part of a professional association to build a network of colleagues but also an association that had a code of ethics that I could point to with my employer and prospective donors that would bring a sense of professionalism to the table. The Code of Ethics helps me with my work.”

The Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) was initially founded as the National Society of Fundraising Executives (NSFRE) in New York in 1960 for the express purpose of having a code of ethics. The Code of Ethics governs the behaviour of AFP members. All members are required to sign the code upon joining AFP.

“I feel a great sense of relief that we’ve managed to refresh the entire code for today,” says McManus. “A few times in my career, I’ve had to rely on the code. Being part of the update was a fascinating experience and, of all the things I’ve done with AFP, probably the most complex. But it’s so valuable.”