Standards of Professional Practice

(Adopted November 1992)

1. Members shall act according to the highest standards and visions of their institution, profession, and conscience.
2. Members shall avoid even the appearance of any criminal offense or professional misconduct.
3. Members shall be responsible for advocating, within their own organizations, adherence to all applicable laws and regulations.
4. Members shall work for a salary or fee, not a percentage based compensation or commission.
5. Members may accept performance-based compensation such as bonuses, provided that such bonuses are in accord with prevailing practices within the member's own organizations and are not based on the percentage of philanthropic funds raised.
6. Members shall not pay, seek, or accept finder's fees.
7. Members shall effectively disclose all conflicts of interest; such disclosure does not preclude or imply ethical impropriety.
8. Members shall accurately state their professional experience, qualifications, and expertise.
9. Members shall adhere to the principle that all donor and prospect information created by, or on behalf of, an institution is the property of that institution and shall not be transferred or utilized except on behalf of that institution.
10. Members shall, on a scheduled basis, give donors the opportunity to have their names removed from lists that are sold to, rented to, or exchanged with other organizations.
11. Members shall not disclose privileged information to unauthorized parties.
12. Members shall keep all constituent information confidential.
13. Members shall take care to ensure that all solicitation materials are accurate and correctly reflect the organization's mission and use of the funds.
14. Members shall, to the best of their abilities, ensure that contributions are used in accordance with donors' intentions.
15. Members shall, to the best of their abilities, ensure proper stewardship of charitable contributions, including timely reporting on the use and management of funds and explicit consent by the donor before altering the conditions of the gift.
16. Members shall ensure, to the best of their abilities, that donors receive informed and ethical advice about the value and tax implications of potential gifts.
17. Members' actions shall reflect concern for the interests and well being of individuals affected by those actions. Members shall not exploit any relationship with a donor, prospect, volunteer, or employee to the benefit of the member or the member's organization.
18. In stating fund-raising results, members shall 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 institution involved. (*In countries outside the United States, comparable authority should be utilized.)
19. All of the above notwithstanding, members shall comply with all applicable local, state, provincial, and federal civil and criminal laws.

(Amended March 1993, October 1994, November 1997)