Ethics Q & A
October 25, 2004
By Jane Garthson, Mills
Garthson & Associates
The dilemma:
Can I serve on the board of one charity while I work for another?
They are located in the same city, but have quite different missions.
Jane says...
You probably can, but you have to take some care. It is quite a common situation. If done carefully, both organizations will benefit.
Since you are currently an employee, start by checking your human resource policies for any restrictions or approval requirements. Consider whether you can handle the time requirements, and whether their meeting schedule conflicts with work commitments. Look at the positive side too. What kinds of experience at the other organization could you seek out to bring new or improved skills back to your work? You might be granted some flexibility in work schedule given the leadership skills you would learn.
Talk to your manager and learn about any concerns you need to address. These will vary quite a bit depending on the nature of your work. If you are a fundraiser or public spokesperson, be prepared for extra issues to address. Your employer will want to make sure that you are not seeking monies from the same potential donor pool, and that any public role you might play in the new charity does not detract from your work. Your employer may feel that the missions have some overlap or conflict after all. If your staff role is in direct service or internal administration, there will likely be fewer issues to consider.
Remember that EVERY board member has a responsibility to ensure sufficient resources for their charity, but there are many ways to carry out that responsibility. And EVERY board member should be an ambassador to the community for their organization. You will find it is easy to know which hat you are wearing when speaking to a service club but harder when meeting people in a social situation not specific to either charity.
Also, do your research with the new charity. Do they want you only because
they think you can share prospect research done in the course of your
work? That would be unethical and possibly a violation of privacy law.
The ethics code of the association of Fundraising Professionals can
help you enlighten people about some inappropriate requests. See Ethics
at www.afpnet.org.
Unless both organizations agree that the donor base is entirely different, a staff fundraiser should not do direct fundraising, such as asking for major gifts, for another charity. Your fundraising skills can still be very useful in strategic planning, developing a fundraising plan, creating hiring criteria or performance objectives for staff fundraisers, reviewing draft direct mail packages, and other such behind-the-scenes work. Go through the same thinking for grants and sponsorships. If being on the fundraising committee is problematic, remember that you may learn more serving in an area less familiar to you.
Another area to research is whether all or almost all of the board members are staff of related agencies. This situation usually reflects weak recruitment practices and tends to leave stakeholders feeling unrepresented. You want to learn leadership skills as part of a strong board, not one in great need of better governance. Pass on this one unless the Board member recruiting you can explain what steps they are taking to improve their governance, and how recruiting you would fit with that plan.
If none of the above considerations create a barrier, and you have a passion for the cause, go for it! But as an ethical person, make sure you know which role you are in at all times. Become thoroughly familiar with conflict of interest provisions at both organizations, and be prepared to disclose immediately if any potential conflict arises. Also, insist on a full orientation; what you know from one charity may not apply at another. Good luck.
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Because nonprofit organizations are formed to do good does not mean
they always are good in their own practices. Send us your ethical questions
dealing with volunteers, staff, clients, donors, funders, sponsors, and
more. Please identify yourself and your organization so we know the questions
come from within the sector. No identifying information will appear in
this column.
To submit a dilemma for a future column, or to comment on a previous one,
please contact help@charityvillage.com. For paid professional advice about an urgent or complex situation, contact Jane directly.
