Interactions & Exchanges

Twenty-five years ago (1993) several organizations in the philanthropy business, including the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Association of Healthcare Philanthropy, Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, and the Giving Institute, banded together to create what they called a donor bill of rights. Basically, this document was designed to identify a clear set of guidelines to help ensure that those in the business of fundraising operated in an open manner and that those folks wishing to make donations were doing so in an environment in which their best interests were protected. 

The donor bill of rights consists of ten key points. Among them are: all gifts will be used for what they were intended; donors will receive the proper amount of recognition and acknowledgement; all donors will be treated in a professional manner; and that all donations will be received and handled legally. This document is worthy because it addresses a sensitive subject - money - and attempts to ensure that the passing of it from one party to another is done so in a proper, transparent, and respectful manner. As the donation of money represents an interaction, it is important that it be given as much protection as possible.

This particular "bill" is not all that different than the code of ethics that was devised and is updated periodically by the Public Relations Society of America. Obviously, what the PRSA devised pertains to the act of communication. The interaction of two individuals or two parties can often be as sensitive as is the giving of money by an individual to another or by an individual to an organization of some sort. One parallel here is that interactions or exchanges are not taken lightly by key elements of society. Not only do we value money but many of us also place an equal premium on communicating. This is how it should be.