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Director’s Spotlight: “Do Good Well”: The Ethical Aspect of Nonprofit Organizations
By Anita Walker, Director
Greed,
sex, nepotism…these are the essential elements of a good juicy scandal.
And these are the elements that drove a non-profit known by its acronym
CIETC (as if this collection of letters can actually be pronounced) to the
front page of the newspaper day after day after day after day.
It remains to be seen if anything illegal actually happened here. But the public outrage over exorbitant salaries in an agency whose mission is to serve the unemployed signaled a community belief that something was very wrong.
Could this serve as a warning for all nonprofits? According to a recent Harris Poll, the majority of adults have positive feelings toward nonprofits (68%). But only one in 10 strongly agrees that charitable organizations are honest and ethical in their use of donated funds.
Whether we run a museum, a cultural center or local historical society our operating capital is more than just money in the bank. Our very existence depends on what we earn in public trust. And in an increasingly specialized and litigious world, we may be delegating the protection of that trust to a contractor. With all due respect to those professionals from whom we seek legal or financial advice, there are times when we would be wise to start with our own counsel.
Are we asking the right questions? Do we ask the lawyer "Is it legal?" when we should be asking ourselves "Is it right?" Do we ask the accountant "Can we do this?" when we should be asking ourselves "Should we do this?"
Public accountability was a hot topic at this year's American Association of Museums conference in Boston. Hodding Carter, President Jimmy Carter's press secretary during the Iran hostage crisis, gave straightforward, simple advice to nonprofits. Have a set of ethics and values for your organization and discuss them regularly: in staff meetings, in board meetings, in public. He recommends annual instruction for all staff and board members in the code of ethics.
These standards should be consistently applied. "Trust but verify," said Carter, borrowing a slogan from President Reagan.
In the worst case, if something bad does happen, come clean with all the information immediately. Don't let it be discovered and revealed in slow agony. And don't treat it as an aberration. Find out what is fundamentally wrong and move immediately to fix it.
The State Historical Society Board of Trustees will adopt a written code of ethics this spring. It will not only reinforce basic assumptions about the values of the organization, but it will also serve as a guide when tough questions arise. In preparing the ethical statement, the board heard from Dr. Willard "Sandy" Boyd, former President of the University of Iowa and currently running the Center for Nonprofits there. His advice was also straightforward and simple. He said, "Remember the Golden Rule: treat others as you would like to be treated."
But my favorite admonition from Dr. Boyd is something that is easy to remember:
"Do good well."
