Home | Culture & Society | Charity & Donations

Can Grant Writers and Fundraisers Work on Commission, Share, Or Contingency?

By: popoty fatlossfo


Read More About Charity & donations

This is often one in all the most common questions asked of grant writing and fundraising consultants when participating new ministries or organizations in development services. Of course, most organizations don't ask, they just assume that this should be how consultants are compensated for their efforts.
But, the answer is no. Grant writing and fundraising consultants that follow the ethics universally accepted by the profession do not and will not work on a commission, percentage, or bonus basis. Grant writing and fundraising consultants typically work on a flat fee for services provided.

There are a number of reasons for this decision. The primary and foremost reason is that the ethics of our profession state that it is not moral to simply accept percentage or commission primarily based compensation. Some like to mention this is often still a debated or contested issue but the talk ended a very long time ago. This standard is repeatedly stated by the key organizations that set the standards for our field. This includes the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA), the Christian Leadership Alliance (CLA), and the Christian Stewardship Association (CSA).

AFP's Standards of Skilled Observe embody the subsequent statements: "Members shall not accept compensation that's based mostly on a percentage of charitable contributions; nor shall they settle for finder's fees."
AFP holds that share based compensation will encourage abuses, imperils the integrity of the voluntary sector, and undermines the terribly philanthropic values on which the voluntary sector is based. AFP stands firm with its Standards of Skilled Observe that prohibits members from operating for share-primarily based compensation or accepting finder's fees.

ECFA's Seven Standards state that "Compensation of outdoor fund-raising consultants or a company's own workers based directly or indirectly on a proportion of charitable contributions raised is not allowed."

ECFA summarizes that "paying fund-raising consultants on a percentage of gift income will be tempting to a corporation with no funds to pay the fund-raiser. However, proportion-based mostly payments to fund- raisers don't seem to be in the most effective interest of donors, nor are they in keeping with the trust that donors place in an exceedingly charity. The payment of fastened amounts to catch up on fund- raising endeavors is an acceptable way to balance the charity's analysis of risk and affordability with the fund-raiser's skilled integrity and competence."

CSA's Code of Moral Pursuit states that every one members shall employ representatives on a predetermined standard fee or salary basis and can insist that the employee manage personal knowledge entrusted to him solely for the advantage of the employer. Commission or percentage reimbursement for services rendered are deemed unethical and unprofessional practices in fundraising.
Additionally to the moral issues, paying for services based mostly on a flat fee acknowledges the price and worth of the services provided. As Albert Anderson observes in his book Ethics for Fundraisers, "The set fee concept acknowledges the worth of professional counsel independently of the fund-raising outcome, that, in fact, can not be guaranteed."
The services of a grant writing or fundraising consultant not solely secure funds for a corporation, however they also help to develop the funding capability of the organization for many years to come. Commission based fees assume that if no money is secured then nothing happened. This is often way from reality. Organizations are forever higher positioned for securing funds after operating with a good grant writing or fundraising consultant. They are better organized, higher prepared to use for funding, and abundant a lot of engaging to the funding sources to which they are applying.

Article Source: http://depositarticles.com/

Popoty has been writing articles online for nearly 2 years now. Not only does this author specialize in Fundraising You can also check out his latest website about : Flag T ShirtsWhich reviews and lists the best make your own t shirt

Please Rate this Article

 

Not yet Rated

Click the XML Icon Above to Receive Charity & donations Articles Via RSS!

counter easy hit

Powered by Article Dashboard