Dear Subscribers,

We have a jam-packed e-newsletter for you this month! To start, Cynthia Woolbright discusses the thorny issue of ethics for advancement professionals in an article derived from her popular ethics workshops. Ethics are also on the mind of Victoria Dowling, Vice President for Development, Alumni and Parent Relations at Gettysburg College, whose innovative staff-training program includes sessions on ethical decision making and conduct that is helping to set new standards and create a sense of shared purpose for her staff.

We've also added a fun new feature to our newsletter: reading recommendations from our subscribers and contributors! We invite you to share the title of any book, article, blog, etc. —it doesn't have to be strictly work-related—that you have recently enjoyed. If time allows, please feel free to submit a brief review (a couple of sentences—just enough to give us the jist). As you can see from this issue, our colleagues are busy reading and happy to share their impressions.   Enjoy!

Finally, to keep this newsletter fresh and relevant and to create an open dialogue with our readers, we invite you to submit ideas for future articles. We want to know: what's on your mind? What topics would you like to see covered or expanded in upcoming issues of Bright Ideas? Please send your article ideas to: info@woolbrightgroup.com  

Your interest and contributions are greatly appreciated!  You are what keeps Bright Ideas relevant and dynamic. Thank you!

Best regards,

The Woolbright Group

Ethics: A Perspective
By Cynthia Woolbright

“My family was given tickets to a professional basketball game by a donor for our personal use.”

“The donor invited me and my family to spend the weekend at their summer home.”

“We did not follow the wishes of the donor on her endowed gift – we fudged on the report we sent to her.”

Chances are you or a member of your staff has been faced with a situation similar to one of the above examples. As advancement professionals, we are frequently faced with ethical dilemmas like these, but we can no longer afford to rely on “gut feeling” to know how to manage such a situation. We must be proactive and prepared. From matters of transparency to donor relations, an on-going focus on ethics is critical for our professional development and our advancement profession.

The Woolbright Group addresses matters of ethics in our on-going work with clients. Whether it be sessions on board development, major gifts or stewardship, this topic is incredibly important.

From the AFP Think Tank on Ethics, October 3, 2005, ethics are defined as:

The discipline dealing what is good and bad or right and wrong or with moral duty and obligation, a group of moral principles or set of values and the principles of conduct governing an individual or a profession.

In a recent survey of Chief Advancement Officers (CAO), over 70% indicated that they “sometimes or frequently” face ethical matters with their boards. Here, CAOs pointed to conflicts of interest as primary areas of concern, while 43% of these respondents advised that they face ethical matters in relation to gift policies/protocol.

Clearly, this is a prevalent problem. So, how do we address this issue of ethics? To start, the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) and the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) has established the donor “bill of rights,” along with codes of ethical principals and standards of professional practice. Within each of these disciplines there are recommended principals of practice. Thus, beginning with donors and our constituents, we can start to build a broader awareness, gain an understanding and develop an appreciation for ethical issues. It is important for all of us to be familiar with the donor bill of rights and other codes of ethical principals.

Next, consider ethics in the context of your organization. How do you view your president or head of school in their handling of ethical matters? Do they set a high professional standard? Does he or she discuss such matters with the board, the senior cabinet and the advancement team? How are their standards and practices communicated to the CAO or other staff members within the organization? Considering the codes of ethical practices from CASE and AFP, the staff should debate, discuss and develop such protocol. Additionally, this should be considered as an on-going discussion and be central to your staff development program. It is also recommended that such discussion be shared in your board of trustees and alumni board meetings. Consider posting it on your website. Articles, from time to time, about ethics should appear in your alumni magazine. Consider this topic at your educational sessions during homecoming or reunion weekends or part of an overall alumni college program. Invite a panel of alumni to consider ethics and invite discussion and debate.

Next, what is your training and background? What personal standards have you set for yourself and for others on your staff? It is important to keep in mind that what may be “ethical” to one person may not be to another. How will you know when a situation may have crossed an ethical boundary? Discussing personal experiences and approaches to ethical decision making is important and can play a role in workshops and at staff meetings where ethics are the focus. The use of case studies is also a very good approach to the topic and one that can be used with the divisional staff, including support staff. Through case studies and discussions, staff will become more alert to such matters and learn how to address these issues before they arise.  

In our profession, we face ethical matters daily. How we approach or address these issues is something that is best considered in advance; hence the critical importance of addressing ethics as an integral part of our staff development programs. From donors to organizations to individuals, there is ample opportunity for discussion, debate and clarity on ethical issues.  

Given that our business is one of building relationships based on the highest professional standards, we cannot allow the line between professional and personal thinking and behaviors to become blurred. We must conduct ourselves according to the highest principles of ethical behavior and design our advancement programs based on these standards and principals.

Keeping it Professional: Workplace Ethics for Development Professionals
An Interview with Victoria Dowling, Vice President for Development, Alumni and Parent Relations, Gettysburg College

•  You have embarked on a staff-training program that included a focus on ethics. Please briefly describe the overall program and why you think a topic on ethics is important. At a recent CASE Conference I was struck by a presentation I heard about the responsibility that a Vice President has to continuing to educate the members of the staff. In the presentation, one of the subject areas that was strongly emphasized was the subject of ethics. As I reflected on the presentation I could think of dozens of examples of issues that had come up in the past year that had at their core ethical issues and decision-making. I felt that to neglect this area of continuing education would be to do a disservice to the individuals on my staff.

•  Who participates in your program? We have asked everyone in the division to participate so that everyone has common expectations about our work together.

•  Is the program geared primarily toward guiding younger, less experienced staff? Or does the program accommodate a wide spectrum of staff from the standpoint of age and experience? We actually have a staff that resides on two ends of the spectrum in terms of experience. Some with 20+ years and others with two. What we have tried to do is design a program that is useful to everyone. It is interactive so that individuals with more experience can help train less experienced staff and those with less experience can explore the subject with both the expertise of a facilitator and other staff colleagues.  

•  Give us one or two examples of scenarios that might require an ethical judgment call on the part of a staff person. Many development officers have been in situations where they have established strong personal relationships with donors, a key part of our work. One of the things that I have actually seen happen in these relationships is when the line between personal and professional becomes blurred, sometimes for the donor or the development officer, or both. In this case the donor likes the development officer so well that a gift of diamond earrings is offered. What do you do?

A more common issue that I don't always thing we view as an ethical issue but it really is, is around the use of gifts. I think most development officers can point to an instance where an endowment agreement is not being lived up to fully or where the intent of a donor is not being fulfilled as fully as the donor had hoped. These are often difficult issues, in part because even though we raise the money we don't spend it, and we often have to help colleagues around the campus to understand the purpose for which a gift was provided and how it can and can not be used.

•  How has the field of Development and Alumni Relations changed over the past 10 or 20 years that makes this a relevant issue today? I think the two biggest changes are that donors have become far more involved in their gifts and how they are used, and the expectations and pressure on development officers have become far more intense. This is a combination that can compromise our best judgment and place us in virtually impossible conflicts between pleasing donors and securing the results that our institutions want and need to thrive.  

•  Do you find that most people are receptive to discussing these issues? Is it difficult to get people to open up and interact about potentially sensitive topics? We have found that our staff has been receptive to this training. I also think it is important to note that we do a great deal of staff training so this is not a topic in isolation. Because we meet on an ongoing basis and do training around all sorts of topics we have seen good participation in this program. I also think we have a pretty gregarious group who work well as a team and feel comfortable with one another. This builds an environment where everyone feels like a valued member of the organization and that his or her voice is as important as any other voice.

•  Have staff dynamics changed in any tangible way since beginning this training?

I think these types of opportunities build trust and help members of an organization to know each other better. This in turns builds a strong sense of shared vision and values that I think has served our staff well.

•  What other mechanisms are in place at the College to help guide Development staff on matters of ethical decision-making and judgment calls? The College has a very strong Human Resources department that provides all employees at the College the opportunity to voice concerns, get counseling, and participate in leadership and job training around any number of issues, ethical and otherwise. I think this strong sense of nurturing employees and providing resources to them really creates a health environment.

•  When the workshops are completed, will this kind of training remain integral to your program? What do you envision going forward? Training and professional development generally will continue to be a part of our program well into the future. Similarly, opportunities to have continuing conversations around ethics will also be a part of that training. Since we are not finished yet with this program it is a bit hard to say exactly how we will go forward, but I do believe that at a minimum we will add training around ethics to our new employee orientation in the division and will likely provide ongoing opportunities for all staff twice a year.

*  *  *

The Woolbright Group provides comprehensive consulting services in the areas of Board and staff development, which includes ethics training workshops. For more information, please call Cynthia Woolbright at 585.787.0325, or e-mail us at info@woolbrightgroup.com

The Reading File: Reader’s Recommendations and Reviews

Welcome to The Reading File, a new feature of Bright Ideas where our readers share their reading recommendations. We invite you to share the title of something you found worthwhile. It doesn't have to be a book and it doesn't have to be strictly work related! Feel free to submit just the basics (title, author), or include a brief review. We'd love to hear from you–thank you in advance for your participation!

Richistan
By Robert Frank

While Robert Frank's Richistan doesn't necessarily provide earth-shattering new insights about emerging wealth in the US to advancement professionals, it is an enjoyable quick read that brings together much of Frank's perceptive commentary on wealth. I am recommending it to many of my advancement colleagues in the belief it will begin terrific conversations about the changing demographics of wealth in this country and beyond.

Patricia (Trish) P. Jackson
Vice President for Advancement
Smith College

Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation
By Parker Palmer

I am currently reading Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation by Parker Palmer. Although this book is part of a course I am doing at BC on deepening our understanding and role as relates to the University's Jesuit Catholic mission, I am finding it a wonderful guide for reassessing my own values and how they intertwine with my professional choices at this time in my life. Palmer spent many years in higher ed and then left to join the Quakers and focus on a career as a writer and educator. His journey shows that a vocation is “not a goal to be achieved, but a gift to be received.” I recommend this book if you would like to take a deeper look at how your professional role brings personal fulfillment and also serves the world's needs – or if it is not, how you might recognize this and work to change it. 

Amy Bronson
Director of Recruitment and Training, University Advancement
Boston College

The Next Level: What Insiders Know About Executive Success
By Scott Eblin

It's a great read for people who have just taken a big step up in their careers – first time presidents, vice presidents, deans, or other lead managers. Newly promoted leaders face a challenge: they have great skills that made them fantastic at their old jobs, and that got them noticed for their new jobs. But now they need to leave those responsibilities behind (and let their successor take them on) and take on new habits for succss in the new job. It can be easy to fall back into doing what you used to do, since that's what you're good at and familiar with. This leaves you with two problems – you're not doing what your new job requires you to do, and the person trying to do your old job (or the equivalent of your old job if you're in a new organization) feels like you're micromanaging or taking over their job. Eblin's book addresses all of this in a very practical, hands-on way. It helps you identify what was great about your performance in your old job and transform that into the skills you need for the new one. It's geared toward senior executives, and I highly encourage new senior folks to take a look at it.

Penny Hunt
Vice Chancellor for Development for the University of Illinois at Chicago
Woolbright Group Principal

Command of Office
By Stephen Graubard

I am in the middle of Command of Office by Stephen Graubard. It is a reasonably good study of the American Presidency since TR. Graubard is emeritus at Brown and a very respected historian. He was for a time the editor of Daedalus.

Jim Mullen
President
The College of Our Lady of the Elms

New Client Announcements

New client: Lee Kennedy Co., Inc., Boston, MA

We welcome to Lee Kennedy Co., Inc., a full-service general contractor, in Boston! The Woolbright Group is providing services to the senior leadership team that includes an annual and mid-year retreat. Working with the senior team, The Woolbright Group will develop and conduct these retreats that allow the team to set their goals and address strategic issues related to leadership and management of the company.

New client : ViaHealth Wayne Foundation, Sodus, NY

Assessing and conducting a retreat on board development, The Woolbright Group is working with the executive director and board members to enhance engagement, participation and effectiveness of the board, specifically around increasing philanthropy for the foundation.

Returning client : Mary Baldwin College, Staunton, VA

The Woolbright Group returns to assist the president, board and senior advancement team in preparation for a comprehensive campaign.