Ethical Fundraising Policy

Introduction

The Board of ASHM is committed to ensuring that fundraising activities are carried out in an ethical manner.

This policy applies to the Board, casual, permanent and contract staff and volunteers.

Purpose

The purpose of this document is to identify ASHM’s position on fundraising practice and to document the standards expected in raising funds from the community.

Definitions

None

Policy

ASHM’s guiding fundraising principle is that we will only use techniques that we would be happy to be used on ourselves.

In doing so, the organisation will adhere to the following standards:

Fundraising activities carried out by ASHM will comply with all relevant laws.
Any communications to the public made in the course of carrying out a fundraising activity shall be truthful and non-deceptive.
All monies raised via fundraising activities will be for the stated purpose of the appeal and will comply with the organisation’s stated mission and purpose.
All personal information collected by ASHM is confidential and is not for sale or to be given away or disclosed to any third party without consent.

Nobody directly or indirectly employed by or volunteering for ASHM shall accept commissions, bonuses or payments for fundraising activities on behalf of the organisation.
No general solicitations shall be undertaken by telephone or door-to-door.
Fundraising activities should not be undertaken if they may be detrimental to the good name or community standing of ASHM.
Financial contributions will only be accepted from companies, organisations and individuals the Board considers ethical.
Free, prior and informed consent will be obtained for use of all images and stories in fundraising activities.

Acceptance or Rejection of Donations

Any decision to accept or reject funds must be based on:

the relevance of the donation to ASHM’s objectives and
supporting our charitable purposes, where the donation is made as a tax deductible donation.

To the extent to which it is possible to determine, ASHM will not accept funds which have been derived from:

illegal purposes,
conduct which is not condoned by the organisation, including through the sale of tobacco, and
other activities which the Board would deem to be out of step with ASHM philosophy, code of conduct or which might realistically be seen to be disreputable.

Fundraising Materials

All fundraising materials will be truthful and:

Include the organisations identity, including name, address, ABN and purpose;
Accurately represent the context, situation, proposed solutions and intended meaning of information provided by affected people;
Clearly state if there is a specific purpose of each donation;
Avoid material omissions, exaggerations, misleading visual portrayals and overstating the need or what the donor’s response may achieve.

If outsourcing fundraising activities, ASHM will ensure that:

Contracts are in place which meet all relevant legislative and regulatory requirements;
Specific expectations, responsibilities and obligations of each party are clear and in writing;
ASHM is identified as the beneficiaries of the funds; and
Contractors are clearly identified.

Images and messages used for fundraising will not:

Be untruthful, exaggerated or misleading;
Be used if they may endanger the people they are portraying;
Be used without the free, prior and informed consent of the person/s portrayed, including children, their parents or guardians;
Present people in a dehumanised manner;