The reason that ethics in fundraising can often feel overlooked is because we have a tendency to think that acting ethically means adhering to the code of practice; and when the code doesn’t tell you what you should do (or not do), then filling in those gaps with the fundraiser’s own moral intuition about what they feel to be right or ethical.  

But there is much, much more depth, nuance and complexity to the ethics of professional fundraising than this. Starting with a consideration of what we generally think of as unethical practice, these videos go on to look at the relationship between ethics and the code of practice, and how ethics fills in the gaps and grey areas in the code. It concludes by exploring some of the ‘lenses’ of fundraising ethics practitioners will need to employ to make the best decisions when they encounter ethical dilemmas in fundraising.