ERNOP Online Series 2023-2024

Developing an ethical compass in fundraising

January 30, 2024, 10-11 AM (CET)

Speakers: Tine Faseur (Department of Marketing, KU Leuven) and Tine de Bock (Department of Marketing, KU Leuven)

Discussant: Charlotte Rydh (European Fundraising Association & Giva Sverige)

About this seminar:

What drives individual donors’ ethical beliefs of fundraising practices? To what extent do fundraising organisations and fundraisers take these beliefs into account when developing and executing fundraising strategies?  In this ERNOP Science and Society Seminar, Tine Faseur and Tine De Bock from KU Leuven enrich this area of fundraising ethics by presenting their recent work on ethical beliefs of donors and practices by fundraising organisations. 

Ethical concerns have always been part of the fundraising profession resulting in an ongoing debate about what ethical fundraising is or might be about. Although fundraising ethics touches upon the relationship between various stakeholders such as the charitable organization, fundraisers, individual donors, beneficiaries, and recruiters, too often this debate is mainly shaped and influenced by fundraisers and thus based on how these fundraisers perceive the other stakeholders’ opinions. For example, the ethical codes that guide organizations’ fundraising practices are mostly developed by and for fundraisers, who decide on how beneficiaries should (not) be portrayed, how donors should (not) be approached, how recruiters should (not) be paid, etc. Is there a need for more research investigating the ethical viewpoint of other relevant stakeholders involved in the ‘fundraising ecosystem’ and why should we care? What would be the implications for practice?

To watch the recordings, click here.

About Dr Tine Faseur and Dr Tine de Bock

Prof. Dr. Tine De Bock and Prof. Dr. Tine Faseur both have a PhD in Applied Economic Sciences (Ghent University, Belgium) and are currently working as Assistant Professor at the Department of Marketing (KU Leuven, Belgium). Their research interests involve nonprofit marketing and fundraising, with a current focus on (face-to-face) fundraising ethics and charity checkouts. 

About Charlotte Rydh

Charlotte Rydh is EFA’s president and the General Secretary of Give Sweden (formerly the Swedish Fundraising Council). Having started out in higher education, Charlotte first began fundraising professionally twenty years ago. While her focus has been primarily in major gifts, she has worked with a range of charitable causes, including healthcare, research, higher education, young people and the arts. She joined the Swedish Fundraising Council in September 2016, joined EFA’s Board in 2019 and became president of EFA at the end of 2022. Charlotte previously led EFA’s Certification Committee.