Donor's Rights

Wise Charity Giving Tips

There are some steps that donors should take to ensure their dollars will be used for good and appropriate purposes.

• Take your time. Don't be pressured into contributing immediately. Take a day or two to consider the offer. Donors can always send in their contributions later. The faster the sales pitch, the more donors should resist.
• Get information. Ask to see a brochure or other document, while understanding that smaller charities may not have the resources to print glossy material or give out brochures to everyone. A Web site may also be helpful. If in doubt, check the Canada Revenue Agency's website. If you know the name of the charity, click the underlined "Search" and type in the name. Once located, the charity's mandatory returns to the CRA are available to view. At the same site, you can also search on the over 80,000 charities in Canada.
• Be careful of similar sounding names of charities. Some charities adopt names similar to major charities but often their purposes are quite different than the charity they are imitating.
• Ask how the fund-raiser is being paid. Percentage-based compensation (taking a percentage of each contribution received) often leads to very high fund-raising costs and little of the gin win be used for charitable purposes. Professional fund-raisers are ethically bound not to be paid on a percentage basis.

The Donor Bill of Rights was created by the American Association of Fund Raising Counsel (AAFRC), Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP), the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). It has been endorsed by numerous organizations.

The Donor Bill of Rights

The Philanthropy is based on voluntary action for the common good. It is a tradition of giving and sharing that is primary to the quality of life. To ensure that philanthropy merits the respect and trust of the general public, and that donors and prospective donors can have full confidence in the nonprofit organizations and causes they are asked to support, we declare that all donors have these rights:

1. To be informed of the organization's mission, of the way the organization intends to use donated resources, and of its capacity to use donations effectively for their intended purposes.
2. To be informed of the identity of those serving on the organization's governing board, and to expect the board to exercise prudent judgment in its stewardship responsibilities.
3. To have access to the organization's most recent financial statements.
4. To be assured their gifts will be used for the purposes for which they were given.
5. To receive appropriate acknowledgment and recognition.
6. To be assured that information about their donations is handled with respect and confidentiality to the extent provided by law.
7. To expect that all relationships with individuals representing organizations of interest to the donor will be professional in nature.
8. To be informed whether those seeking donations are volunteers, employees of the organization, or hired solicitors.
9. To have the opportunity for their names to be deleted from mailing lists that an organization may intend to share.
10. To feel free to ask questions when making a donation and to receive prompt, and forthright answers.

Donors must have full confidence in the non-profit organization to which they contribute and support. If an organization does allow for one of these rights, then donors should speak to someone within the organization about the problem.