Thanks for writing this Jack, feels like the right time to be having this conversation.
The thing that concerns me most isn’t donors with an obviously different agenda, but donors who share most of our values gradually pulling priorities towards theirs, because it’s much harder to spot.
Imagine someone who seems aligned with our mission gives $100m. If, down the line, they want to be part of a strategy conversation, we’re very unlikely to say no.
However “unrestricted” a donation is, large gifts rarely come without strings, so I think this needs an organisational defence, not just personal integrity. I’d add a fourth policy to your conflict of interest, whistleblowing and compensation policies: a published gift acceptance policy. It would say what conditions we’ll accept, what access a donor does and doesn’t get, and who decides. It’s much easier to write that now than mid-negotiation with a nine-figure donor. It also turns saying no from a personal act of courage into “that’s our policy”, which is far easier to do.
Thanks for writing this Jack, feels like the right time to be having this conversation.
The thing that concerns me most isn’t donors with an obviously different agenda, but donors who share most of our values gradually pulling priorities towards theirs, because it’s much harder to spot.
Imagine someone who seems aligned with our mission gives $100m. If, down the line, they want to be part of a strategy conversation, we’re very unlikely to say no.
However “unrestricted” a donation is, large gifts rarely come without strings, so I think this needs an organisational defence, not just personal integrity. I’d add a fourth policy to your conflict of interest, whistleblowing and compensation policies: a published gift acceptance policy. It would say what conditions we’ll accept, what access a donor does and doesn’t get, and who decides. It’s much easier to write that now than mid-negotiation with a nine-figure donor. It also turns saying no from a personal act of courage into “that’s our policy”, which is far easier to do.