Fundraising -- Truthfulness in Communication
"All representations of fact, description of the financial condition of the member, or narrative about events must be current, complete, and accurate. References to past activities or events must be appropriately dated. There must be no material omissions or exaggerations of fact or use of misleading photographs or any other communication which would tend to create a false impression or misunderstanding."
The underlying principle of this Standard is that all things done in the name of our Lord should reflect the truthfulness that is in keeping with His character. Placed first among the fundraising Standards, this concept is fundamental to all other Standards.
In deciding whether to support a particular ministry or program, those who donate to Christian ministries rely on the information the ministry provides. Therefore, organizations have the responsibility to represent facts truthfully when communicating with donors.
The relationship between the donor and the organization is one built on trust. That trust is developed and maintained through truthful, honest, reliable, and trustworthy communications. Anything short of that represents a violation of this Standard.
The intent of this Standard is to insure that all components of a fundraising appeal—taken in part and as a whole—communicate the appeal accurately, completely, and truthfully to the prospective donor. After reading or hearing the fundraising appeal, the prospective donor’s perception of the appeal should be as close to the actual facts as possible.
In order to accomplish this, the organization preparing the fundraising appeal must anticipate how the typical reader will interpret them. The organization should avoid any words, pictures, graphs, or other information that might cause a typical prospective donor to reach an inaccurate conclusion.
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Three key words characterize this Standard: current, complete, and accurate. Each of these should be understood from the reader’s perspective.
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Current. The fundraising appeal should only contain information that is specifically relevant to the purpose of the appeal. Using pictures, descriptions, narratives, or other information from prior projects or events—which suggests a misleading relationship to the current appeal—is a violation of this Standard. The prospective donor will assume that all of the information presented relates to the specific appeal. It is inappropriate to use “old” information in a current appeal simply because it might bring a “better” response from a donor.
When addressing financial information, the fundraising appeal should provide information that is as current and timely as possible. The prospective donor, like a prospective investor, should have access to the most current financial information available. The key criteria is whether or not the information provided gives the prospective donor a true understanding of the relevant financial information as of the date of the appeal.
In some situations it may be appropriate to provide information, pictures, or other information on past projects or ministries because they help to communicate the essence of the current appeal. However, in such cases the fundraising appeal should clearly indicate that such information is not current, that it relates to prior events, and that it is only intended to illustrate the anticipated results of the current appeal. In the absence of such explanatory comments, the appeal should avoid noncurrent material.
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Complete. The fundraising appeal should include all of the information necessary for the reader to gain a full and total understanding of the facts related to the appeal. Since the reader will be making judgments from the information included in the appeal, it is the organization’s responsibility to insure that all relevant information is available.
Because space is often limited in a fundraising appeal, the organization must, of necessity, be selective in the information it presents. When selecting such information the organization must ask, “If the typical prospective donors learn of this, will it have an impact (either positively or negatively) on their decision to respond to the appeal?” If so, that information should be included in the appeal.
When deciding whether the information in the appeal is “complete,” the organization should consider the following:
1) The purpose(s) for which the funds will be used
2) The means by which the ministry goals will be accomplished
3) The financial need and condition of the organization
When preparing an appeal, ask yourself, “Am I aware of any information that—if I were a donor—I would want to know before making a decision about this appeal?” If so, incorporate that information into the appeal.
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Accurate. All information included in an appeal should be accurate; that is, factual, correct, exact, and precise. The key concern here is that nothing within the appeal materials (words, pictures, financial data, or other information) misleads the prospective donor into believing something other than the facts as they actually exist. This relates not only to the purpose of the appeal but also to the way in which the funds will actually be used.
Inaccuracies may appear in a number of forms: 1) photographs that don’t directly relate to the issue at hand; 2) exaggerations for the sake of persuasion; 3) incomplete information which does not provide a full understanding of the facts; 4) implications within the fundraising material which would lead the prospective donor to draw an erroneous conclusion; 5) selective information which presents only the positive while ignoring relevant, negative information and 6) opinion which is presented as fact. The appeal must avoid any of these inaccuracies.
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Summary. Questions about truthfulness in communication can best be answered by asking these questions:
“Will all of the information, photographs, or other information included in this appeal lead the prospective donor to a current, complete, and accurate understanding of the facts surrounding the appeal?”
“Does this appeal communicate all of the information I would want to know if I were a prospective donor deciding whether or not to respond to the appeal?”
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