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5.0 out of 5 stars
Gain Insight into Ethics and Philanthrophy, April 28 2004
In his book entitled Ethics for Fundraisers, Albert Anderson sets out to provide an ethical decision-making framework for practitioners involved in philanthropy: nonprofit staff and volunteers, professionals, and grantmakers. In essence, he hopes "to enhance the level of ethical fundraising throughout the nonprofit sector equipping development professionals and volunteers with the frameworks for understanding and taking principled action for preventing unethical behavior, and thus for building bridges of trust in the charitable community." Throughout the book, Anderson activates a methodical approach to guiding practitioners in ethical decision-making by fashioning what it means to think and act in an ethically responsible manner. He expands on ethical insights provided by classical and contemporary theorists, such as Aristotle, John Stuart Mill, and Immanuel Kant through several theoretical cases depicting issues likely to be encountered in the world of philanthropy. In overview, Anderson emphasizes the importance of developing and employing ethical frameworks which guide a set of primary ethical principles (i.e., trust, respect, beneficence) used in making and justifying sound ethical judgments when engaged in ethical decision-making. He concludes by presenting the need for philanthropic organizations to create and implement a code of ethics. In summary, Anderson makes a strong case for doing the right thing by presenting this book not as some typical self-improvement tool but rather as a scholarly book that emphasizes how to be ethically responsible in the profession of philanthropy. There appears to be a simplistic model to help guide one to think and act in an ethically responsible manner. This model involves the following steps: identify the ethical issue at hand and engage in a decision-making process to resolve the ethical tension. When engaged in ethical decision-making, according to Anderson, one must work from a developed ethical framework, such as utilitarianism or formalism, which guides a set of primary principles used for doing the right thing given the circumstances in a situation. Moreover, there lies great truth, in my opinion, in the information that Anderson presents throughout the book. For example, in order for a code of ethics to work, it must not be "printed and distributed merely to elicit good will" but rather be "woven strategically into the fabric of day-to-day experience" in the organization.In short, one cannot simply pay lip-service or simply verbalize that they make ethical decisions. I found this book to be particularly interesting, even fascinating in many ways. I highly recommend this literature for leisurely reading if one is interested in how to better serve philanthropic organizations and their recipients. Furthermore, one will find Ethics for Fundraisers easy to read and the information presented as useful and meaningful. Everything you need to know about making ethical decisions is right there in the book: the author has left no stone/rock unturned. Two thumbs up for Anderson. He has made a wonderful contribution to society as a whole and, specifically, to the philanthropic world.
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