Ethics

Funding ~ Assistance

Prospect Research & Grant Writing Support for Non-Profit Organizations

Ethics

In conducting business with your organization, I adhere to the ethical standards established by the
American Association of Grant Professionals (AAGP) and the
Association for Prospect Researchers in Advancement (APRA).
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The American Association of Grant Professionals (AAGP) is a nonprofit membership association that serves as a leading authority and resource for grant writers. AAGP is committed to enhancing the public image of grantwriting and promotes positive relationships between grant professionals and their stakeholders. Members of AAGP are professionals committed to practicing the highest ethical and professional standards.

The full AAGP Ethics Statement is available here.

Ethics are defined as the rules or standards governing the conduct of a person or members of a profession.

In today's non-profit environment, competition is intense for limited philanthropic dollars. In order to run an effective and efficient fundraising program many organizations are using prospect research to advance their efforts.

Prospect researchers identify new donor prospects, through research of individuals, corporations, and foundations. It is the responsibility of the researcher to ensure that their research efforts are legal, ethical and appropriate to the organization for which they are working.

The Association of Professional Researchers in Advancement (APRA) is a professional organization that is committed to the ethical collection and use of information.

You can read APRA's Code of Ethics here.

Grantwriting Ethics

As a grantwriter, part of my role is to remain vigilant and focused on maintaining absolute integrity with every proposal and report that I write. Your program and project descriptions, along with the budget, should accurately describe how you intend to spend grant funds.

The reality is that any proposal or project plan, however well-conceived and honestly presented, is still just a plan. Sometimes things happen and the plan changes.

Fortunately, funding agencies understand that the world takes unexpected turns so do not try to hide anything from your funder. Tell them what is going on! With honesty and integrity, explain what has happened, what you're doing to adjust to the new circumstances, and what, if any, adjustments you plan to make. The integrity shown through that kind of reporting goes a long way toward strengthening the relationship between your organization and the funding source.

Research Ethics

As a prospect researcher, I only employ and report public information. I do not work with individual Social Security Numbers, nor will I gather every scrap of data and gossip that may be available on a prospect. I will collect and analyze information to identify new major gift potential or to further qualify your known major gift donors to help you advance a major gift fund-raising program.

When collecting prospect information for your organization, the most important questions I must be able to answer are: Is the information truthful? Is the information relevant to the mission of your organization and the fundraising process? Is the information in my report respectful of the prospect?

Funding ~ Assistance

Joy Wikoff
Midland, Michigan
Phone: (989) 573-0120
Fax: (989) 794-5955
email: kjwikoff@yahoo.com