Jerrie:

In my experience (over 14 years in educational, scientific, social service
and religious organizations, as a development staff member and a
consultant), most development professionals consider it to be unethical to
accept a commission on top of their base salary, because it can create the
appearance of a conflict of interest, if not an actual conflict.  I haven't
heard of things being different in the museum world, but I could be wrong
and would like to hear more about it if I am.   Some large national
organizations might do this, but they tend to hire for-profit firms rather
than raise the money using in-house staff, so it's a slightly different
issue.

 Please see the website for the National Society of Fund Raising Executives
(NSFRE) for their ethical statement and policy on accepting commissions, at
http://www.nsfre.org (go to "About Membership", then "Why You Should Join",
then "Ethics").   Members of NSFRE are bound by a code of ethics, which
encourages them to place the philanthropic mission of their organization
above their own personal gain.  Even if they are not members, many
non-profit organizations and development professionals follow the NSFRE
guidelines on this issue.  Other fundraising organizations such as APRA
(Association of Professional Researchers for Advancement) have similar
policies.  (I should mention that many outside consultants, myself
included, are not members of NSFRE because it can be quite costly to join,
not because we are unethical!)

From the NSFRE website:
"NSFRE members and affiliates are proud they are required to practice their
profession by a Code of Ethical Principles and Standards of Professional
Practice - and that NSFRE has in place an enforcement procedure that
ensures compliance, the only organization of its kind to do so. "

From the NSFRE Standards of Professional Practice:

"Compensation:

16.     Members shall not accept compensation that is based on a percentage
of charitable contributions; nor shall they accept finder's fees.
17.     Members may accept performance-based compensation, such as bonuses,
provided such bonuses are in accord with prevailing practices within the
members' own organizations, and are not based on a percentage of charitable
contributions.
18.     Members shall not pay finder's fees, commissions or percentage
compensation based on charitable contributions and shall take care to
discourage their organizations from making such payments. "

In some cases, foundations will ask if an applicant pays its development
staff a commission, and this can have a negative impact on funding.

Cheers--
Molly Carocci
Acme Consultants
[log in to unmask]

>We are beginning plans to advertise for and hire a development person to
>raise money for our endowment and some special projects.  We've researched
>salary for that position, and I've seen a few posts on this List in the last
>year concerning the range of salaries.  A member of our Board suggested we
>offer a commission along with a base salary.  That seems to be a standard
>practice in some fields.  Has anyone heard of that or does anyone's museum
>do that?  Is there any kind of ethical issue involved?  Would any of you
>involved in fund raising accept a smaller salary with that option?
>
>Jerrie
>
>Jerrie Clarke
>Curator of Collections
>Valdez Museum
>http://www.alaska.net/~vldzmuse/index.html
>

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