The director of development at the charity where I work wants to be able to tell foundations that 100% of the board and staff make a donation every year. I agree that the board members should donate, but can donating to your employer be made a condition of employment? Would it be ethical to discipline an employee for refusing because they choose to give to other causes?

Your worries are well founded. Charity board members should be there because of a passion for the cause, and if they do not give why would they think anyone else should? Setting absolute amounts is inappropriate in a community charity where incomes vary wildly, but I always suggest that board members make that charity one of their top three annual gifts. A key board responsibility is ensuring that their organization has sufficient resources, and a failure to give can really hamper efforts to obtain those resources. It is harder to ask others for money if the people most closely aligned with the organization do not deem it worthy. Board members making an ask, or accompanying others to a foundation or other major potential funder, may find themselves being asked about their own gift. This could lead to a very uncomfortable situation if they don’t donate!

Employees are usually there to make a living, pay the bills, and find job satisfaction if they can. Their passions may include the charity or may lie elsewhere. Workplace discipline is normally used only if work is not being done well enough, workplace norms are being violated (e.g. if the employee is yelling or harassing or failing to show up), or there is evidence of behaviour that would put the organization’s reputation at stake. Unless the situation reaches a “for cause” level, employees are usually given training and support to improve, and disciplined further only if the improvement does not happen.

None of that is applicable to an employee choosing not to give, and I see no reason they should have to explain why not. They might be facing unusual personal expenses that month, or supporting relatives overseas, or saving for a down payment on a house, or any number other reasons they might not wish to share. Their privacy should be respected if they choose not to give (and if they do choose to give, the amount should be private unless they choose to divulge it).

Many employees may wish to be part of an effort to increase or improve services. They should be given a chance – but not in a way that makes them feel coerced or as if they are risking their job security by refusing. A gentle reminder from a co-worker that a campaign is underway is much better than a directive from management!

In my experience with foundations, which I admit may be more limited than your DoD’s, they ask about board giving, not staff giving. Can your DoD name some relevant foundations that have that level of staff giving in their decision criteria? If so, that might make tracking the percentage of employees who give appropriate, but would still not justify pushing for 100%.

Too many charities fall into ethical traps when they think the ends justify the means. Achieving a worthy purpose does not justify unfair treatment of employees, or any other failure to live up to ethical principles.

It is possible your director of development is just so enthusiastic that he or she has not thought through the consequences. What if key employees quit over this? Or good applicants were turned off by this condition of employment? Or an employee took the charity to court over a bad performance review after a refusal to give? All of these are far worse consequences than telling a foundation that 75% of employees gave instead of 100%, or that this information is not tracked.

Make sure any call for employee contributions is clearly voluntary and without career implications. If the gifts are tracked for percentage purposes, as few people as possible should know which employees gave, to minimize any chance that information could affect performance reviews or workplace decisions.

Since 1992, Jane Garthson has dedicated her consulting and training business to creating better futures for our communities and organizations through values-based leadership. She is a respected international voice on governance, strategic thinking and ethics. Jane can be reached at jane@garthsonleadership.ca.

To submit a dilemma for a future column, or to comment on a previous one, please contact editor@charityvillage.com. For paid professional advice about an urgent or complex situation, contact Jane directly.

Disclaimer: Advice and recommendations are based on limited information provided and should be used as a guideline only. Neither the author nor CharityVillage.com make any warranty, express or implied, or assume any legal liability for accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information provided in whole or in part within this article.