Enhanced Donor Bill of Rights

Engaged Donors Do Have Legal Rights!

Benevolence, goodwill and philanthropy are based on honorable and noteworthy citizens taking voluntary measures to address global issues and promote the common good for the betterment of society. Donors are making an implicit irrevocable contribution for charitable purposes they maintain certain rights to ensure the integrity, implementation and transparency of their philanthropic efforts. With Ecology Crossroads, donors also have a right to feel confident they can reference their donation, measure their donation's impact in the future, and apply their donation directly where they believe will do the most good.

Donor Bill of Rights

To ensure that philanthropy merits the respect and trust of the general public and that donors and prospective donors can have full confidence in the organizations and causes they are asked to support, Ecology Crossroads Cooperative Foundation supports the following rights for donors:

To be informed of the organization's mission, of the way the organization intends to use donated resources, and of its capacity to use donations effectively for their intended purposes
To be informed of the identity of those serving on the organization's governing board and to expect the board to exercise prudent judgment in its stewardship responsibilities
To have access to the organization's most recent financial statements
To be assured their gifts will be used for the purposes for which they were given
To receive appropriate acknowledgment and recognition
To be assured that information about their donations is handled with respect and with confidentiality to the extent provided by law
To expect that all relationships with individuals representing the organization to the donor will be professional in nature
To be informed whether those seeking donations are volunteers, employees of the organization, or hired solicitors
To have the opportunity for their names to be deleted from mailing lists that the organization may intend to share
To feel free to ask questions when making a donation and to receive prompt, truthful, and forthright answers

The Donor Bill of Rights was created by the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP), the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), and the Giving Institute.