Our commitment to ethical fundraising

The Centre for Sustainable Healthcare (CSH) and its Board of Trustees are committed to ensuring that fundraising activities are carried out in an ethical manner.

Purpose of this policy

The purpose of this page is to identify CSH’s position on fundraising practice and to document the standards expected in raising funds. The policy applies both to donations and to sponsorship funding. Undertaken by corporations to achieve commercial objectives, a sponsorship is a business transaction.

Understanding donations vs sponsorships

What is a sponsorship?

A sponsorship is a business transaction undertaken by corporations to achieve commercial objectives. Common types include:

• Financial Sponsors: Provide monetary support.
• In-Kind Sponsors: Contribute goods or services instead of cash.
• Media Sponsors: Offer funding or secure media coverage.

What is a donation?

A donation is a charitable gift, given solely for philanthropic reasons.

Who is responsible for this policy?

The Chief Executive oversees the implementation of this policy, which is reviewed every three years to ensure continued relevance and compliance.

Guiding principles for fundraising at CSH

CSH’s guiding fundraising principle is a simple one – we will only use techniques that we would be happy to be used on ourselves.

Standards for ethical fundraising

In doing so, the organisation will adhere to the following standards:

• Fundraising activities carried out by CSH will comply with all relevant laws
• Any communications to the public made in the course of carrying out a fundraising activity shall be truthful and non-deceptive
• All monies raised via fundraising activities will be for the stated purpose of the appeal and will comply with the organisation’s stated mission and purpose
• All personal information collected by CSH is confidential and is not for sale or to be given away or disclosed to any third party without consent
• Nobody directly or indirectly employed by or volunteering for CSH shall accept commissions, bonuses or payments for fundraising activities on behalf of the funding or sponsoring organisation personally from them
• No general solicitations shall be undertaken by telephone or door-to-door
• Fundraising activities should not be undertaken if they may be detrimental to the good name or community standing of CSH. Before entering into an agreement with a commercial partner or sponsor CSH must carry out appropriate checks on them (including on their financial standing and reputation) to make sure we can be confident that they are able to do what we expect them to do and that our relationship with them will not damage our reputation
• That no attempt is made by any company or individual to link a donation or sponsorship with an attempt to influence the policy or activities of CSH either explicitly or implicitly
• That the independent status of CSH is not in any way compromised by fundraising activities

Ethical review of contributions

Financial contributions will be reviewed and approved of by the Board of Trustees and will only be accepted from companies, organisations and individuals considered ethical. Contributions will not be accepted from:

• Donors whose objectives conflict with CSH’s mission or could harm its reputation
• Companies in industries such as tobacco, pornography, weapons, fossil fuels, or gambling
• Entities involved in criminal or illegal activities

Exclusions and conditions for refusing contributions

CSH will not accept donations or sponsorship where:

• The donor/sponsor is known to be associated with criminal sources and/or illegal activity
• The donor/sponsor’s personal objectives conflict with those of CSH
• Accepting a donation or sponsorship might impact adversely on CSH’s reputation, and thus damage its longer term fundraising prospects
• Accepting a donation or sponsorship from any particular source is inconsistent with Government policy