August 19, 2008 | Read Time: 1 minute
Fund raisers are debating the ethics of a new product designed to help fund raisers attract bequests and other gifts.
Created by two companies working jointly, the product, known as Planned Gift Prospector, offers a presentation on a compact disc that charities can send to donors. The presentation showcases each charity’s work and can be configured to ask donors to make a bequest or other planned gifts that provide tax breaks and other benefits.
What worries some fund raisers, however, is that whenever potential donors view the disc on a computer connected to the Internet, the product can track whether and how long each donor watches the presentation. That information, and other details about their viewing habits, are automatically sent to the charity — all without the donor’s knowledge.
Critics say that amounts to an invasion of donors’ privacy. “Inappropriate, invasive, insulting, and inexplicable,” wrote Roger Ellison, vice president of planned giving at the West Texas Rehabilitation Center Foundation, in San Antonio, in an online discussion list.
The companies defend their product, saying that it relies on the same technology charities use in e-mail campaigns to track which recipients open the e-mail message and other details.
What do you think? Does this approach raise questions — or do you think it’s appropriate? Let us know by clicking on the comment box below this link.
