November 1, 2010 | Read Time: 2 minutes
A fund raiser who was fired from the California University of Pennsylvania has filed a lawsuit alleging that he was asked to pursue “unethical research practices” to uncover personal information on board members, donors, and their families.
Unethical research on donors is just one of the complaints the former fund raiser, Peter Glasser, included in court papers filed in October.
The lawsuit alleges that in the months before Mr. Glasser was fired, in June, he complained about instances he had witnessed in which the amounts donors gave were inflated and says that nothing was done to deal with his concerns.
He also charges that he was asked to find out information about donors that he believes was inappropriate—including, he told The Chronicle, personal information such as arrests of constituents’ children that was irrelevant to fund raising or an individual’s ability to give to the university.
Ron Huiatt, the university’s vice president for development, said that the charges in Mr. Glasser’s lawsuit were false. “We will defend fully against this claim,” he said. “It really is unfortunate he responded this way to his termination.”
Kenneth Sprang, a Washington lawyer who represents Mr. Glasser, said the lawsuit underscores a nagging question. “Is it ethical for researchers to explore the personal lives of donors and family members with information that has no relevance to the likelihood of their giving?”
Mr. Sprang cited recent news reports that have raised questions about the information that charities collect on would-be donors.
What kind of information is ethical or unethical for fund raisers to collect, however, may be tricky to pinpoint in a court of law. Although Mr. Glasser’s lawsuit alleges “unethical research practices” in violation of the code of ethics of the Association of Professional Researchers for Advancement, the association does not include specific examples in its Statement of Ethics. What’s more, “we do not comment on lawsuits like this,” said Julie Sutter, the association’s executive director.
Do you think that nonprofit groups collect unnecessary information on donors? What examples can you cite?
