Criticism of Fund-Raising Group Was Rehash of Old News

To the Editor:

In the October 2 issue of The Chronicle, Henry Goldstein addressed a letter to Paulette Maehara, president and CEO of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (“Fund Raisers Made Bad Political Choices”). The purpose of this letter is not to try to change Mr. Goldstein’s views, which he obviously holds deeply and which I respect, but to provide some more information.

Mr. Goldstein is rehashing a decision to make a PAC contribution to Sen. Rick Santorum that was made in December 2002, six months prior to the senator’s unfortunate remarks about personal lifestyles. That decision was reported to the senator’s staff and to at least one important sector media outlet also well in advance of the senator’s remarks.

With regard to Mr. Goldstein’s comments about the administration’s general economic policies, AFP has limited resources and seeks to focus them on legislative proposals likely to be influenced by the association’s advocacy. With regard to the proposed foundation-payout provision in HR 7, AFP actively monitored and reported to members the negotiations concerning this matter. However, due to the disparate impact that the proposal could have on AFP’s members, many of whom are employed by foundations or who rely upon foundation support, AFP consciously chose not to take a position on this issue.

As Mr. Goldstein states, faith-based issues are not legislative priorities for AFP, just as gun rights, environmental pollution, animal rights, campaign spending, and many other issues are not legislative priorities for this association. Fund raising and philanthropy are AFP’s issues.

Perhaps more important are the many AFP state and federal advocacy programs intended to advance the interests of our members in fund raising and philanthropy. AFP’s grass-roots advocacy network includes more than 1,200 self-selected political activists who have volunteered to be “on call” to participate in delivering AFP’s political messages on an as-needed basis.

In addition, AFP periodically issues to our members calls for action in response to specific legislative and regulatory developments. These calls may target a single state legislator in Massachusetts, an attorney general in New York, a committee in the House or Senate, or the entire Congress. In support of these advocacy alerts, AFP provides detailed background information, sample communication documents, talking points, and specific contact information.

A membership organization as diverse as AFP will generate challenges when it comes to political advocacy. Virtually every social and political ideology is represented among AFP’s 26,000 members. But that fact should not preclude meaningful legislative advocacy by the one organization that represents the largest community of fund raisers in America. There may be differences about strategy, but there is no disagreement about the goal: advancing philanthropy.

Betty H. Bergstrom
Vice Chair, External Relations
Association of Fundraising Professionals International
Alexandria, Va.

To the Editor:

As president of the Greater New York Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, representing over 950 members, I am writing to add our chapter’s concerns to Henry Goldstein’s open letter (“Fund Raisers Made Bad Political Choices,” Opinion, October 2). Hank’s letter was written to Paulette Maehara, AFP’s president, to protest the AFP political-action committee’s $1,000 contribution to Sen. Rick Santorum, Republican of Pennsylvania, in recognition of his support for the CARE Act.

For those unaware, the contribution was made after Senator Santorum made the following comments about homosexual relationships: “If the Supreme Court says that you have the right to consensual sex within your home, then you have the right to bigamy, you have the right to polygamy, you have the right to incest, you have the right to adultery. You have the right to anything.”

The core objection to the contribution is the violation of the core values we as fund raisers and members of AFP have sworn to assert and live in our daily practice. This is not a matter of honest differences or “diversity,” as the AFP leadership argues, though there clearly are some who might not agree with our position.

This contribution transgressed at least two of the statements in the AFP Code and Ethical Principles that all members, including national board members and PAC board members, are required to sign every year and promise to aspire to:

• “Value the privacy, freedom of choice, and interests of those affected by their actions;
• “Foster cultural diversity and pluralistic values, and treat all people with dignity and respect.”

It is particularly ironic that AFP leaders assert that the development of ethical standards is a core contribution of the national organization to the fund-raising profession and philanthropy.

The AFP leadership would have members believe that there have been very few protests. Our chapter board and various individual members have protested repeatedly. We have received strong support from our members, who, unlike the national office, we kept well informed. And we are not alone. In calls to other chapters and members across the country, we are discovering that disagreement with the contribution is significantly more widespread than the national leadership has acknowledged.

The Greater New York Chapter believes we have an ethical duty to insist that the AFP Code is the one standard against which the actions of the national office and the various boards are evaluated. We will continue to speak out until this contribution is repudiated.

William A. Goodloe
President
Greater New York Chapter,
Association of Fundraising Professionals
New York

To the Editor:

Bravo to Hank Goldstein for his letter to Paulette Maehara, AFP’s CEO. As the saying goes, “Lie down with dogs, get up with fleas.” AFP has no business having a PAC or asking its members to make gifts to support it. The meager $18,000 raised would be better spent on scholarships to the AFP International Conference, where, at the $510 “early bird” registration fee, some 35 members could receive training on ethical fund-raising practices.

James M. Greenfield
President
J.M. Greenfield & Associates
Newport Beach, Calif.