Fundraising is not immune from misconduct
Many people who work at nonprofits might feel a distance from the “Me Too Movement” (#MeToo), an idea that began spreading virally in October 2017. It is in response to the prevalence of sexual assault and harassment charges, mainly in the workplace, following allegations against the movie producer Harvey Weinstein.
The movement actually didn’t begin in 2017, but in 2006, when civil rights activist Tarana Burke first used the phrase to raise awareness of the pervasiveness of sexual abuse and assault in society. During the past few years, however, almost everyone has had to come to some reckoning of sexually-based misconduct — at work and elsewhere. The distance from the Me Too Movement that many nonprofit professionals feel might be born of the assumption that people who work at organizations whose purpose is primarily to perform unfettered good in society could not possibly have such evil in their hearts.
But, we know that is not true.
Time magazine ran this headline on February 2, 2018: Humane Society CEO Wayne Pacelle Resigns Following Sexual Harassment Allegations; The Cleveland Plain Dealer ran this headline on August 16, 2018: Cleveland Orchestra Hires Law Firm, Forms Panel to Investigate [William] Preucil Sexual Misconduct Allegations; The New York Times ran this headline on March 14, 2019: Morris Dees, a Co-Founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center, Is Ousted; and this, from the San Francisco Chronicle on July 27, 2018: Emmett Carson Ousted As CEO of Silicon Valley Community Foundation. There are more headlines.
Undoubtedly, there are reported allegations at nonprofits that have not made headlines. Undoubtedly, there are incidents of abuse that have not been reported.
An attorney who spoke on this matter recently wrote that sexual harassment can include unwanted sexual attention imposed on an employee and hostile behavior imposed on an employee because of gender. Severe conduct can include sexual assault, sexual touching of an intimate body part, or physical violence or the threat of physical violence.
According to a data from polling by the Association of Fundraising Professionals conducted in 2018, one-quarter of female fundraisers report experiencing sexual harassment; 21 percent had personally experienced harassment in their work – including 25 percent of women and 7 percent of men; 16 percent of respondents witnessed harassment; 26 percent had been told about an incident of harassment; 20 percent agreed that sexual harassment was rampant within the fundraising profession.
This is damning. It’s bad enough for society at large, but in a profession that should be seen as the backbone of society’s ethical sector it is particularly bad. It is made all the more galling because of the perceived immunity from it all, of those who say, “It can’t happen here.” It can and has happened in too many places.
Every woman, and every man, has the right to enter the workplace with an expectation of individual respect. That right is absolute and should not be altered because of a person’s physical appearance, age, attire or status in the organization’s hierarchy. Even though nonprofits are as susceptible to hiring imperfect employees as any for-profit organization or governmental agency, nonprofit executives are in a position to take the lead on writing and implementing policies that will create a healthy workplace atmosphere.
Organizations need a crisis plan in place that takes into account the following questions:
- Who speaks for the organization?
- How do we support victims?
- Do we have a hotline?
- What is on our website?
These questions are best addressed before a crisis. If nonprofit leaders wait until after a crisis develops, these questions will be addressed in haste and most likely not in the best way.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently published a draft report, “The Report of the Co- Chairs of EEOC’s Select Task Force on the Study of Harassment in the Workplace,” that identified “five core principles that have generally proven effective in preventing and addressing harassment”:
- Committed and engaged leadership;
- Consistent and demonstrated accountability;
- Strong and comprehensive harassment policies;
- Trusted and accessible complaint procedures; and,
- Regular, interactive training tailored to the audience and the organization.
The report includes checklists based on these principles to assist employers and other covered entities in preventing and responding to workplace harassment. Nonprofits are not exempt from adhering to these principles. Propelling principles into practice requires more than good intentions.
The National Council of Nonprofits lists five considerations a nonprofit leader should take into account when trouble arises:
- Don’t wait for a formal complaint or require complaints to be in writing or signed by the alleged victim.
- Don’t focus on the intent or other characteristics of the alleged harasser. Focus on the conduct itself.
- Silence is not golden. Communicate the results of the investigation.
- Maintain confidentiality but manage expectations.
- Protect the victim and others involved from retaliation.
Nonprofit leaders have a lot of work to do. Even today, adequate policies are not in place at many organizations.
While this subject might feel like the stuff of law, it requires the thinking of many people at a nonprofit. Yes, lawyers trained in workplace harassment will define the legal contours of policies, but ascertaining the effects of harassment on a human level is as important as any statute. To not do something wrong — especially as wrong as violating another person — should not require legal justification. This is where values-based, ethical decision-making comes into the process. Determining the kind of culture people want won’t be found in the law manuals.
When the stories about Wayne Pacelle were written, the Humane Society did not remove him. The board voted to keep him on with his $400,000 annual compensation package, even after an internal investigation had identified three complaints against him. As a result, seven of the Humane Society’s 31 board members resigned in protest.
It is important to note that Pacelle said at the time, “I absolutely deny any suggestion that I did anything untoward.” It’s important because society is struggling with how best to deal with unproven accusations – even though there is supporting evidence for them – in an area of human conduct as important as sexual harassment and abuse.
Although the board didn’t fire Pacelle, he resigned after the investigation was complete and a report was issued to the board.
One of the seven board members who resigned, Marsha Perelman, decided to return at the end of some months. “I have seen the incredible results that the dedicated women and men in this nonprofit organization consistently accomplish,” she wrote in an editorial. “I have seen how committed this organization is to learning from its mistakes and fostering a safer work environment.” She added: “I’m convinced it has an unstoppable dedication to excellence — not only in its pursuit of protecting animals but in its pursuit to support the women and men who are the driving force of its remarkable success.”
That sentiment — a commitment to a cause and to a good organization that promotes the cause – was Perlman’s reason for returning to the Humane Society. It also might serve as the strongest rationale those in the nonprofit world could ever muster as fuel for the job of eliminating sexual harassment and abuse in the workplace.
Doug White, a long-time leader in the nation’s philanthropic community, is an author, teacher, and an advisor to nonprofit organizations and philanthropists. In September 2016, he completed a comprehensive review of the media allegations against “Wounded Warrior Project: The First Casualty: A Report Addressing the Allegations Made Against the Wounded Warrior Project” in January 2016. That report has been expanded into a book, “Wounded Charity,” to be published this fall.
