An Introduction to Ethics for Nonprofits and NGOs

Contents
Abbreviations
List of Figures
List of Tables
Introduction: A Framework for Analyzing Moral Situations
Ethics, Naive vs. Nuanced
The Is/Ought Distinction
Relativism
Deontological Ethics: Duty and Law
Teleology: Judging Cases by Consequences
Insights from Medical Ethics
Virtue Ethics and Feminist Ethics
Practical Tips for Instituting Ethics in Your Institution
Conclusion
Bibliography
From Theory to Action
Ethics vs Law
Demanding the “Right” Answer
The Informed Argument
Applying Moral Theories
Egoism
Utilitarianism
Kant
Feminist Ethics
Virtue Ethics
Biomedical Ethics
Religious Ethics
Collating Our Observations
Boards and Oversight
Covid-19 Vaccine Policy in a Medium-Sized NFP
The Helpful Board Member
When Democracy and Mission Collide
The Employee with Family on the Board
Social Enterprise vs. Social Service
The Board Member’s Pet Project
Regime Change and the Perils of Being a Hero
The Possessive Major Gifts Officer
When Personal Problems Threaten the Mission
References
Moral Dilemmas in Executive Leadership
Meltdown in Monrovia
Cutting Vital Services
Changing Staff’s Job Descriptions
Child Sponsorship in the Afterschool Program
Accepting Crypto Donations
The White Savior in the Dark Continent
Internship or Exploitation?
Graft at the Top
References
Money, Finance and Fundraising
Misallocation of Resources or Unreasonable Donor?
Lean or Starving? On the Tyranny of Low Administrative Cost Rates
That Time When Your NFP Became his PR Crisis Response Plan
A Successful Event
Missing Money at the Group Home
Bribery or Just Doing Business?
Coalition Building or Finder’s Fee?
Inheriting an Albatross
The School for Civil War Orphans
The Best President We Could Ever Dream Of
The Post-Mortem “Take”
Missing Money?
“Give Me a Child You Don’t Care About”
References
Intercultural and Cross-Cultural Ethics
Short-Termer Headaches
“Hire a Young Woman”
In Our Country They Would Be Married
What Counts as Diversity Numbers?
Vaccine Resistance in Vulnerable Communities
The At-Least-Somewhat Racist Missionary
Later that Evening, in the Same Town
Nurturing African Entrepreneurs
The Successful West African Recycling Entrepreneur
Bibliography
Ethics in Program Operations
Ethics Committees
The HR Department
Staff-Training and Grassroots Ethics
The Protective Guardian
Dealing with Noncompliance in Syracuse
Putting Nationals in Harm’s Way
Another Feeding Program Begins
What Could Go Wrong?
Land Title Woes in Sub-Saharan Africa
Microfinance, Interest and Islam
Indian Nationalism and the Foreign NGO
Lying to the Police
Closing the Orphanage
Professorial Malfeasance Abroad?
References
Digital, Online and Cyber Ethics
Archiving a Nation’s Text Messages
Where There Are no Government-Issued IDs
Political Disinformation, Community Outreach and Vaccine Drives
Election Season and Viral Online Videos
Revealing the Location of Vulnerable Women
Child Porn, Revenge Porn and Non-Fungible Tokens
Bibliography
Appendix I: Discussion-Leader Tips
Appendix II: Structuring an Ethics Discussion
Appendix III: Evaluating Ethics Argumentation
Appendix IV: Assessing Written Case Analyses
Example 1: A Poor Response to the Case (Advocating That the Country Director Do Nothing)
Example 2: A Good Response to the Case (Advocating That the Country Director Do Nothing)
Example 3: A Good Response to the Case (Advocating That the Country Director Do Something)
Reflections on the Three Preceding Analyses
Appendix V: Discussion Guides to Each Case
Covid-19 Vaccine Policy in a Medium-Sized NFP
The Helpful Board Member
When Democracy and Mission Collide
The Employee with Family on the Board
Social Enterprise vs. Social Service
The Board member’s Pet Project
Regime Change and the Perils of Being a Hero
The Possessive Major Gifts Officer
When Personal Problems Threaten the Mission
Meltdown in Monrovia
Cutting Vital Services
Changing Staff’s Job Descriptions
Child Sponsorship in the Afterschool Program
Accepting Crypto Donations
The White Savior in the Dark Continent
Internship or Exploitation?
Graft at the Top
Misallocation of Resources or Unreasonable Donor?
Lean or Starving? On the Tyranny of Low Administrative Cost Rates
That Time When Your NFP Became His PR Crisis Response Plan
A Successful Event
Missing Money at the Group Home
Bribery or Just Doing Business?
Coalition Building or Finder’s Fee?
Inheriting an Albatross
The School for Civil War Orphans
The Best President We Could Ever Dream of
The Post-Mortem “Take”
Missing Money?
“Give Me a Child You Don’t Care About”
Short-Termer Headaches
“Hire a Young Woman”
In Our Country They Would Be Married
What Counts as Diversity Numbers?
Vaccine Resistance in Vulnerable Communities
The At-least-Somewhat Racist Missionary
Later That Evening, in the Same Town
Nurturing African Entrepreneurs
The Successful West African Recycling Entrepreneur
The Protective Guardian
Dealing with Noncompliance in Syracuse
Putting Nationals in Harm’s Way
Another Feeding Program Begins
What Could Go Wrong?
Land Title Woes in Sub-Saharan Africa
Microfinance, Interest and Islam
Indian Nationalism and the Foreign NGO
Lying to the Police
Closing the Orphanage
Professorial Malfeasance Abroad?
Archiving a Nation’s Text Messages
Where There Are No Government-Issued IDs
Political Disinformation, Community Outreach and Vaccine Drives
Election Season and Viral Online Videos
Revealing the Location of Vulnerable Women
Child Porn, Revenge Porn and Non-Fungible Tokens
Bibliography
Index