Follow the money
Tanya Rumble, Bill Mintram and Ellen Doty, graduate students in the Master of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership (MPNL) program, at Carleton University, recently released a study that examines if and how gift acceptance policies and practices account for: ethics; Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI); and reconciliation, decolonization and Indigenization.
This is an important study. Universities welcome gifts from individuals, corporations and foundations to help achieve their academic missions and to enhance programs and services for students, and university fundraisers consider a number of policies and protocols when accepting or soliciting, most significantly the written gift acceptance policy, but they face challenges. For example, many universities have strategic commitments and/or plans related to reconciliation, though most interviewees in the study indicated there was no or limited specificity regarding the role of advancement-related tactics to support those strategies.
Webinar introducing the study (from Feb. 16, 2023)
Download the report
“Follow the Money: A Study of Gift Acceptance Policies and Practices at Canadian Universities” outlines key findings and provides practical considerations for advancement professionals to consider when creating or revising gift acceptance policies in the short-, medium- and long-term. Click here to download the report.
Bios of report authors
Tanya Rumble (she/her) is a fundraising leader who’s raised millions for some of Canada’s largest charities. She’s passionate about equity, diversity and inclusion, and actively works to imbue these principles along with her personal commitment to reconciliation in fundraising and the philanthropic sector more broadly. Tanya holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from McMaster University, earned a Masters Certificate at NYU, and is a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE). Tanya is naturally inquisitive and a lifelong learner — and she’s a graduate of the 2017 Association of Fundraising Professionals Inclusion and Philanthropy Fellowship, and the 2010 DiverseCity Fellowship. Tanya gratefully acknowledges the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples, whose traditional territory she’s a settler and responsible steward of. Tanya Rumble is on LinkedIn.
Bill Mintram (he/him) is Métis and a graduate of the University of Saskatchewan, with a Bachelor in Education through the Saskatchewan Urban Native Teacher Education Program. He has more than ten years of experience in senior and executive-level roles within the Friendship Centre Movement, Red Cross and Rideau Hall Foundation. He’s served communities through various appointed and elected roles on boards, advisory and adjudication committees, along with being a fundraiser who’s raised millions within the Indigenous nonprofit sector. He’s driven by working towards improving the quality of life for Indigenous peoples across Canada and recognizes that supporting these outcomes is impossible without his family’s love and support. Bill Mintram is on LinkedIn.
Ellen Doty (she/her) toured full time as a jazz singer-songwriter for several years following her university studies and then moved into programming in the arts, which then naturally led to fundraising. While she had been grant writing and crowdfunding for her own music activities for many years, she’d never considered fundraising as a career path. Fast forward a few years: she now works in university fundraising. She believes in advocating for equity, diversity, and inclusion, not only in philanthropy, but in every facet of our lives. As a settler, Ellen continues on a path of commitment to reconciliation, both personally and in her work in the charitable sector. Ellen Doty is on LinkedIn.
Thursday, February 16, 2023 in For homepage, News & Events, Private Foundations, Research from Alumni, Social Finance
Share: Twitter, Facebook
