Ethics and Transparency

Effectively implementing ethics and transparency in operations not only support the organization's reputation in community, but instils confidence in stakeholders. This resource guide outlines different resources for communicating, implementing and maintaining ethical codes of practice, including: ethical fundraising, codes for volunteerism and HR, and good organizational practice.

Organizations and ethics in general operations:

Principles for good governance and ethical practice : a guide for charities and foundations. (Independent Sector, 2007) [available online]
The principles workbook : steering your board toward good governance and ethical practice. (Independent Sector, 2009) [available online]
A code of good practice on policy dialogue : building on an Accord between the government of Canada and the voluntary sector (Voluntary Sector Initiative, 2002) [available online]
The rubber and the road : a workbook for implementing the Codes of Good Practice (Voluntary Sector Initiative, 2003) [available online]
Can standards help charities to achieve their mission? a discussion paper (Imagine Canada, 2007) [available online]
This complementary discussion paper is intended to start a dialogue in the charitable sector about standards and their link to accountability, transparency and public trust.

Ethics & Fundraising

Imagine Canada’s Ethical Fundraising and Financial Accountability Code was created in response to growing public concern about accountability in the sector and offers charitable organizations the means to assess its transparency and accountability.
Ethical fundraising and financial accountability code. (Imagine Canada, 2007) [available online]
Calculating your fundraising ratio : This online tool helps registered charities understand key information about Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) expectations on fundraising practices. From the Community Sector Council Newfoundland & Labrador.
Association of Fundraising Professionals Code of ethical principles and standards of professional practice. (Association of Fundraising Professionals, 2005) [available online]
A code of good practice on funding : building on an Accord between the government of Canada and the voluntary sector (Voluntary Sector Initiative, 2002) [available online]
Code of ethics (Canadian Association of Gift Planners, 2004) [available online]

Volunteer Management

Canadian Code for Volunteer Involvement (Weaver, 2001) [available online]
Volunteer management audit : the Canadian Code for Volunteer Involvement (Weaver, 2003) [available online]

Financial Accountability Search Tips

To do more research on this topic, either browse our pre-selected list on Financial Accountability (link) OR search by keyword or phrase (in quotation marks). Here are a selection of keywords to use:

policies, polic*	guide* / manuals (the / = OR)
transparency / ethic*	"risk management"
regulat*, regulation, regulatory	evaluation

Adding an asterisk * on the end or in the middle of the word allows a search for alternate spellings. e.g. keyword*

You can do further research on this and more topics at our full library catalogue. The best subject search terms for this topic are Nonprofit organizations -- Finance -- Management -- Handbooks, manuals, etc.

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