14 Jul Getting Curious About Ethics By: Kellie Brungard, GPC
Ethics are moral principles that govern an individual’s or group’s behavior or activities. Within the grant profession, the Grant Professionals Association (GPA) has defined a clear code of ethics for members to abide by and establish boundaries within practice that uphold the integrity of the industry. Members of GPA or a professional association with defined codes of ethics need to understand and agree (or accept) the ethical boundaries the organization upholds. Members found to be in violation of the association’s ethics can be sanctioned with temporary or permanent suspension of membership or revocation of their credentials. While some ethical responses are intuitive, others are unclear. Below are three not-so-obvious ethical quandaries commonly encountered by organizations.
Mission Creep
Organizations often see grant funding as an opportunity to launch a new program. The ethical considerations depend on which came first – the chicken or the egg. The GPA code of ethics requires all solicitation materials are “accurate and correctly reflect” the organization’s mission and use of funds. If the program aligns with the organization’s strategic plan and needs pilot funding or was designed in response to community needs within the scope of the organization, ethics aren’t an issue. If the program was created or the scope of the program expanded in a way that is adjacent to how the organization provides services in order to align with a funding opportunity, mission creep and the question of ethics may apply. Understanding the intention and need for a program will strengthen a proposal as well as help an organization identify when mission creep is treading the ethical line.
Grant Management Considerations
Understanding and following tracking procedures for outcomes, time and effort, and procurement are key to maintaining ethical practices when preparing an application and managing grant funds. This includes writing outcomes into an application that the organization is capable of tracking or has a plan in place to do so if awarded, a process for tracking time and effort of grant-funded staff, and following the organization’s policy for soliciting bids related to the project. Another grant readiness factor is whether the organization’s financial management practices are able to track and report on the use of funds. The GPA code of ethics states “Members shall act according to the highest ethical standards of one’s institution, profession, and conscience,” and “Members shall, if applicable, take care to ensure that grants are used in accordance with the grant’s intent and that timely reports accurately describe the management of such funds.” If the grant professional is aware that one of these areas is questionable or not actually in practice, it might be necessary to raise the question of if the organization is ready to apply for and ethically manage the grant. Reviewing organizational policies and procedures for topics related to grant management is a great place to start to understand how an organization operates and areas that need to be discussed before pursuing grant funding.
Compensating Grant Professionals
The GPA code of ethics addresses the compensation of grant professionals in four different ways: “(1) compensation should not be written into grants unless allowed by the funder, (2) members are to work for a salary or fee, (3) members are to adhere to acceptable means of compensation for services performed, pro bono work is encouraged, and (4) members shall recognize their individual boundaries of competence and are forthcoming and truthful about their professional experience and qualifications.”
Why is this addressed so thoroughly? For many funders, costs to prepare an application (or pre-award costs) and fundraising expenses are not allowable direct or indirect expenses. Some opportunities or renewals may allow grant writing compensation; however, these need to be in writing and not in violation of 2 CFR 200. As for commission-based pay, the GPA Code of Ethics committee says, “This type of proposed payment method hurts all grant professionals as all funders are awarding dollars for the project/need, not the skills of the grant professional.” It’s also unethical for grant professionals to publicly discuss their grant writing rates to avoid setting an industry standard. The best practice is to reduce risk by accepting a salary or fee for grant writing services that are not included in the proposal budget.
In addition to GPA, the National Grant Management Association (NGMA), American Grant Writers’ Association (AGWA), and the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) also have codes of ethics. Check out AGS’ upcoming Grant Ethics Bootcamp for a comprehensive overview and application of ethics including all three sources.
This blog post is aligned with the Grant Professional Certification Institute’s Competencies and Skills.
Competency #6: Knowledge of nationally recognized standards of ethical practice by grant developers
Skill 6.3: Distinguish between truthful and untruthful, and accurate and inaccurate representations in grant development, including research and writing
Skill 6.7: Distinguish between ethical and unethical methods of payment for the grant-development process