FUNDRAISING AND DONATIONS POLICY

Introduction

Australian Marist Solidarity (AMS) is the international development arm of the Marist Brothers Star of the Sea Province and the Marist Association of St Marcellin Champagnat. It has a particular focus on empowering young people to transform their lives and community. Promoting the dignity of the human person, as safeguarded by internationally recognised human rights conventions, is a core value of AMS.

AMS raises funds to support educational opportunities for young people in developing countries to increase their capacity to change their lives and communities. AMS is committed to ensuring this is done ethically and in a manner that is in line with AMS' vision, mission and values.

Purpose

The purpose of this document is to ensure that AMS approaches fundraising and donor management in an ethical manner.

Scope

In accordance with Australian Tax Office (ATO) guidelines, AMS defines a gift as:

• A voluntary transfer of money or property where the donor receives no material benefit or advantage; and

• A gift of money or property, which includes financial assets such as shares.

For the purposes of this policy, AMS will also consider a gift-in-kind of services or pro-bono support to be a gift.

Definitions

In accordance with Australian Tax Office (ATO) guidelines, AMS defines a gift as:

• A voluntary transfer of money or property where the donor receives no material benefit or advantage; and

• A gift of money or property, which includes financial assets such as shares.

For the purposes of this policy, AMS will also consider a gift-in-kind of services or pro-bono support to be a gift.

Policy

This policy is based on the ACFID Fundraising Charter and the Ethical Principles outlined by the Fundraising Institute of Australia (FIA) Code of Conduct.

Honesty: Act honestly and truthfully so that public trust is protected and donors and beneficiaries are not misled.

Respect: Act with respect for the dignity of their profession and their organisation and with respect for the dignity of donors and beneficiaries.

Integrity: Act openly and with regard to their responsibility for public trust. They shall disclose all actual or potential conflicts of interest and avoid any appearance of ethical, personal or professional misconduct.

Empathy: Work in a way that promotes their pu rpose and encourages others to use the same professional standards and engagement. They shall value individual privacy, freedom of choice, and diversity in all its forms.

Transparency: Stimulate clear reports, about the work they do, the way donations are managed and disbursed, and cost and expenses, in an accurate and clear manner.

This policy does not replace or override national or state legislation relating to fundraising and donor management. Examples include, but are not limited to, the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth), the Australian Consumer Law and Fair Trading Act 2012 (Vic) and the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

Fundraising

All those operating under this policy must ensure that:

1. All monies raised via fund raising activities will be for the stated purpose of the appeal and comply with AMS's stated mission and purpose.

2. Fundraising activities are not detrimental to the good name or community standing of AMS.

3. Fundraising activities do not expose AMS to significant financial risk.

4. Fundraising activities do not harm donors, beneficiaries or members of the public.

5. Fundraising activities are transparent, ethical and consistent with the mission, goals and policies of AMS.

6. All statements made by AMS are truthful and accurately represent the context, situation, proposed solutions and intended meaning of information provided by the affected people.

7. AMS will not make statements about other ACFID Members with the intention of creating a reputational or other advantage for AMS.

8. Only authorised representatives of AMS conduct fundraising activities, including processing donations, issuing tax receipts and conducting donor acquisition or solicitation.

9. Third party fundraisers such as schools may raise money in aid of AMS. AMS is not responsible for any third party fundraising events.

10. Where fundraising activities are outsourced, AMS will ensure contracts are in place which meet all relevant legislative and regulatory requirements, and comply with the ACFID Fundraising Charter and FIA code of conduct.

11. Fundraising materials and solicitations accurately identify AMS's name, address, ABN, purposes and an option for opting our of communication in all solicitations.

12. All materials used in advertising an approved fundraising activity state the objectives of the fund raising activity and the intended use.

13. Free, prior and informed consent is obtained for all images and stories collected by AMS.

14. Visual Images and stories present people in a dignified and respectful manner, honestly representing the context and the facts and do not contravene the AMS Safeguarding Policy.

15. AMS meets state and territory fundraising legislative and licensing requirements. AMS maintains a register to keep track of all federal and state registrations and obligations for fund raising purposes.

16. AMS reports annually to the Board on its compliance with the ACFID Fund raising Charter.

17. The Board signs off on AMS's compliance with the FIA code of conduct.

Donation Management

Donations are managed according to the following guidelines:

1. AMS only accepts donations and bequests, including in-kind, which are ethical in nature and consistent with Australian law and with the mission, values and goals of AMS.

a. AMS reserves the right to refuse an offered donation or bequest;

b. AMS accepts donations on the understanding that no material benefit or advantage will be provided to the donor by AMS;

c. AMS will not accept the gift if the cost of accepting the gift is greater than its value;

d. AMS will not accept gifts when it is aware that a donor does not have the capacity to make the donation and making the donation will place the donor in a vulnerable situation;

e. AMS will not accept a gift when AMS has reason to believe that accepting the gift would harm the reputation of AMS;

f. AMS will not accept the gift when AMS has reason to believe accepting the gift may result in litigation;

g. AMS will not accept a gift which requires a new program or project based purely on the donor's request.

h. AMS can decide to refuse a gift from a prospective donor that would conflict with the overall mission of AMS; and

i. AMS will not accept any gifts from organisations that do not align with Marist ethics, and values. This includes organisations operating in the pornography industry, involved in the manufacture of tobacco, armaments, primarily gaming, and companies involved in oppressive regimes, environmental degradation, exploitation of third world labour, and impact on indigenous land, indigenous rights and sacred sites;

2. No person directly or indirectly employed by or volunteering for AMS may accept commissions, bonuses or payments (with the exception of award wages for paid AMS officers) for fundraising activities on behalf of the organisation.

3. No staff or volunteers engaged in activities resulting in or relating to receipting of donations (e.g. fundraising, donor liaison) on behalf of AMS may grant or accept favours for personal gain and will avoid any real or perceived conflicts of interest, in accordance with the AMS Conflict of Interest Policy.

4. AMS considers requests of philanthropic support, based on an understanding of the donor's interests as well as AMS's priorities. However, AMS will not design a new program or project based purely on donor feedback or requests.

5. AMS endeavours to honour a donor's wishes for funds to be directed to a particular project. However, the nature of international aid and development work requires AMS to be attentive to the needs of the beneficiaries. These needs may change from time-to-time causing projects to re-evaluate their funding requirements. AMS, therefore, reserves the right to direct the funds to a similar project in accordance with its mission and the donor's original intent. Where appropriate, AMS will consult with the donor.

6. AMS protects the confidentiality of donors consistent with their wishes and to the extent provided by law under the Privacy Act. For more information, see the AMS Privacy Policy, which is available on the AMS website.

Beneficiaries

AMS places a high priority on protecting the dignity, privacy and safety of a beneficiary. AMS will not use images or messages that:

• comments unnecessarily or negatively on the impairment, dependency or disability of a beneficiary;

• use language which suggests that the client is to be pitied or feared;

• use children in promotional materials to raise funds for adult services, giving the impression that the clients are childlike;

• states or implies a falsehood regarding a beneficiary; and

• include a beneficiary's image, name or personal information without their permission;

• may endanger the people they are portraying;

• present people in a dehumanising manner;

• feature dead bodies or dying people.

Monitoring and Review of Policy

AMS will undertake a review of this policy in accordance with the AMS Policy Register or sooner if required. This review will be undertaken by AMS staff and reviewed by the AMS Finance, Audit & Risk Committee and/or the Community Engagement & Fundraising Committee and adopted by the Board of Directors.rs.

Related Resources

This policy should be read in conjunction with the:

• AMS Privacy Policy

• AMS Safeguarding Policy

• AMS Conflict of Interest Policy

• AMS Complaints Handling Policy

• AMS Financial Wrongdoing Policy

• AMS Procurement and Supply Chain Policy

• AMS Operations Manual

• ACFID Code of Conduct (Quality Principle 8)

• ACFID Fundraising Charter

• https://www.acnc.gov.au/for-public/understanding-charities/charity-fundraising-and-public

• FIA Code of Conduct