Share these talks and lectures with your colleagues
Invite colleaguesResearch paper
Follow the money: Using an equity lens to create gift acceptance policies
Journal of Education Advancement & Marketing,
10
(1),
82-92
(2025)
Abstract
Follow the Money is a seminal study led by three graduate students who recently completed the Master of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership (MPNL) at Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada. The study examines charitable gift acceptance policies and practises, with a focus on universities, and if and how existing policies account for the nuanced considerations related to: ethics; equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI); and reconciliation, decolonisation and Indigenisation when working with donors or potential donors. In completing this research, they identified and collated a number of practical considerations for fundraising and advancement professionals to consider when creating or revising their gift acceptance policies, including ideas around how to build fundraising cultures and practises that centre ethics, EDI, reconciliation, decolonisation and Indigenisation. This represents the top recommendations that are relevant for any charitable organisation to consider, whether in higher education or, otherwise, in developing or revising their gift acceptance policies and practices. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks.com/business/.
Keywords: policy research; gift acceptance; philanthropy; fundraising; naming recognition; donor engagement
The full article is available to subscribers to the journal.
Author's Biography
Tanya Hannah Rumble , CFRE, CMP and MFA-P, is an award-winning fundraising leader who has raised millions for some of Canada’s largest charities, including the Heart and Stroke Foundation, the Canadian Cancer Society, McMaster University, and Toronto Metropolitan University. Tanya is a passionate scholar of philanthropy and the practice of fundraising; she is deeply engaged in transforming the philanthropic sector as a leadership volunteer in the sector, entrepreneur in the organisations where she works and governs, as a writer and speaker. Tanya holds a Bachelor of Arts degree (Hons) in political science from McMaster University and earned a Master’s Certificate at New York University; recently completed the Master of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership (MPNL) at Carleton University and holds numerous certifications, including Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE). Tanya is naturally inquisitive and a lifelong learner both informally and formally: she is also a graduate of the 2017 Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Inclusion and Philanthropy Fellowship and the 2010 DiverseCity Fellowship. Tanya gratefully acknowledges the Indigenous communities, whose territory she is a settler and responsible steward of.
Ellen Doty , MPNL, 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 writing grants and crowdfunding for her own music activities for many years, she had never considered fundraising as a career path. Fast forward a few years, and she now works in university fundraising as Strategic Lead, Fundraising Initiatives, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. She believes in advocating for equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI), not only in philanthropy but also 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.
Bill Mintram , MPNL, is Métis and a graduate of the University of Saskatchewan with a Bachelor in Education through the Saskatchewan Urban Native Teacher Education Programme. He has more than 10 years of experience in senior and executive-level roles within the Friendship Centre Movement, Red Cross and Rideau Hall Foundation. He has served communities through various appointed and elected roles on boards, advisory and adjudication committees, along with being a fundraiser who has raised millions within the Indigenous non-profit sector. He is driven by working towards improving the quality of life for Indigenous peoples across Canada and recognises that supporting these outcomes is impossible without his family’s love and support.
