logo
    • Magazine
    • Membership
    • Donate
  • Racial Justice
  • Economic Justice
    • Collections
  • Climate Justice
  • Health Justice
  • Leadership
  • CONTENT TYPES
  • Subscribe
  • Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
    • Complimentary Webinars
    • Premium On-Demand Webinars
  • Membership
  • Submissions

It’s the Ethical Thing to Do

Ruth McCambridge
September 23, 2009
Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print

A few weeks ago I got to work in my usual disheveled state and remembered that I had a meeting with people who don’t know me well enough to not think about my 40-year-old tie-dye tee shirt during what was supposed to be a serious conversation. So I went out and bought a blouse.

Long story short, I went to the meeting trying not to think too much about what I looked like. When I got there I was ushered into a conference room where we met not only the local group but, also people at two other locations — their voices emanated through a speaker and there was a screen set up at one end of the room. As the distant folk began to introduce themselves I turned toward the screen and found that what it showed was the group in the room I was in and I was front and center in this weird blouse.

Two things came to mind. First, “Omigod, I look horrible!” And second, what kind of weird setup is this where you are talking to others but gazing at yourself?

Right.

So I turned my back to the screen and the meeting went well. But it made me think about the line that we all approach once in a while, where on the surface we are negotiating for the best interests of the people our organizations are meant to benefit, but looking more directly at ourselves as institutions and players in those institutions.

Sign up for our free newsletters

Subscribe to NPQ's newsletters to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

It is an ethical concern.

In times of scarce resources (and anytime) these are the kinds of mixes that require us to step back a bit and think about the work and the best interests of those we are meant to benefit without ourselves (or our institutions) in the center of the frame. Our institutions are merely vehicles albeit often ones full of spirit and soul.

Anyway — this is just one of a number of ethical realms my friends are considering right now. Are there things going on in your institution that skirt ethical behavior? Guidance is available by writing to NPQ’s Nonprofit Ethicist!

Write The Nonprofit Ethicist today and he will answer any question you pose. When you write, feel free to use all your real details — if we decide to print your question and the Ethicist’s response, we will let you edit out any incriminating details before we go to press.

Meanwhile, I am thinking of you all out there. Take care.

Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print
About the author
Ruth McCambridge

Ruth is Editor Emerita of the Nonprofit Quarterly. Her background includes forty-five years of experience in nonprofits, primarily in organizations that mix grassroots community work with policy change. Beginning in the mid-1980s, Ruth spent a decade at the Boston Foundation, developing and implementing capacity building programs and advocating for grantmaking attention to constituent involvement.

More about: Editor's NotesManagement and LeadershipOpinion

Become a member

Support independent journalism and knowledge creation for civil society. Become a member of Nonprofit Quarterly.

Members receive unlimited access to our archived and upcoming digital content. NPQ is the leading journal in the nonprofit sector written by social change experts. Gain access to our exclusive library of online courses led by thought leaders and educators providing contextualized information to help nonprofit practitioners make sense of changing conditions and improve infra-structure in their organizations.

Join Today
logo logo logo logo logo
See comments

NPQ_Winter_2022Subscribe Today
You might also like
Hierarchy and Justice
Cyndi Suarez
Salvadoran Foreign Agent Law Threatens Human Rights Movements
Devon Kearney
Charitable Tax Reform: Why Half Measures Won’t Curb Plutocracy
Alan Davis
Healing-Centered Leadership: A Path to Transformation
Shawn A. Ginwright
Into the Fire: Lessons from Movement Conflicts
Ingrid Benedict, Weyam Ghadbian and Jovida Ross
How Nonprofits Can Truly Advance Change
Hildy Gottlieb

NPQ Webinars

April 27th, 2 pm ET

Liberatory Decision-Making

How to Facilitate and Engage in Healthy Decision-making Processes

Register Now
You might also like
Hierarchy and Justice
Cyndi Suarez
Salvadoran Foreign Agent Law Threatens Human Rights...
Devon Kearney
Charitable Tax Reform: Why Half Measures Won’t Curb...
Alan Davis

Like what you see?

Subscribe to the NPQ newsletter to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

See our newsletters

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

Independent & in your mailbox.

Subscribe today and get a full year of NPQ for just $59.

subscribe
  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Copyright
  • Careers

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

 

Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.