One of my favorite summer treats is to enjoy outdoor theatre under the stars. Sadly, this year the entire season has come and gone and I did not make it out to my favorite open air theatre once.  Don’t let the debut of your fall fundraising season pass by without taking a few moments to assess your organization’s fundraising policies. Why not take some time to look over your organization’s policies addressing the privacy of donor information?  In many ways, our donors value their privacy now more than ever before.  As the Standards for Excellence:  An Ethics and Accountability Code for the Nonprofit Sector® states that nonprofits “should respect the privacy of donors and safeguard the confidentiality of information that a donor reasonably would expect to be private.”  In addition, the Standards for Excellence® code states that “Nonprofits should provide donors an opportunity to state that they prefer to remain anonymous and that their name, the amount of their gift, or other information not be publicly released” and finally, that “Nonprofits should provide donors an opportunity to have their names removed from any mailing lists which are sold, rented, or exchanged.” Did you know? The Standards for Excellence® program’s educational resource packet, “Fundraising Practices” includes samples and templates for addressing donor privacy concerns.  The packet is free and available to Standards for Excellence Institute® members.  It is available through the members only section of the Standards for Excellence Institute® website.  Hard copies are also available upon request. Log in to access this educational resource packet.  If you forgot your password, click here and we will e-mail it to you. Not a member? Join now!