Global Integrity is an independent, non-partisan, tax-exempt (under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code in the United States) international non-governmental organization (NGO). The Global Integrity Trust (South Africa) is a charitable trust. Interested supporters should contact Nathaniel Heller, Executive Director, at 202-449-4100 or via email at info@globalintegrity.org.
Fundraising Principles
Global Integrity supports more accountable global governance by acting as an unbiased information provider of both quantitative and qualitative data, analysis and reporting. As such, it is crucial that Global Integrity’s fundraising efforts and actual sources of funding do not in any way compromise the organization’s independence or in any way curb its ability to carry out its mission. Below are Global Integrity's full fundraising principles approved by its Board of Directors:
Preamble
Global Integrity’s goal is to collect, synthesize, and disseminate credible, comprehensive and timely data and reporting on governance and corruption trends around the world. As an independent, non-profit, non-partisan organization, Global Integrity supports more accountable global governance by acting as an unbiased information provider of both quantitative and qualitative data, analysis and reporting. As such, it is critical that Global Integrity follow a strict code of principles to guide its fundraising efforts to ensure those efforts match the organization’s overarching goal of promoting good governance. It is crucial that Global Integrity’s fundraising efforts and actual sources of funding do not, in any way, compromise the organization’s independence or in any way curb its ability to carry out its mission.
Beyond funding for general support, grants may be accepted for preparing data and reporting on particular countries or regions of interest to a specific donor, particularly when the funds permit the expansion of the number of countries covered by Global Integrity’s core annual product, the Global Integrity Report. It nevertheless remains the responsibility of Global Integrity to ensure that a balanced global sample of countries is covered in each annual exercise. All grants will only be accepted on the understanding that Global Integrity’s investigation will follow the truth wherever it leads; Global Integrity’s work will not be influenced in any way by the sources of funding that support our work.
Fundraising Principles
Philanthropic Contributions: Global Integrity exclusively seeks contributions that are philanthropic in nature, i.e., that are altruistically given (without a quid pro quo) in the public interest. Contributions of any amount from all donors are covered by the principles articulated below.
Diversity of Funding: Relying on many sources of income helps Global Integrity maintain its independence. To that end, Global Integrity strives to: 1) Solicit funds from a diverse set of potential funders; and 2) Make every reasonable effort to ensure that actual donations to Global Integrity reflect such a diverse mix, and that Global Integrity’s annual budget is not overly reliant on funding from any single donor. Locus of Support: The focus of fundraising for Global Integrity is general, unrestricted support. Should a donor wish to provide designated support for a specified project or target set of countries (in the case of the Global Integrity Report), the relationship between the donor’s personal views and the nature of the particular project requires special scrutiny by Global Integrity; this special scrutiny is necessary to ensure that there is no perception of a conflict of interest (see Perceptions of Donor(s)’ Interests, below). Approval by the Managing Director is required before any gift from an individual in support of a particular project can be accepted. Transparency: All grants of $500 and more are publicly acknowledged, and a complete list of the names of all such contributors will be included in Global Integrity’s public materials, including its Web site. To promote Global Integrity’s mission of increasing transparency and good governance, no anonymous grants are accepted. When grants come to Global Integrity either through matching gifts or via a corporate/company structure, the total amount of the gift is attributed to both the individual(s) who control(s) the designation of the support provided and the matching or corporate entity.
Donor Stewardship: In addition to the normal good stewardship of major donors, in which major donors are kept abreast of all significant developments affecting the organization, all supporters of Global Integrity are advised in writing, at the time of the acknowledgement of their gift and in subsequent communications, of Global Integrity’s policy of separating the sources of support from decisions involved in planning, executing and publishing Global Integrity’s reports and work. In soliciting financial support, potential donors are made aware of the work that is at the heart of Global Integrity’s activity and are forewarned of the possibility that Global Integrity’s work may not reflect the political or personal views of any given donor.
Perceptions of Donor(s) Interests: Global Integrity may review, at its discretion, any donation to the organization and return the donation should Global Integrity determine that the donation poses a conflict of interest that compromises or may appear to compromise the organization’s independence.
The regular publication of the list of donors to Global Integrity makes it clear that while Global Integrity cannot always be aware of every possible perception of potential conflicts of interest, there is not now, nor has there ever been, a link between financial support for Global Integrity and the specific work or direction of the organization.
Special Standing: Donors to Global Integrity will have no special standing with regard to the direction, focus or nature of Global Integrity’s work. On occasion, however, Global Integrity may express appreciation and recognize donors for their contributions to Global Integrity. But there must always be a bright line separating the funding of Global Integrity’s activities and the decisions made about the work that Global Integrity carries out.
