Income acceptance policy

This policy largely guides our decisions on income into both our not-for-profit and our for-profit organisations. It also informs and helps guide our decisions on partnerships and collaborations.

This policy is not intended to be all-encompassing but is primarily assessed against the following criteria:

That income, partnerships and collaborations will:

  • align, improve and further our mission and objectives
  • reflect and not run counter to, our values, integrity and our mission
  • sustain the operations of the Development Initiatives (DI) group of companies.

We will exercise great care when accepting income or entering into partnerships and collaborations. If there are conflicts on ethics, integrity or practical issues, the Chief Executive Officer will first liaise with the Executive Team, and if necessary, turn to the Board or to a Sub-Committee of the Board for advice or support. The Board will act with reasonable care and skill in making decisions as refusal of income or partnerships/collaborations would normally be in exceptional circumstances. The Board will also be informed of all partnerships which are being set up, in order to ensure risks are fully assessed around acceptance and refusal of partnerships.

Areas to consider

We will consider the following:

  • Reputation – whether reputation could be damaged and so we will constantly re-assess and carry out necessary due diligence
  • Conditions and format – whether there are conditions in accepting the income (for example, legal or tax) and are they within our scope and reasonable, such that the income is offered in a form that we can use without incurring substantial expense, difficulty or posing a conflict of interest
  • Benefit – whether the primary benefit is to our organisation, versus the organisation or individual who is providing the income
  • Consistency – that the income is consistent with any prior practice and that we know the funder/organisation
  • Ethics – whether the funder/organisation condones the violation of human rights, are involved in any illegal activity, environmental damage, discriminate against individuals or cause great harm to public health
  • Donor dominance – our income streams must be diverse in order that a single funder is not in a position where they can change our priorities, influence leadership and/or impact a power imbalance.

Application of policy

Putting our policy into practice, we will take into account the following:

  • Timelines – This may vary depending on the funder/organisation and the relationship but income normally follows either (a) solicited fundraising (for example, initial research, engagement with the funder/organisation, developing relationships, submitting concept notes and proposals), (b) marketing of our services, or (c) third party recommendations of our services. Unsolicited funds from unknown donors would need to be flagged.
  • Due diligence – We will carry out appropriate checks on funders/organisations so that (a) we are reasonably assured of the origin, (b) that it aligns against our criteria, and (c) we can identify and manage any associated risks.
  • Acceptance and Refusal – The Chief Executive Officer will be responsible for communicating to the Board before a decision is made and keeping them informed of the position that we have arrived at either at the next Board meeting or via email communication – whichever is soonest.

Download this policy as a PDF.