1. Donor Confidentiality Guidelines

The board and staff of the Montana History Foundation ensure the protection, privacy, and confidentiality of our donors. Donor records and other donor information will not be sold or shared with other organizations. Access to donor information is limited to the President/CEO, staff members who process, acknowledge, or seek donations, and board members and volunteers who work directly with donors.

2. Procedures

The President/CEO is responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of current donor and prospective donor records and will ensure that all staff have clear direction regarding the confidentiality of records.  The President/CEO may, at his/her discretion, make all or part of any donor record available to staff, volunteers, or committee members if essential to them in executing their responsibilities. Any such decision will honor the wishes of donors related to disclosure unless a larger legal issue is involved.

3. Publication of Donor Lists

The names of all individual donors will be listed in the annual report and/or on our website and other public relations communications. Exceptions will be made for donors who wish to remain anonymous.

4. Donor Bill of Rights

We endorse and adhere to the Donor Bill of Rights, created by the American Association of Fundraising Professionals and which is endorsed by numerous other organizations.

The current document reads as follows:

Philanthropy is based on voluntary action for the common good. It is a tradition of giving and sharing that is primary to the quality of life. To assure that philanthropy merits the respect and trust of the general public and that donors and prospective donors can have full confidence in the nonprofit organizations and causes they are asked to support, we declare that all donors have these rights:

DONOR BILL OF RIGHTS*

I.        To be informed of the organization's mission, of the way the organization intends to use donated resources, and of its capacity to use donations effectively for their intended purposes.

II.       To be informed of the identity of those serving on the organization's governing board, and to expect the board to exercise prudent judgment in its stewardship responsibilities.

III.     To have access to the organization's most recent financial statements.

IV.      To be assured their gifts will be used for the purposes for which they were given.

V.       To receive appropriate acknowledgment and recognition.

VI.     To be assured that information about their donation is handled with respect and with confidentiality to the extent provided by law.

VII.    To expect that all relationships with individuals representing organizations of interest to the donor will be professional in nature.

VIII.  To be informed whether those seeking donations are volunteers, employees of the organization, or hired solicitors.

IX.     To have the opportunity for their names to be deleted from mailing lists that an organization may intend to share.

X.      To feel free to ask questions when making a donation and to receive prompt, truthful, and forthright answers.

*@2016 Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), all rights reserved. Reprinted with permission from the Association of Fundraising Professionals. 

AFP Donor Bill of Rights

5. Dissemination of Guidelines These guidelines will be posted on our website and will be available to anyone upon request.