Would Your Nonprofit Return a Gift From a ‘Power Drunk’ Donor? This Group Did

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Earlier this spring, when Flatbush Cats leader Will Zweigart saw the email arrive in his inbox, he stopped and took notice. It was from a donor to two development staff, and Zweigart had also been included. The email, which Zweigart described as “inappropriate, unprofessional” and “severely out of line with our values,” was the last straw for the executive director.

The donor had been problematic in the past, and within an hour of the email, Zweigart had spoken with the donor and dissolved the organization’s relationship with the person. He returned the donor’s gift of $28,860.

“I was glad to basically rid my team of having to deal with that kind of environment,” Zweigart says. The relationship “was not salvageable. The comment that they made was so far out of line with our values that there was no scenario where we would work with them again. And so that was unfortunate because we took an immediate financial hit.”

Donors behaving badly, sometimes in increasingly troubling ways, is not uncommon in the nonprofit world. It’s one reason some fundraisers have advocated for donor codes of conduct. But Zweigart’s case is unusual, in part, because he spoke openly about the situation on a public LinkedIn post and he returned money.

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3. Workplace Issues

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Typically, organizations can’t afford to return gifts, says Jack Alotto, a consultant and trainer at National University’s Fundraising Academy. Alotto admires Zweigart’s move and thinks it’s an important one for other organizations to remember.

“He said, ‘No, I’m not going to look the other way. My ethics are more important than that gift that I’m returning,’” Alotto says. “I don’t care the size of the organization or the size of the gift, you must stand up for the ethical thing, because if you don’t, you are showing the world that your mission does not matter. The constituents you serve do not matter. The people who work for you do not matter. The only thing that matters is the gift.”

The Chronicle spoke with Zweigart and fundraising consultants, who offered advice on how to recognize that a relationship with a donor could be going wrong, create boundaries that could help the relationship, and what leaders should do if the situation breaks down further.

Warning Flags

Donors who behave badly typically don’t come into nonprofits behaving in domineering ways, says Angela Barnes, managing director at Carter Global, a fundraising consulting firm. Instead, they tend to develop these behaviors over time, escalating in a slow creep.

“You know a donor is becoming dominant when they insert themselves into decision making,” she says. “They insert themselves into daily activities where they were not invited, and they also assume power sporadically over staff, leadership, and volunteers. They also may start behavior that escalates, such as sexual harassment, or they will hold a gift hostage.”

For Zweigart, this donor was “already a yellow flag.” First, he required quarterly reports, which the organization hasn’t provided to any other donor. However, the staff decided to do it for this donor — who said he expected that from charities he gave to — to maintain the relationship. The second problem was that the donor tried to micromanage the organization’s work.

Barnes says those are classic behaviors with donors who overstep their bounds: asking staff to deviate from normal practices and micromanaging. Donors become domineering when inappropriate demands are acquiesced to, Barnes says.

Zweigart feels like this may have been what happened with this donor, who gives to multiple charities in the region. “I think he was kind of power drunk,” Zweigart surmises. “I think this person has been able to say whatever they want to a lot of people for a long time.”

To reduce the likelihood of donors becoming dominant, it’s crucial to set limits, Barnes says. She believes too many nonprofits treat “boundaries” like a four-letter word and refuse to discuss them. However, clarifying boundaries helps both the donor and the nonprofit.

“A donor may cross an invisible line and not know it,” she says. “If we haven’t said to a donor, ‘You may not speak nasty to a team member,’ it could happen. We’re really relying on upbringing, home training. But they may have made their millions being nasty, so why wouldn’t they walk into a nonprofit that same way?”

Barnes says donor codes of conduct can be helpful in laying out expectations. But she says if an organization doesn’t have one, it’s critical to talk with donors about the organization’s values and expectations. “It’s understanding that you are presenting shared values to the donor.”

Zweigart plans to make sure he and his staff spend more time talking to donors about the organization’s values.

“You have to be really clear upfront with donors so that, ideally, you can prevent yourself from being in a position like that,” he says. “That comes with talking about your values, sharing your values openly with partners, talking with them about their values. And just really making sure you’re aligned — not just in terms of the work you do, but how you’re going to work, how you’re going to treat people, and ensuring that they can treat your team in a professional manner.”

Lessons for Leaders

The key lesson Zweigart took away from the incident is that it’s essential to protect staff. After posting about it on LinkedIn, Zweigart says he received several private messages from fundraisers who felt their organization would not stand up to a donor behaving badly.

Flatbush Cats

“I was struck by how many people don’t feel safe in their work,” he says. “They should be able to feel safe at work. A leader needs to protect their team, and that should be their top priority. Employee retention is much more important to me than donor retention in this case, because without a strong employee base, you’re not going to be able to carry out your work.”

Flatbush Cats gave the money back, but it wasn’t easy. Zweigart says the financial hit means staff is working hard to raise money to make up for the shortfall created when the gift was returned. He recommends nonprofits work hard to build relationships with a variety of funders, so they’re not overreliant on one or two big donors.

“Even if you don’t have any yellow or red flags, if you are funded by a few people, a top priority is to diversify your streams,” Zweigart says. “Look at recurring giving, look at reaching more donors and building a broader base.”

He reminds other nonprofits not to feel as if they’re only on the receiving end when it comes to donations. The donor-nonprofit relationship runs two ways.

“Of course we need money to meet the mission, but donors need us, too,” Zweigart says. “It’s easy to give away money; it’s hard to have an impact. Funders cannot achieve the joy and satisfaction that comes with changing the world if nonprofits are not partnering with them.”