Avoid mistakes; read about ethical dilemmas of others

Got a thorny ethical dilemma? Damned if you do or if you don’t? Send your quandary to Nonprofit Quarterly’s Nonprofit Ethicist column – a sort of “Dear Abby” for nonprofit executives and boards.

“The Nonprofit Ethicist allows you to ask your questions about ethical issues you may be observing or facing in your organization in anonymity,” says editor Ruth McCambridge. “Then not just you but we can all benefit from the advice he gives you. That way, maybe we don’t all have to make the same mistakes.”

The idea is to help avoid big mistakes by profiting from someone else’s experience. Send McCambridge your “Dear Ethicist” by email at editorinchief@nonprofitquarterly.org. “The Ethicist will answer you confidentially and quickly,” she says. “And if we print your query, we will eliminate any identifying information and run the copy by you first.”

Here are some samples:

• Winter 2006 – http://www.nonprofitquarterly.org/section/851.html
• Summer 2006 – http://www.nonprofitquarterly.org/section/819.html
• Spring 2006 – http://www.nonprofitquarterly.org/section/809.html
• Fall 2005 – http://www.nonprofitquarterly.org/section/764.html
• Summer 2005 – http://www.nonprofitquarterly.org/section/730.html