ABSTRACT
Ethical aspects of museum fundraising attract increasing attention. Several museums, mostly in Western Europe and in the United States, faced demonstrations and protests of environmental activists and artists expressing criticism towards partnership between museums and fossil fuel, pharmaceutical or arms manufacturing companies. Museums experience growing scrutiny of their sources of income and partnerships with the private sector. At the same time, decreasing public funding forces museums to develop more market-oriented business models. Therefore, museums need to clearly articulate their application of ethical codes to business practices. They need a strong commitment to principles over expediency, even in difficult economic times. In the present day, fundraising represents an integral part of museums´ survival strategies. This chapter explores the ethical concerns of fundraising and discusses attitudes towards ethics within the field. Addressing the more frequent ethical dilemmas that confront the fundraising professional, relevant professional ethics codes are presented alongside a discussion of museum fundraising and how these codes of ethics promote the professionalisation of fundraising. After examining these concerns, several practices in museum fundraising are presented and discussed.
