Why ethical marketing matters at Good Works

 Ethical marketing includes the promotion of our agency’s services, as well as the fundraising campaigns we create to inspire annual and legacy giving to our charity clients. It guides how we communicate, how we reach new audiences, how we use data, how we design campaigns, and how we show up for our clients and the communities they serve. This policy guides both how we communicate about Good Works and how we craft fundraising and marketing campaigns for our clients. It sets the standards that help us build trust, and keep people and relationships at the centre of our work.

We commit to honesty and transparency in all communications

We’re committed to absolute honesty in our own marketing and communications, as well as in every fundraising campaign we create for our charity partners. We pledge to:

• Represent impact truthfully—never exaggerating, oversimplifying, or manipulating facts to drive results
• Avoid false or misleading claims, or intentionally misrepresent numbers or data
• Obtain consent to authentically share donor, client, and community stories
• Present both strengths and limitations of our services honestly, and not oversell just to secure the contract
• Use clear, plain language that reflects the real work charities do, and the real challenges communities face
  • We reject impact washing and encourage our clients to reflect and communicate on their impact honestly—including what is working well and what is a work in progress
    

    Ongoing integrity checks

    Throughout campaign concept development, writing, and production, we ask:

    • Are we representing impact clearly and accurately?

• • • Are donor and community voices quoted authentically?
    • Are visuals and stories truthful and contextualized?
    • Are we under any internal or external pressure to distort information? If so, we will speak up, push back, or decline the work.

Our storytelling is honest, human-centred, and ethical

Good Works believes people give to causes because they care—not because they are manipulated. We pledge to:

• Treat every person in every story with respect, agency, and dignity
• Avoid exploitative or stereotypical imagery, victimizing narratives, or “poverty porn”
• Avoid saviourism in all forms, white saviourism specifically, in recognizing that communities experiencing harm are experts in their own lives
• Promote context, nuance, and systems-awareness—acknowledging that social, economic, and environmental issues are complex
• Engage clients, subject-matter experts, and community representatives to verify that stories and imagery are sensitive, accurate, and affirming
• Invest in continuous learning on trauma-informed, decolonized, inclusive and culturally respectful communication

Our goal is storytelling with communities, not about communities.

We respect donor privacy, consent, and autonomy

We believe people deserve communication that is invited, valuable, and respectful. As an agency we pledge to:

• Use permission-based email marketing and honour all opt-ins and opt-outs promptly
• Follow all Canadian privacy regulations including PIPEDA, CASL, and applicable provincial guidelines
• Collect and use personal data only for legitimate purposes and only with clear consent as detailed in our privacy policy
• Limit communications to what aligns with the recipient’s original intent and expectations

Respectful stewardship is ethical stewardship. We also promote this approach with the professional fundraisers and clients we work with.

Our digital content and user experience is created ethically

Digital spaces change quickly, and so do their ethical implications. Our approach is guided by honesty, transparency, respect for privacy, and care for the people and communities affected by our work. In our own marketing—and in the fundraising and digital work we do on behalf of clients—we pledge to:

• Ensure all paid advertising is truthful and is clearly identifiable as advertising
• Avoid deceptive advertorial practices or influencer content that blurs the line between editorial and paid placement
• Use targeting practices that respect user privacy, comply with platform standards, and Canadian law
• Avoid intrusive tactics like pop-unders, misleading pop-ups, or dark-pattern design
• Provide accessible and user-friendly digital experiences, including the responsible use of modal windows and consent features
• Use calls to action that are clear, truthful, and accessible, and that respect user autonomy rather than relying on pressure, confusion, or coercion
• Use search engine optimization (SEO) and answer-engine optimization (AEO) to help charities reach the right donors and supporters—never to manipulate systems or mislead users
• Prioritize accuracy, clarity, and context in all campaign content, particularly when addressing complex social, health, or environmental issues
• Design content to be accessible and discoverable for diverse users, including people using assistive technologies or alternative search interfaces
• Avoid practices that unfairly disadvantage others in the digital ecosystem, including negative SEO, misleading redirects, or content designed solely to crowd out competing voices
• Ensure any content created through human–AI collaboration aligns with our AI Policy, reflects informed human judgment, and does not compromise accuracy, dignity, or trust

We prioritize trust above all else. If an action risks compromising that trust, it’s not an option.

We’re about continuous learning and adaptation

Ethical marketing is not static. Technologies evolve. Donor expectations shift. Human-centred practice deepens. We pledge to:

• Review this policy annually and update it as the field changes
• Participate in ongoing equity, accessibility, anti-oppression, and ethical leadership training
• Encourage internal dialogue and constructive challenge within our team
• Support clients in adopting ethical marketing practices of their own

Ethics is a practice and a living commitment, not a static checklist.

Questions, concerns, or feedback

We welcome accountability. If you have questions or concerns about our ethical marketing commitments, or wish to request information on how we handle personal data, please use the contact us form on our website.