Ethical Gift Acceptance Policy
V&A Dundee is Scotland’s design museum, a national public organisation, open to the public and with a duty of care to its stakeholders, including visitors, staff, volunteers and partners.
V&A Dundee exists for our audiences, generously supported by our funders, founders, patrons and stakeholders, and we aim to champion the value and importance of philanthropy and sponsorship to the cultural sector. We recognise that V&A Dundee has a responsibility to all stakeholders, and we aim to bring a coherent set of values to play across all our activities. Our ethical gift acceptance policy seeks to ensure that the museum’s values closely align with those of our funders and audiences.
V&A Dundee is part of the V&A brand family and is operated by a registered Scottish charity, Design Dundee Ltd, and it relies on a wide range of income sources from private and public sectors, including income from visitors and customers, grants from government and institutions, funds from companies and charitable foundations, and donations from individuals. Having a wide range of income sources is essential to ensure V&A Dundee can operate, to provide stability and to reduce risk to the museum. The principal public and private sources from which the museum receives funding are included in V&A Dundee’s audited accounts, and the museum is fully transparent in its financial reporting. High standards are set for all ethical trading and fundraising.
All donations and sponsorship are considered in line with our core aims, values and statutory obligations with reference to key guidance provided by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, The Fundraising Guarantee overseen by the Scottish Fundraising Adjudication Panel, the Museums Association Code of Ethics for Museums and other relevant codes of practice. Our values set out ‘how we do things’ within V&A Dundee. As we operate within the V&A brand, our values align with those of the V&A itself:
Collaboration - We are an empowered team, working together to achieve our vision, by building productive relationships with each other, our partners and our public. Integrity - We are committed to quality and authenticity in everything we do, taking responsibility for our actions and enabling everyone to show their talent.
Innovation - We understand that our traditions were built on innovations, so our working environment promotes and rewards new ideas and thinking.
Generosity - We respect different voices and perspectives, and we share our knowledge with the world to encourage dialogue with our audiences.
In all cases the financial, reputational and legal risks of accepting a donation or sponsorship are balanced with any risks associated with refusing the donation.
The Philanthropy and Partnerships team at V&A Dundee carry out a due diligence check on all donations over the amount of £10,000 where the donor is unknown to us or if they have not donated to us in the past 5 years.
The process for accepting or declining a donation starts with the Director of Philanthropy and Partnerships, who would decide whether to refer the decision to the Directors’ Group. If there are still concerns, the decision would pass to the Director, who may decide to refer the decision to the Board. The steps taken to review a donation or sponsorship will be recorded and kept with the donor or sponsor’s record.
The ultimate responsibility for accepting or declining a donation lies with the Board of Design Dundee Ltd, with day-to-day responsibility devolved to the Director in consultation with the Director of Philanthropy and Partnerships.
The Board have a personal legal responsibility for the charity’s management and administration and are responsible for determining V&A Dundee’s policy and approach regarding fundraising and donor relations.
For any enquiries relating to this policy, please contact info@vandadundee.org
