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Power Lens Bangladesh

Donor Policy

Who we accept money from, who we do not, and what donors can and cannot expect.

Our credibility depends on our independence, so we are careful about who we accept money from and on what terms.

Principles

  • Funding supports our work. It never buys influence over it.
  • We are open about who funds us, subject to the law and to donors' safety.
  • We take money only from sources that we can identify and that we are satisfied are lawful.

What we accept

We accept grants, donations and membership contributions from individuals, foundations, non-profit organisations and other institutions, when they meet the conditions below.

What we do not accept

  • Money from political parties or candidates.
  • Money from the Government of Bangladesh or its agencies.
  • Money from any person or organisation that is the subject of an active Power Lens investigation, or where accepting it would create a conflict of interest.
  • Money with conditions on what we investigate, what we find or how we report it.
  • Money from unlawful sources, or from sources that we cannot identify.
  • Anonymous donations above [TO ADD: threshold].

[TO CONFIRM: your position on funding from foreign governments and multilateral bodies, and add it here.]

What donors can and cannot expect

Donors can expect regular information about how their money was used and what it achieved, and honest financial reporting. Funding may be given for a theme, such as human rights monitoring or public procurement. Donors cannot direct us to investigate a named person or organisation, see unpublished stories, or approve, change or delay anything we publish.

Checks before we accept money

We check who is offering the money, where it comes from, and whether there is any connection to the subjects of our work. [TO ADD: who approves new funding, for example "The director and one board member approve every grant above X"]

Refusing and returning money

We may refuse or return any funding, at any time, if it breaks this policy or if it threatens our independence. We record the reason.

Gifts

Staff and volunteers may not accept gifts or hospitality from donors, or from anyone connected to a subject of our work. See our conflict of interest policy.

Donor privacy and safety

We protect donors' personal data under our privacy policy. Where naming a donor could put them at risk, we may withhold the name, and we publish the number of such donors and their share of our funding.

Disclosure

Our funding is published on the funding transparency page.