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A better way to manage dilemmas

Ethos is a philosophy and how-to guide designed to help leaders explore, act on, manage, and learn from dilemmas.

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Overview

When it comes to ethical dilemmas, we can’t hide behind neutrality.

Ethos helps executive leaders reach more confident, empathetic, and creative resolutions to ethical dilemmas. It was developed collaboratively by platform leaders and their stakeholders in partnership with GlobalGiving.

There are two Ethos playbooks: the Ethos Lite Playbook for managing urgent crises, and the complete Ethos Playbook for working with stakeholders to make more confident decisions and comprehensive solutions. Both playbooks provide a common framework to help leaders communicate the why, what, and how of their decisions.

For Urgent Issues

Ethos Lite

A playbook for getting your team to a quick decision about next steps in a crisis

The problem is an isolated incident
You need to assess risks and then apply a band-aid solution
Your organization may not be ready to implement broader organizational changes

Access Now

For Emerging Dilemmas

Ethos

A playbook to help your team address the root causes of a problem and develop comprehensive solutions

An incident points to a pattern of issues or broader questions
You’re ready to get to the root cause of the problem
You’re ready to build buy-in for a more comprehensive solution

Access Now

What makes Ethos a better way

Dilemmas—those questions about who we partner with and how we address threats to our integrity—are a source of stress and risk to most executives. Ethos is a human-centered mindset and approach to help us all make more confident decisions with integrity.

Based on empathy and equity

Gives all stakeholders a seat at the table
Makes it safe to discuss heated topics
Invites us to acknowledge harms

Leads to more creative, comprehensive solutions

Helps us get to non-binary decisions
Acknowledges messiness and complexity
Invites us to address root causes

Builds trust among staff and stakeholders

Supports change management
Builds relationships as an end not a means
Carries credibility from a set of trusted creators

Get Started

“We don’t have a shared set of principles to work from, so we were building out those principles with each decision we made. There’s got to be a more efficient—yet effective—process. I need this tool right now.”

Giving Platform Senior Vice President

“There is not one way to address dilemmas, so a how-to would be helpful. It requires a lot of staff capacity that we don’t have.”

Platform Executive

“There is something reassuring in a common framework. If we decide to take one stance, but someone does something else, I would feel reassured that we based our decisions on the same thing... it’s more accountable...”

Program Manager, Global Grantmaking Organization

“Not all 501(c)(3)s have a mission that aligns with ours. They may intersect with sensitive social matters that our team has told us to avoid. This makes me really uncertain how to navigate. We are pushed to have a story about who we are including and why.”

For-Profit Philanthropic Product Manager

Strategic Partners

We're grateful to the many peers and partners who've supported this journey.

As Featured In

Alliance magazine

Beyond neutrality

Digital Impact

Platform Neutrality is Dead. Long Live Empathy.

Digital Impact Podcast

A New Approach to Solving the Paradox of Platform Neutrality

We're here to help.

Ethos was created and tested over two years by a collaborative team of platform leaders, nonprofit staff, and other social sector professionals led by GlobalGiving. We’ve made it free and easy to use so your team can benefit from our trials and errors.

Need help getting started? Looking for one-on-one support?

Contact the Ethos Team

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