Solicitation Truthfulness & Imagery Pre-Publication Compliance Checklist
A one-page-per-asset sign-off checklist any appeal, email, ad, or landing page must clear before publishing — gating the three highest-risk areas: individual-animal outcome accuracy, distress-imagery ethics, and no-kill/live-release substantiation.
Draft: pending review
This starter document is signed off by Nonprofit counsel + CFRE + sheltering-operations/veterinary data lead before it ships. The guardrails below define that review.
What’s inside
- Outcome-accuracy check: featured animal's status verified and current, no exaggerated outcome
- Imagery check: graphic tier within usage caps, problem paired with fundable solution, consents on file
- Claims check: any no-kill/save-rate figure matches the approved methodology and carries the required footnote
- Substantiation and overhead-honesty checks, with a sign-off block for the audit trail
Legal & ethical guardrails
The sector-specific compliance points this document must honor.
- Truthful solicitation: blocks any asset that misrepresents an individual animal's outcome or implies a gift saves an already-resolved or deceased animal
- Substantiate no-kill/live-release claims at publication, confirming transfer and owner-requested-euthanasia counting and the disclosure footnote
- Distress-imagery ethics: enforces usage caps, problem-with-solution pairing, and consent before any distressing image goes live
- Charitable-substantiation and overhead-honesty: confirms correct receipting/quid-pro-quo disclosure and prohibits misleading 'every dollar' claims
Held for professional review.
The native PDF and full working text ship only after sign-off by Nonprofit counsel + CFRE + sheltering-operations/veterinary data lead on this exact version. The summary and review requirements remain visible in the meantime.
Not legal advice. Not legal, tax, or accounting advice. The Fundraising Co. provides educational fundraising materials and is not a law firm; nothing here creates an attorney–client relationship or substitutes for advice from professionals licensed in your jurisdiction. Laws and IRS rules vary by state and change over time. Review every document with qualified counsel before use.