Ethical Scenario #84: Pennsylvania Heart Disease Education Fundation

84. Bridget is the President and CEO of the Pennsylvania Heart Disease Education Fund, a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. She receives a letter in the mail proposing a partnership between her organization and the manufacturer of a new cereal. The literature provided in the letter describes the cereal as a healthy alternative to a typical eggs, bacon, and whole milk breakfast. Putting that aside, the cereal is high in sugar, salt, and cholesterol, but certainly much lower in calories than the other breakfast pictured on the box. In exchange for the Fund providing its seal to the manufacturer to use as an endorsement on its packaging, the manufacturer will pay the Fund $10,000 annually. Bridget knows that the $10,000 will go a long way in advancing the mission of the organization, and could save hundreds of lives, even if the cereal might not be the most ideal formulation for someone seeking to improve their heart health. But it is clearly a better alternative than the full breakfast of eggs, bacon, and whole milk it is intended to replace. She agrees to the proposal.

a. Is Bridget acting ethically by providing this approval?