Teaching Paper: Ethical Decision-Making Framework – A Structured Guide for Non-Profit Leaders

Ethical leadership underpins trust, accountability, and legitimacy within the non-profit sector. This Teaching Paper introduces a structured Ethical Decision-Making Framework that guides leaders through identifying dilemmas, evaluating alternatives, applying ethical principles, and reflecting on outcomes. Integrating classical ethical theories—utilitarianism, rights-based ethics, justice, and virtue ethics—with practical leadership processes, the framework provides a step-by-step tool for making principled and transparent decisions. Through case examples and reflection prompts, it bridges moral philosophy with applied leadership, helping non-profit professionals navigate complex choices while staying aligned with mission and values.