Statement of Values and Code of Ethics
for Neighborhood Rescue Foundation Inc.  (NRFI)

 

NOTE:  These policies are based upon the Statement of Values and Code of Ethics for Nonprofit and Philanthropic Organizations as drafted by a subcommittee of the Independent Sector Ethics and Accountability Committee, the Miami-Dade County Conflict of Interest and Code of Ethics Ordinance, and other standard nonprofit sector policies with citations for other contributors included.

 

Introduction

As a matter of fundamental principle, NRFI should adhere to the highest ethical standards because it is the right thing to do. We understand that as a charitable organization we have a duty to all of our stakeholders be they volunteers, funders, employees, board members, recipients, or citizens of the State of Florida, the United States or the countries where we operate. As a matter of pragmatic self-interest, the community should do so because public trust in our performance is the base of our legitimacy. Donors and volunteers support charitable organizations because they trust us to carry out our missions, to be good stewards of our resources, and to uphold rigorous standards of conduct.

 

We must earn this trust every moment and in every possible way. But NRFIs are, at base, people, and it is up to the people of the NRFI―board members, executive leaders, staff, consultants, and volunteers―to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to the core values of integrity, honesty, fairness, openness, respect, and responsibility.

 

Adherence to the law is the minimum standard of expected behavior of any organization. NRFI must do more, however, than simply obey the law. We must embrace the spirit of the law, often going beyond legal requirements and making sure that what we do is matched by what the public understands about what we do. Transparency, openness and responsiveness to public concerns must be integral to our behavior.  This is a core responsibility of all board members, executive leaders, staff, and volunteers and it shall be a responsibility of all persons and organizations that we associate with.

 

Statement of Values

Any code of ethics is built on a foundation of widely shared values. The values of the NRFI include:

• Commitment to the public good;
• Accountability to the public;
• Commitment beyond the law;
• Respect for the worth and dignity of individuals;
• Inclusiveness and social justice;
• Respect for pluralism and diversity
• Transparency, integrity and honesty;
• Responsible stewardship of resources; and,
• Commitment to excellence and to maintaining the public trust.

 

These values lead directly to the Code of Ethics for NRFI that follows. The values inform and guide the actions that we take in developing our policies and informing our practices.

 

The Code of Ethics for NRFI

 

I. Personal and Professional Integrity

All staff, board members, consultants, and volunteers of the NRFI act with honesty, integrity and openness in all our dealings as representatives of the organization. We promote a working environment that values respect, fairness, and integrity.

 

II. Mission

NRFI has a clearly stated mission to promote assistance through counseling and mitigation to families in danger of losing their homes.  This is accomplished by:

 

·         Providing agent counseling activities and facilitating voluntary professionals in helping people in distress of losing their home, with the aim and intent of promoting economic and social well-being among the participating populace members and partners.

·         Partnering with agencies and throughout all the United States of America for counseling, education and assistance of the people.

·         Matching appropriate volunteers and resources with identified needs.

·         Promoting volunteerism and publicize NRFI’s activi­ties.

·         Actively identify and locate funding sources to promulgate the purpose and intent of NRFI.

(Items taken from the NRFI Bylaws)

 

This mission has been approved by the board of directors.  All of our programs and activities support this mission and all who work for or on behalf of NRFI understand, and are loyal to that mission. We believe that this mission is responsive to the constituency and communities served by NRFI and of value to society at large.

 

III. Governance

NRFI has an active governing body that is responsible for setting the mission and strategic direction of the organization and oversight of the finances, operations, and policies of NRFI. The governing body:

• Ensures that its board members or trustees have the requisite skills and experience to carry out their duties and that all members understand and fulfill our governance duties acting for the benefit of NRFI and its public purpose;
• Ensures that its Directors shall act in good faith and with the care that an ordinarily prudent person in a like position would exercise under similar circumstances and in a manner the director reasonably believes to be in the charity’s best interests.;
• Is familiar with the charity’s activities and knows whether those activities promote the charity’s mission and achieve its goals;
• Is fully informed about the charity’s financial status;
• Has a conflict of interest policy that ensures that any conflicts of interest or the appearance thereof are avoided or appropriately managed through disclosure, recusal or other means and is applicable to all staff, board members, volunteers, consultants and partners;
• Is responsible for the hiring, firing, and regular review of the performance of the chief executive officer, and ensures that the compensation of the chief executive officer is reasonable and appropriate;
• Ensures that the CEO and appropriate staff provide the governing body with timely and comprehensive information so that the governing body can effectively carry out its duties;
• Ensures that NRFI conducts all transactions and dealings with integrity and honesty;
• Ensures that NRFI promotes working relationships with board members, staff, volunteers, and program beneficiaries that are based on mutual respect, fairness and openness;
• Ensures that NRFI is fair and inclusive in its hiring and promotion policies and practices for all board, staff and volunteer positions;
• Ensures that policies of NRFI are in writing, clearly articulated and officially adopted;
• Ensures that the resources of NRFI are responsibly and prudently managed; and
• Ensures that NRFI has the capacity to carry out its programs effectively.

 

IV. Legal Compliance

NRFI is knowledgeable of and complies with both the letter and spirit of all laws, regulations and applicable interstate conventions.

 

V. Responsible Stewardship

NRFI manages our funds responsibly and prudently. This includes the following considerations:

• We spend a reasonable percentage of our annual budget on programs in pursuance of its mission;
• We spend an adequate amount on administrative expenses to ensure effective accounting systems, internal controls, competent staff, and other expenditures critical to professional management;
• We compensates staff, and any others who may receive compensation, reasonably and appropriately;
• We have reasonable fundraising costs, recognizing the variety of factors that affect fundraising costs;
• We does not accumulate operating funds excessively;
• We prudently utilize funds consistent with donor intent and to support the public purpose of NRFI;
• We ensures that all spending practices and policies are fair, reasonable and appropriate to fulfill the mission of the organization; and,
• All financial reports are factually accurate and complete in all material respects.

 

VI. Openness and Disclosure

NRFI provides comprehensive and timely information to the public, the media, and all stakeholders and is responsive in a timely manner to reasonable requests for information. All information about NRFI will fully and honestly reflect the policies and practices of NRFI. Basic informational data about NRFI, such as the Form 990, reviews and compilations, and audited financial statements will be posted on NRFI’s website or otherwise available to the public. All solicitation materials accurately represent NRFI’s policies and practices and will reflect the dignity of program beneficiaries. All financial, organizational, and program reports will be complete and accurate in all material respects.

 

VII. Program Evaluation

NRFI regularly reviews program effectiveness and has mechanisms to incorporate lessons learned into future programs. NRFI is committed to improving program and organizational effectiveness and develops mechanisms to promote learning from its activities and the field. NRFI is responsive to changes in our field of activity and is responsive to the needs of our constituencies.

 

VIII. Inclusiveness and Diversity

NRFI has a policy of promoting inclusiveness, and its staff, board and volunteers reflect diversity in order to enrich its programmatic effectiveness. NRFI takes meaningful steps to promote inclusiveness in its hiring, retention, promotion, board recruitment and constituencies served.

 

IX. Fundraising

NRFI is truthful in our solicitation materials. NRFI respects the privacy concerns of individual donors and expends funds consistent with donor intent. NRFI will disclose important and relevant information to potential donors.

 

In raising funds from the public, NRFI will respect the rights of donors, as follows:

• To be informed of the mission of NRFI, the way the resources will be used and our capacity to use donations effectively for our intended purposes;
• To be informed of the identity of those serving on NRFI’s governing board and to expect the board to exercise prudent judgment in its stewardship responsibilities;
• To have access to NRFI’s most recent financial reports;
• To be assured their gifts will be used for the purposes for which they were given;
• To receive appropriate acknowledgement and recognition;
• To be assured that information about their donations is handled with respect and with confidentiality to the extent provided by the law;
• To expect that all relationships with individuals representing NRFI to the donor will be professional in nature;
• To be informed whether those seeking donations are volunteers, employees of NRFI or hired solicitors;
• To have the opportunity for names to be deleted from mailing lists that NRFI may intend to share; and,
• To feel free to ask questions when making a donation and to receive prompt, truthful and forthright answers.

 

X. Grantmaker Guidelines

NRFI occasionally acts in a role as a grantmaker and as such has particular responsibilities in carrying out that mission. These include the following:

• We will have constructive relations with grantseekers based on mutual respect and shared goals;
• We will communicate clearly and on a timely basis with potential grantees;
• We will treat grantseekers and grantees fairly and with respect;
• We will respect the expertise of grantseekers in our fields of knowledge;
• We will seek to understand and respect the organizational capacity and needs of grantseeking organizations; and,
• We will respect the integrity of the mission of grantseeking organizations.

 

XI. Operational Conduct

NRFI accepts that the nature of our operations makes them susceptible to acts of misconduct.  To that end we incorporate these standards for operational conduct.  This listing is not meant to summarize or replace any legal obligations under Federal, State or other law or regulation; it is meant to reiterate areas of particular importance.

 

                Conflicts of Interest

• Board Members, employees, and immediate family members of Board Members and employees may not contract with NRFI by themselves or through any corporation in which they hold a controlling financial interest without a disclosure and approval by the Board of Directors.

·         Employees may not accept outside employment which would impair the performance of their duties.  All outside employment shall be reported to and approved in writing by the President of NRFI

·         Employees and Board Members of NRFI may not enter into a transaction with a person or entity that is affiliated with them, either formally or informally, unless the transaction is an arms-length transaction made in the ordinary course of business and has documentation that it serves the best interests of NRFI.  A transaction is defined as anytime wherein persons either sell, buy, deal, exchange, rent, lend, barter real, personal or intangible property, money or any other thing of value or render service for value.

·         Representatives of NRFI may not engage in any activity that may require or induce them to disclose confidential information acquired through their relationship with NRFI and shall not use such information for personal gain or benefit.

 

Gifts

·         Representatives of NRFI may not use or attempt to use their relationship with NRFI to secure special privileges and exemptions for themselves or others.

·         Representatives of NRFI (employees, staff, board members and volunteers) are prohibited from soliciting, accepting or providing any gift to any funding provider or recipient of funds or services.  A gift is defined under the ordinance as anything of economic value, whether in the form of money, service, loan, travel, entertainment, hospitality, item or promise without adequate and lawful consideration.  

·         The following items are exempted from the definition of gift:

      1) Legally allowable political contributions;
2) Awards for civic and professional achievement;
3) Informational books and pamphlets;

4)  Items accepted on behalf of NRFI for use in its programs or operations

5)  Invitations to events wherein the person is representing NRFI in an official capacity

 

XII. Confidentiality and Protection of Personal Information

NRFI accepts that we are living in an increasingly digital world with continually increasing access to personal information.  NRFI has operational and legal needs to collect personal information about employees, board members, volunteers and donors.  This information may include, but is not limited to, names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, social security numbers and, in the case of donors, financial information such as credit card and checking account information.  This information is collected in order to maintain open communications.

 

As a matter of respect and appreciation for providing this information, NRFI will not sell, lease, or give any of this information to any organization whatsoever unless required by law or contractual obligation.  If this information is provided to a third party in order to perform a communication or operational function on behalf of NRFI it shall be a requirement that the information be destroyed upon completion of the function that it was given for.

 

Within each communication between NRFI and a person or organization within our database there will be a notice that they may be removed from our contact list by contacting NRFI either by email, regular mail or telephone.  The removal will occur within 2 business days of receipt of a request.

 

In order to protect information, NRFI will use the most reasonable methods of data encryption and maintenance.  We will also refrain from having any confidential information on laptops or other devices that may be taken out of the office.  If there is a breach of any of these standards we will attempt to notify all affected individuals within 2 business days of our realization of a breach.

 

XIII. Reporting Procedure and Anti-Retaliation Statement

NRFI has an open-door policy and suggests that employees, volunteers and other stakeholders share their questions, concerns, suggestions or complaints with someone who can address them properly.  In most cases, a supervisor or manager is the best position to address an area of concern.  However, if you are not comfortable speaking with a supervisor or you are not satisfied with their response, you are encouraged to speak with the NRFI Compliance Officer, who has specific and exclusive responsibility to investigate all reported violations.  For suspected fraud, or when you are not satisfied or are uncomfortable with following NRFI’s open-door policy, individuals should contact the Compliance Officer directly.

 

NRFI’s Compliance Officer is responsible for investigating and resolving all reported complaints and allegations concerning violations of the Statement of Values and Code of Ethics and, at the Officer’s discretion, shall advise the President and/or Audit Committee.  The Compliance Officer has direct access to the audit committee and that Board of Directors and is required to report to the audit committee at least annually on compliance activity.  NRFI’s Compliance Officer is the chair of the Audit Committee.

 

No director, officer or employee who in good faith reports a violation of the Code of Ethics or Statement of Values shall suffer harassment, retaliation, or adverse employment consequence.  An employee who retaliates against someone who has reported a violation in good faith is subject to discipline up to and including termination of employment or removal from their position.  This Anti-Retaliation Statement is intended to encourage and enable employees and others to raise serious concerns within NRFI prior to seeking outside resolution.

 

Closing

 

NRFI understands that any document of this type must be open to review and modification in order to maintain its relevance to the organization.  To that end, this document shall be reviewed on an annual basis, or more frequently if necessary, in order to maintain its relevance.  In addition to the review, all staff, consultants, board members, volunteers, and partner organizations shall sign an annual acknowledgement of acceptance and adherence to this Statement of Values and Code of Ethics.