Linda Crate, Radford, VA

   New River Community Action/Head Start

Jungmeen Kim, Blacksburg, VA

NRV CARES Staff 

Bev Walters, Executive Director

Mona Dollins DiGiulian, Grant Specialist/Finance Director

Keli Lichty, Education Program Director

Sherry Kramer, CASA Program Director

Tiffany Gomer, CASA Volunteer Coordinator

NRV CARES

STATEMENT OF CODE OF ETHICS

 I.                  Personal and Professional Integrity 

          All NRV CARES’ Staff, Board Members and Volunteers act with honesty, integrity and openness in all their dealings as representatives of NRV CARES.  NRV CARES promotes a working environment that values respect, fairness and integrity.

 II.               Mission

          The mission of NRV CARES is to protect children from abuse and to strengthen families through education, advocacy and community partnerships.  This mission has been approved by NRV CARES’ Board of Directors in pursuit of the public good.  All of NRV CARES’ programs support this mission and all who work for or on behalf of NRV CARES understand and are loyal to our mission.  Our mission is responsive to our community and is of value to the society at large.

            NRV CARES has an active Board of Directors that is responsible for setting the mission and strategic direction of NRV CARES.  The Board of Directors provides oversight of the finances, operations, and policies of NRV CARES.   NRV CARES’ Board of Directors:

·        Ensures that NRV CARES’ Board Members have the skills and experience to carry out their duties and that all members understand and fulfill their governance duties acting for the benefit of NRV CARES and its public purpose;

·        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;

 ·        Is responsible for the hiring, firing, and regular review of the performance of NRV CARES’ Executive Director, and ensures that the compensation of NRV CARES’ Executive Director is reasonable and appropriate;

·        Ensures that NRV CARES’ Executive Director and appropriate staff provide the Board of Directors with timely and comprehensive information so that the Board of Directors can effectively carry out its duties;

·        Ensures that NRV CARES conducts all transactions and dealings with integrity and honesty;

·        Ensures that NRV CARES promotes working relationships with Board Members, Staff, Volunteers and Clients that are based on mutual respect, fairness and openness;

·        Ensures that NRV CARES is fair and inclusive in its hiring and promotion policies and practices for all Board, Staff and Volunteer positions;

·        Ensures that policies of NRV CARES are in writing, clearly articulated and officially adopted;

·        Ensures that the resources of NRV CARES are responsibly and prudently managed; and

·        Ensures that NRV CARES has the capacity to carry out its programs effectively.

IV.            Legal Compliance 

            NRV CARES is knowledgeable and complies with all laws, regulations and applicable conventions relevant to NRV CARES’ mission, programs and financial matters.

            V.               Responsible Stewardship 

          NRV CARES manages its funds responsibly and prudently.  This includes the following considerations: 

·        NRV CARES spends a reasonable percentage of its annual budget on programs in pursuance of its mission;

·        NRV CARES spends an adequate amount on administrative expenses to ensure effective accounting systems, internal controls, competent staff, and other expenditures critical to professional management;

·        NRV CARES compensates Staff, and any others who may receive compensation, reasonably and appropriately;

·        NRV CARES, through its solicitation of funds, will have reasonable fundraising costs and recognizes the variety of factors that affect fundraising costs;

·        NRV CARES will not accumulate operating funds excessively;

·        NRV CARES, through its endowments (both current and future), will prudently draw from endowment funds consistent with donor intent to support the public purpose of NRV CARES;

·        NRV CARES ensures that all spending practices and policies are fair, reasonable and appropriate to fulfill the mission of NRV CARES; and

·        All financial reports are factually accurate and complete in all material respects.

 VI.            Openness and Disclosure

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

            NRV CARES regularly reviews the effectiveness of its programs and has mechanisms to incorporate lessons learned into future programs.  NRV CARES is committed to improving program and organizational effectiveness and develops mechanisms to promote learning from its activities and the field.  NRV CARES is responsive to changes in the fields of child welfare and child abuse prevention and is responsive to the needs of the community.

            NRV CARES has a policy of non-discrimination and NRV CARES’ Staff, Board of Directors, and Volunteers reflect diversity in order to enrich the organization’s effectiveness.  NRV CARES takes meaningful steps to assure non-discrimination in its hiring, retention, promotion, Board recruitment and clients served.  NRV CARES is an equal opportunity employer/organization and will not discriminate against any individual on the basis of race, color, marital status, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, or handicap, as defined by law.

            NRV CARES raises funds from the public and from donor institutions and is truthful in its solicitation materials.  NRV CARES respects the privacy concerns of individual donors and expends funds consistent with donor intent.  NRV CARES discloses appropriate important and relevant information to potential donors.

           In raising funds from the public, NRV CARES respects the rights of donors, as follows:

·        To inform donors of NRV CARES’ mission, the way resources will be used and NRV CARES’ capacity to use donations effectively for their intended purposes;

·        To inform donors of the identity of those serving on the NRV CARES Board of Directors and to expect the Board of Directors to exercise prudent judgment in its stewardship responsibilities;

·        For donors to have access to NRV CARES’ most recent audited financial reports;

·        For donors to be assured that their gifts will be used for the purposes for which they were given;

·        For donors to receive appropriate acknowledgement and recognition;

·        For donors to be assured that information about their donations is handled with respect and with confidentiality to the extent provided by the law;

·        For donors to expect that all relationships with individuals representing organizations of interest to the donor will be professional in nature;

·        For donors to be informed whether those seeking donations to NRV CARES are volunteers, employees of NRV CARES, or hired solicitors;

·        For donors to have the opportunity for their names to be deleted from NRV CARES’ mailing lists; and

·        For donors to feel free to ask questions when making a donation and to receive prompt, truthful and forthright answers.

           This document was drafted with comments by NRV CARES’ Board of Directors and Staff and included the following:

NRV CARES Board of Directors

      Burman Clark

      Lindsey Eversole, Secretary

     Jungmeen Kim

     Linda Crate

    Christine McCann

    Jamie Radford, President

    James Tyler, Treasurer

    Ron Underwood, Vice-President

    Anne Wheeler

NRV CARES Staff

      Beverly Walters, Executive Director

      Mona Dollins DiGiulian, Grant Specialist/Finance Director

      Keli Lichty, Education Program Director

      Sherry Kramer, CASA Program Director

      Tiffany Gomer, CASA Volunteer Coordinator

This Statement of Code of Ethics was approved by NRV CARES Board of Directors on ­­­­May 2, 2007; re-approved on July 18, 2009; July 15, 2010.