CODE OF STANDARD PRACTICE FOR NGOs

MISSION AND VALUES

An NGO is founded for public benefit and operates to accomplish a well-defined, articulated mission. Its programmes effectively and efficiently work toward achieving that mission and it is committed to continuous quality improvement. Based on the values of quality, responsibility, and accountability, NGO board members, volunteers, and employees act in the best interest of achieving the organisation's mission at all times.

GOVERNANCE

Elected or appointed, volunteer boards of directors who are committed to the organisation's mission and leadership govern NGOs. An NGO board determines the mission, strategic direction, and future programming of the organisation. An NGO board ensures and nurtures adequate human and financial resources and actively monitors and evaluates the organisation's executive director/CEO, as well as service and financial results. NGO board members approve and systematically implement policies to ensure achievement of the mission of the organisation and to prevent perceived, potential, or actual conflict of interest.

HUMAN RESOURCES

Volunteers and employees are essential elements of an NGO’s ability to achieve its mission. Volunteers are unique to NGOs, and are a vital resource in governance, administrative, and service capacities. NGO human resource policies are fair, establish clear expectations, and provide for meaningful and effective performance evaluation for both paid employees and volunteers.

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

An NGO is a faithful steward of funds entrusted to it, practices sound and timely financial management, and complies with legal and generally accepted accounting principles. An NGO maintains accurate financial records and ensures that the organisation's financial resources are used solely in furtherance of its mission. Regulatory, risk management, and liability concerns are periodically reviewed.

PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY AND COMMUNICATIONS

Volunteers, board members, employees and donors voluntarily become involved with an NGO because of its public benefit mission. Therefore, an NGO is transparent and makes information about its mission, programme activities, and finances available to its constituencies. An NGO is accessible and responsive to public inquiry and reaches out to interested parties.

PARTNERSHIP AND ALLIANCES

An NGO forms alliances with other NGO, for-profit, or governmental organisations if and when appropriate to improve the organisation's capability to advance its mission and serve its constituencies. An NGO identifies partners to create new opportunities to achieve mission-driven results.

MISSION AND VALUES

An NGO is founded for public benefit and operates to accomplish a well-defined, articulated mission. Its programmes effectively and efficiently work toward achieving that mission and it is committed to continuous quality improvement. Based on the values of quality, responsibility, and accountability, NGO board members, volunteers, and employees act in the best interest of achieving the organisation's mission at all times.

A. Mission

1. An NGO's purpose -- the answer to the question, "Why?" as defined and approved by the board of directors -- should be formally stated in writing. The organisation's activities should be consistent with its stated purpose.
2. An NGO should, at least biennially, revisit its mission to determine if the need for its services continues to exist. The organisation should evaluate whether the mission needs to be modified to reflect societal changes; whether the organisation's current programmes should be revised or discontinued in the light of the existing or newly defined mission; or whether new services need to be developed.
3. An NGO should have clearly defined procedures in place for evaluating (both qualitatively and quantitatively) its processes and outcomes in relation to its mission. These procedures should address the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of processes and outcomes.

B. Programme Service and Quality

1. An NGO should act with the utmost professionalism and treat all persons equally and with respect.
2. An NGO should regularly monitor the satisfaction of service participants as well as other parts of the organisation's constituencies and provide a grievance procedure to address complaints.
3. An NGO should practice continuous quality improvement that includes evaluation and tracking of information.

C. Values

1. An NGO should act with integrity, openness, and honesty in all relationships, dealings, and transactions. An NGO should strive to earn and convey trust through integrity, openness, and honesty.
2. An NGO should keep faith with the public trust through efficient, cost-effective, and compassionate stewardship of resources. An NGO should be mindful that its mission is accomplished through the generosity of others.
3. An NGO should ensure that policies and procedures of human relations are legally grounded, of high quality, and respectful of the dignity and rights of individuals.

D. Commitment to Diversity, Accessibility, and Social Justice

1. An NGO should respect all people's race, religion, ethnicity, gender, age, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, and ability and should not allow differences to affect a person's opportunities.
2. An NGO's board, staff, volunteers, and contractors should reflect the diversity of the organisation's constituencies and the broader community.
3. An NGO should conduct its work in facilities that allow reasonable access to persons of all ability levels.
4. An NGO should act in ways that further the equality of opportunity among individuals and communities.
5. An NGO should act in ways that promote a sustainable environment.

GOVERNANCE

Elected or appointed, volunteer boards of directors who are committed to the organisation's mission and leadership govern NGOs. An NGO board determines the mission, strategic direction, and future programming of the organisation. An NGO board ensures and nurtures adequate human and financial resources and actively monitors and evaluates the organisation's executive director/CEO, as well as service and financial results. NGO board members approve and systematically implement policies to ensure achievement of the mission of the organisation and to prevent perceived, potential, or actual conflict of interest.

A. Board Responsibilities

1. The board should engage in ongoing planning activities as necessary to determine the mission of the organisation and its strategic direction, to define specific goals and objectives related to the mission, and to evaluate the success of the organisation's services toward achieving the mission.
2. The board should approve the policies for the effective, efficient, and cost-effective operation of the organisation.
3. The board should annually approve the organisation's budget and assess the organisation's financial performance in relation to the budget at least twice yearly.
4. The board is responsible for the financial health of the organisation and should actively participate in the fundraising process through members' financial support and active seeking of the support of others.
5. The board should hire, set the compensation for, and annually evaluate the performance of the executive director/CEO.
6. If the organisation employs staff, the board should annually review its overall compensation structure, using industry-based surveys of salaries and benefits. The board should establish policies, when appropriate, on employee benefits, vacation, and sick leave.
7. The board should approve written policies and procedures governing the work and actions of its employees and volunteers. These polices and procedures should address the following: working conditions; evaluation and grievance procedures; confidentiality of employee, volunteer, client, and organisation records and information; and employee and volunteer growth and development.
8. The board should ensure that an internal review of the organisation's compliance with known existing legal, regulatory, and financial reporting requirements is conducted annually and that a summary of the results of the review is provided to the entire board.
9. The board should periodically assess the need for insurance coverage in light of the nature and extent of the organisation's activities and its financial capacity.

B. Board Composition

1. The board members should be personally committed to the mission of the organisation, willing to volunteer sufficient time and resources to help achieve the mission of the organisation, and understand and fulfill their fiduciary responsibilities.
2. No more than one employee of the organisation should serve as a voting member of the board of directors and staff should not serve as chair of the Board.
3. To allow for significant deliberation and diversity, the majority of the board should be made up of at least seven persons unrelated to each other or staff.
4. The organisation's bylaws should determine term limits that establish individual terms of no more than three years, allow individuals to serve no more than three consecutive terms, and require at least one year intervening before eligibility for re-election after serving the maximum number of consecutive terms.
5. Board membership should reflect the diversity of the organisation's constituencies.
6. Board members (who are not employees) should not receive compensation for their board service, other than reimbursement for expenses directly related to board duties.

C. Conduct of the Board

1. The board should be responsible for its own operations, including the education, training, and development of board members; annual evaluation of its own performance; and, when appropriate, the selection of new board members. There should be written job descriptions for board members, officers, committees, and committee members.
2. The board should have written expectations for board members, including expectations for full board participation in fundraising activities, committee service, and service activities.
3. The board should meet as frequently as needed to adequately conduct the business of the organisation. At a minimum, the board should meet four times a year with a quorum present.
4. The board should have written policies that address attendance and participation of board members at board meetings including a process to address noncompliance.
5. Written meeting minutes should reflect the actions of the board, including reports of authorised board committees. The board should permanently retain the minutes, distribute them to board and committee members, and make them available for public review.

D. Conflict of Interest

1. The board should establish conflict of interest policies regarding board, staff, volunteers, contractors, and organisational partners or allies and adhere to these policies in all dealings. The policies should include an obligation of each board member to disclose all material facts and relationships and refrain from voting on any matter when there is a conflict of interest. In particular, the policies should prohibit board members from submitting tenders to the organisation or applying for staffing positions within the organisation.

HUMAN RESOURCES

Volunteers and employees are essential elements of an NGO’s ability to achieve its mission. Volunteers are unique to NGOs, and are a vital resource in governance, administrative, and service capacities. NGO human resource policies are fair, establish clear expectations, and provide for meaningful and effective performance evaluation for both paid employees and volunteers.

A. Employees and Volunteers

1. Employees and volunteers should be committed to the mission of the organisation and competently, efficiently, and professionally perform the duties they agreed to assume.
2. An NGO should invest in the training of employees and volunteers as a means to ensure quality management and service.
3. An NGO should have a system in place for written evaluation of employees and volunteers by their respective supervisors, at least annually and remuneration should be on this basis.
4. An NGO should have a system in place for the succession of employees, most notably for the executive director.
5. New employees and volunteers of the organisation should receive clear orientation to the mission of the organisation, the organisation's policies and procedures, job definitions and expectations, and a defined workspace.
6. The organisation should maintain disciplinary and grievance procedures with clear lines of authority and accountability.
7. The organisation should develop and implement mechanisms to monitor the use of staff time.

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

An NGO is a faithful steward of public funds entrusted to it, practices sound and timely financial management, and complies with a complex array of legal and generally accepted accounting principles. An NGO maintains accurate financial records and ensures that the organisation's financial resources are used solely in furtherance of its mission. Regulatory, risk management, and liability concerns are periodically reviewed.

A. Financial Accountability

1. An NGO should operate in accordance with an annual budget that has been approved by the board prior to the beginning of each fiscal year.
2. An NGO should create and maintain financial reports on a timely (at least quarterly) basis, accurately reflecting the financial activity of the organisation, including the comparison of actual to budgeted revenue and expense.
3. Quarterly financial statements should be provided to the board of directors. The statements should identify and explain any significant variation between actual and budgeted revenues and expenses.
4. An organisation should subject its financial reports to an annual audit by a Chartered Accountant.
5. An NGO should provide employees and volunteers with a confidential means to report suspected financial impropriety or misuse of organisation resources.
6. An NGO should have written financial policies governing the following matters, where appropriate: (a) investment of the assets of the organisation; (b) internal control procedures; (c) purchasing practices; (d) reserve funds; (e) compensation, including salary and benefits; (f) expense account reporting; and (g) earned income.
7. The organisation should have clear and written policies on loans and staff advances.
8. Wherever possible, the organisation should ensure that its funding base is diversified.

B. Donor Relationships and Privacy

1. An NGO should respect the privacy of donors and safeguard the confidentiality of information that a donor reasonably would expect to be private.
2. An NGO should provide individual donors with an opportunity to remain anonymous and to prevent their name, gift amount, or other information from being publicly released.

PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY AND COMMUNICATIONS

Volunteers, board members, employees and donors voluntarily become involved with an NGO because of its public benefit mission. Therefore, an NGO is transparent and makes information about its mission, programme activities, and finances available to its constituencies. An NGO is accessible and responsive to public inquiry and reaches out to interested parties.

A. Public Access

1. An NGO should provide members of the public who express an interest in the affairs of the organisation with a meaningful opportunity to communicate with an appropriate representative of the organisation.
2. An NGO should ensure that it discloses its audited or other financial statements to members of the public

B. Communication of Information

1. An NGO should prepare and make available annually to the public information about the organisation's mission, service activities, and basic financial data. The report also should identify the names of the organisation's board of directors and management staff.
2. An NGO should ensure that donors, clients, volunteers, and the general public have access to appropriate financial records and records of organisational activity and effectiveness measures in fulfillment of the public trust.
3. An NGO should ensure that personal information on individual clients, employees, and others is confidential unless permission to release information has been obtained.
4. The organisation should ensure that input from other stakeholders, especially members of the larger community or constituency that it serves are made part of regular evaluations and updating of programmes.
5. If a membership organisation, the organisation should hold Annual General Meetings with full, open and accurate disclosure of relevant information concerning goals, programmes, finances and governance.

PARTNERSHIP AND ALLIANCES

An NGO forms alliances with other NGOs, for-profit, or governmental organisations if and when appropriate to improve the organisation's capability to advance its mission and serve its stakeholders. An NGO identifies partners to create new opportunities to achieve mission-driven results.

A. Objectives

1. An NGO should engage in collaborative efforts if and when such actions enhance its objectives and prevent, reduce, or eliminate duplication of services.
2. An NGO should collaborate with agencies and other community organisations to ensure fairness and equity and to ensure effectiveness in the use of charitable resources.
3. An NGO should provide leadership and collaborate with others to further the interests of its constituency and advancement of its mission.

B. Structure

1. When effectiveness and ease of management can be improved through partnership or alliance, an NGO should structure and formalise these relationships strategically.
2. To the extent possible, when appropriate, an NGO should foster and encourage cooperation at the local, regional, and national levels in community and or constituency benefit efforts.