Group Issues Standards for On-the-Job Giving

Following are new standards that must be followed by members of the National Alliance for Choice in Giving, a Washington association of more than 50 local and statewide federations that run on-the-job fund-raising campaigns. The alliance issued the standards, it said, to make sure all its federations operated uniformly and to show how they differ from United Ways.

General Standards for Workplace Giving Organizations

A. Employees shall have the opportunity for choice in directing their charitable gifts through the workplace campaign.

B. The workplace campaign belongs to the employer and employee and the workplace solicitation policy is set by each individual employer, not charitable federations.

C. Federations shall not deliberately obstruct other federations through negative campaigning, disinformation, intimidation, or other means.

D. Federations shall not prohibit their member agencies from conducting workplace giving campaigns for their employees that include other charitable federations.

E. Federations shall not engage in coercion of employees or promote coercive campaigns.

F. Federations shall not engage in deceptive practices or make exaggerated claims.

Financial Practices

Member federations shall:

A. Comply with Internal Revenue Service reporting regulations.

B. Comply with charitable organization reporting requirements of the states in which they operate.

C. Comply with generally accepted accounting principles for non-profit organizations.

D. Provide financial reports to their boards of trustees no less than four times per year.

E. Develop an annual budget.

F. Conduct an annual financial audit.

G. Adopt clear distribution and allocations policies and make them available to the public.

H. Inform donors of actual administrative costs withheld from designated and undesignated campaign gifts and pledges.

I. Honor all designations and maintain financial systems that insure accurate tracking of designations to all agencies in good standing.

J. Clearly itemize all sources of operating income including but not limited to member dues, fees retained from campaign revenues, special events, foundations, direct mail, major donors, corporations, fees for services, and product sales.

K. Distribute funds to member organizations at least two times per year.

L. Distinguish between funds raised for the federation’s member organizations and “agency transactions” to other federations and non-member organizations in campaign reports.

M. Maintain comprehensive records on workplace campaigns and complete annual NACG survey.

N. Insure that the total amount distributed to member groups as a percentage of what is received through the campaign be 75% or greater, unless otherwise approved by the recipient agencies.

O. Member federations shall make the following documents available to the public upon request: (1) IRS Form 990, (2) accountant’s audit, (3) annual report.

General Ethical and Professional Standards

A. A federation/fund shall assist in maintaining the integrity and competence of workplace and payroll deduction campaigns and other forms of legitimate charitable giving.

B. A federation/fund shall insure that all donations/charitable contributions in its custody and control shall be remitted to the designated charity pursuant to the donor’s wishes.

C. A federation/fund shall assist in preventing the remittance of any contribution to a charity not chosen by the donor, except in special situations.

D. A federation/fund shall preserve the confidentiality of any donor wishing to remain anonymous and/or any information such donor wishes to remain confidential.

E. A federation/fund shall exercise the best independent professional judgment at all times.

F. A federation/fund shall assist in improving and enhancing workplace and payroll deduction campaigns for all members, participants, and donors.

G. A federation/fund shall avoid even the appearance of professional impropriety.

H. The Board of Directors of every federation/fund shall have a conflict of interest policy.

I. A federation/fund shall not condone or accept discrimination based on age, sex, sexual preference, race, economic status, or physical state and further shall avoid even the appearance of discrimination based on age, sex, sexual preference, race, economic status, or physical state.

Campaign Management Standards

Workplace campaigns are owned by employers and their employees, and every federation/fund has a right to participate in workplace campaigns on a fair and level playing field. NACG issues the following standards for federations/funds serving as campaign manager and/or fiscal agent for public or private sector employers:

A. The federation/fund will in no way intentionally use its role as campaign manager to assert its interests over the interests of other charitable organizations participating in the campaign.

B. Federations/funds shall assess fair, reasonable, and documented actual costs in their capacity as campaign manager. These fees shall not exceed 15% of campaign revenues. When a federation/fund is serving strictly as a fiscal agent without additional campaign management responsibilities, these fees shall not exceed 5% of campaign revenues.

C. Federations/funds serving as fiscal agent shall not include the results of other federations and unaffiliated agencies in their own campaign goals and results reported to the media and general public.

D. Federations/funds shall conduct campaign operations such as training, kick-off and other events, and fiscal operations such as banking and fund distribution separate from the federation/fund’s non-campaign management operations.

E. Federations/funds shall distribute funds no less than quarterly.

F. The allowance for uncollectible pledges shall be based on actual overall pledge loss, not estimated pledge loss. A federation/fund serving as fiscal agent receives from the employer only those dollars actually withheld from employee paychecks. It shall therefore distribute exactly what it receives (less approved fees) and report the actual pledge loss at the end of the campaign cycle.

G. Interest earned on campaign revenues shall be tracked and distributed to campaign participants on a pro-rata basis.

H. The federation/fund will comply with audit standards set by the employer.

Other Recommendations

A. Honor all access and campaign agreements negotiated with other federations.

B. Avoid borrowing against restricted campaign revenues.

C. Promote diversity in boards, staff, and volunteers.

D. Protect the interests of the federation/fund and its employees through adequate insurance protection (fidelity bonding, general liability, workers’ compensation).

E. Provide a fair and reasonable compensation package for employees.

F. Abide by the National Society of Fund Raising Executives’ “Donor Bill of Rights.”