Standard 1: Oversight of Operations and Staff - Organizations shall have a board of directors that provides adequate oversight of the charity's operations and its staff. Indication of adequate oversight includes, but is not limited to, regularly scheduled appraisals of the CEO's performance, evidence of disbursement controls such as board approval of the budget, fund raising practices, establishment of a conflict of interest policy, and establishment of accounting procedures sufficient to safeguard charity finances.
- FA does not meet this Standard because the board of directors does not review the performance of the chief executive officer (CEO) at least once every two years. The organization also does meet this Standard because it does not have a board-approved budget and does not inform the board of directors about the financial arrangements made with an outside fund raising firm and/or consultant hired in the past year.
Standard 3: Frequency and Attendance of Board Meetings - An organization shall have a minimum of three evenly spaced meetings per year of the full governing body with a majority in attendance, with face-to-face participation. A conference call of the full board can substitute for one of the three meetings of the governing body. For all meetings, alternative modes of participation are acceptable for those with physical disabilities.
- FA does not meet this Standard because the board of directors did not meet in 2008.
Standard 6: Board Policy on Effectiveness - Have a board policy of assessing, no less than every two years, the organization's performance and effectiveness and of determining future actions required to achieve its mission.
- FA does not meet this Standard because the board of directors does not have a written policy stating that, at least every two years, an appraisal be done assessing the organization’s performance and effectiveness and determining future actions required to achieve its mission.
Standard 7: Board Approval of Written Report on Effectiveness - Submit to the organization's governing body, for its approval, a written report that outlines the results of the aforementioned performance and effectiveness assessment and recommendations for future actions.
- FA does not meet this Standard because it has not conducted an effectiveness assessment and does not have one planned for the near future.
Standard 16: Annual Report - Have an annual report available to all, on request, that includes: (a) the organization's mission statement, (b) a summary of the past year's program service accomplishments, (c) a roster of the officers and members of the board of directors, (d) financial information that includes (i) total income in the past fiscal year, (ii) expenses in the same program, fund raising and administrative categories as in the financial statements, and (iii) ending net assets.
- FA does not meet provision (d) of this Standard because its annual report does not identify the total amount spent for each of its major program activities, fund raising, and end of year net assets.
FA meets the remaining provisions of the Standard.
Standard 19: Cause Related Marketing - Clearly disclose how the charity benefits from the sale of products or services (i.e., cause-related marketing) that state or imply that a charity will benefit from a consumer sale or transaction. Such promotions should disclose, at the point of solicitation: (a) the actual or anticipated portion of the purchase price that will benefit the charity (e.g., 5 cents will be contributed to abc charity for every xyz company product sold), (b) the duration of the campaign (e.g., the month of October), (c) any maximum or guaranteed minimum contribution amount (e.g., up to a maximum of $200,000).
- FA does not meet this Standard because, in the past year, the organization participated in promotions for the sale of food that indicated that the organization will benefit from these purchases. The promotions, however, did not specify the actual or anticipated amount of the purchase price that will benefit the organization.