Policy

Birthline of Colorado is committed to equal employment and volunteer opportunity without regard to age, ancestry, pregnancy, disability, medical condition(s), national or ethnic origin, race, religious belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal or state law.

This policy applies to all areas of employment and volunteer participation, including recruitment, hiring, training and development, promotion, transfer, termination, layoff, compensation, benefits, social and recreational programs, all other conditions and privileges of employment in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws.

Birthline of Colorado is committed to ensuring that all individuals feel safe and supported when raising concerns about discrimination and harassment. Retaliation against anyone who, in good faith, reports a violation, participates in an investigation, or opposes unlawful conduct is strictly prohibited. Any form of retaliation, including but not limited to intimidation, harassment, or adverse employment actions, will not be tolerated. Individuals who believe they have been subjected to retaliation are encouraged to report it immediately to Administration and the organization will take prompt, appropriate action to address the situation. Violators of this policy may face disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment or volunteer opportunities.

Our donors are critical to the success of our mission and we understand the importance of maintaining their privacy.  Therefore, Birthline of Colorado will not sell, trade, or share a donor’s personal information with any other entity.  Nor will Birthline of Colorado use donor information to act on behalf of other unrelated entities.  Employees and volunteers will only have access to donor information as necessary to be able to communicate to those donors.

1. Birthline of Colorado will not retaliate against a whistleblower. This includes, but is not limited to, protection from retaliation in the form of an adverse employment action such as termination, compensation decreases, or poor work assignments and threats of physical harm. Any whistleblower who believes he/she is being retaliated against must contact the Human Resources Director immediately. The right of a whistleblower for protection against retaliation does not include immunity for any personal wrongdoing that is alleged and investigated.
2. Whistleblower protections are provided in two important areas: confidentiality and retaliation. Insofar as possible, the confidentiality of the whistleblower will be maintained. However, identity may have to be disclosed to conduct a thorough investigation, to comply with the law, and to provide accused individuals their legal rights of defense.
3. Individuals protected include a. the employee, or a person acting on behalf of the employee, who reports to a public body or is about to report to a public body a matter of public concern; or b. the employee who participates in a court action, an investigation, a hearing, or an inquiry held by a public body on a matter of public concern.
4. The organization may not discharge, threaten, or otherwise discriminate against an employee regarding the employee’s compensation, terms, conditions, location, or privileges of employment. V. The organization may not disqualify an employee or other person who brings a matter of public concern, or participates in a proceeding connected with a matter of public concern, before a public body or court, because of the report or participation, from eligibility to bid on contracts with the organization; receive land under a district ordinance; or receive another right, privilege, or benefit.
5. The provisions of this policy do not a. require the organization to compensate an employee for participation in a court action or in an investigation, hearing, or inquiry by a public body; b. prohibit the organization from compensating an employee for participation in a court action or in an investigation, hearing, or inquiry by a public body; c. authorize the disclosure of information that is legally required to be kept confidential; or d. diminish or impair the rights of an employee under a collective bargaining agreement.
6. Limitation to protections

These policies cover all records regardless of physical form or characteristics which have been made or received by Birthline of Colorado in the course of doing business.

1. Purpose of policies | These policies provide for the systematic review, retention and destruction of records received or created by Birthline of Colorado in connection with the transaction of business. These policies cover all records, regardless of physical form, contain guidelines for how long certain records should be kept and how records should be destroyed. These policies are designed to ensure compliance with federal and state laws and regulations, to eliminate accidental or innocent destruction of records and to facilitate Birthline of Colorado’s operations by promoting efficiency and freeing up valuable storage space. Included in the federal laws necessitating compliance with these policies is the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (“The American Competitiveness and Corporate Accountability Act of 2002”), which makes it a crime to alter, cover up, falsify, or destroy any document with the intent of impeding or obstructing any official proceeding.
2. Records covered | These policies apply to all records in any form, including electronic documents. A record is any material that contains information about Birthline of Colorado’s plans, results, policies or performance. Anything that can be represented with words or numbers is a business record for purposes of these policies. Electronic documents must be retained as if they were paper documents. Therefore, any electronic files, including information received on line, that fall into one of the document types on the schedule must be maintained for the appropriate amount of time. [For example, if a user has sufficient reason to keep an email message, the message should be printed in hard copy and kept in the appropriate file or moved to an “archive” computer file folder.] [Backup and recovery methods will be tested on a regular basis.]
3. Record Retention | Birthline of Colorado follows the document retention procedures outlined below. Documents that are not listed, but are substantially similar to those listed in the schedule, will be retained for the appropriate length of time. This information is provided for educational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice.
   1. Permanent Retention
      1. Permanent records—Permanent records are records required by law to be permanently retained and which are ineligible for destruction at any time for any reason. These records are necessary for the continuity of business and the protection of the rights and interests of the organization and of individuals. These include records such as organizational documents (Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws), Board minutes and policies, federal and state tax exempt status and independent audits. No record, whether or not referenced, may be destroyed if in any way the records refer to, concern, arise out of or in any other way are involved in pending or threatened litigation. While the listings below contain commonly recognized categories of records, the list should not be considered as having identified all records that Birthline of Colorado may need to consider for permanent and non-permanent status. In particular, and as noted above, any documents that are, or may be involved in pending or threatened litigation, must be retained. The nonprofit’s legal counsel should be asked to assist in determining what records must be retained.
         1. Corporate Records Permanent:
            1. Permanent Annual Reports to Secretary of State/Attorney General
            2. Articles of Incorporation
            3. Board Meeting and Board Committee Minutes
            4. Board Policies/Resolutions
            5. By-laws
            6. Construction Documents
            7. Fixed Asset Records
            8. IRS Application for Tax-Exempt Status (Form 1023)
            9. IRS Determination Letter
            10. State Sales Tax Exemption Letter
         2. Accounting and Corporate Tax Records Permanent:
            1. Annual Audits and Financial Statements
            2. Depreciation Schedules
            3. General Ledgers
            4. IRS 990 Tax Returns
         3. Bank records Permanent
            1. Check Registers
         4. Payroll and Employment Tax Records – Permanent
            1. Payroll Registers
            2. State Unemployment Tax Records
         5. Employee Records – Permanent
            1. Employment and Termination Agreements
            2. Retirement and Pension Plan Documents
         6. Legal, Insurance and Safety Records – Permanent
            1. Appraisals
            2. Copyright Registrations
            3. Environmental Studies
            4. Insurance Policies
            5. Real Estate Documents
            6. Stock and Bond Records
            7. Trademark Registrations
      2. Non-permanent retention
         1. Non-permanent records
            1. Certain records are not required by law to be permanently retained and may be destroyed after the passage of certain years or upon the passing of events as defined by these policies. Notwithstanding the listing of documents below, no record, whether or not referenced may be destroyed if in any way the records refer to, concern, arise out of or in any other way are involved in pending or threatened litigation.
               1. Corporate Records
                  1. Contracts (after expiration) 7 years
                  2. Correspondence (general) 3 years
               2. Accounting and Corporate Tax Records
                  1. Business Expense Records 7 years
                  2. IRS 1099s 7 years
                  3. Journal Entries 7 years
                  4. Invoices 7 years
                  5. Sales Records (box office, concessions, gift shop) 5 years
                  6. Petty Cash Vouchers 3 years
                  7. Cash Receipts 3 years
                  8. Credit Card Receipts 3 years
               3. Bank Records
                  1. Bank Deposit Slips 7 years
                  2. Bank Statements and Reconciliation 7 years
                  3. Electronic Fund Transfer Documents 7 years
               4. Payroll and Employment Tax Records
                  1. Earnings Records 7 years
                  2. Garnishment Records 7 years
                  3. Payroll Tax returns 7 years
                  4. W-2 Statements 7 years
               5. Employee Records
                  1. Records Relating to Promotion, Demotion or Discharge 7 years after termination
                  2. Accident Reports and Worker’s Compensation Records 5 years after termination of claim
                  3. Salary Schedules 5 years
                  4. Employment Applications 3 years
                  5. I-9 Forms 3 years after termination
                  6. Time Cards 2 years
               6. Legal, Insurance and Safety Records
                  1. Donor Records and Acknowledgement Letters 7 years
                  2. Grant Applications and Contracts 5 years after completion
                  3. Leases 6 years after expiration
                  4. OSHA Documents 5 years
                  5. General Contracts 4 years after termination
4. Emergency Planning | Birthline of Colorado’s records will be stored in a safe, secure and accessible manner. All documents and financial files that are essential to keeping Birthline of Colorado operating in an emergency will be duplicated or backed up at least every week and maintained off site. All other documents and financial files will be duplicated or backed up periodically as identified by the Treasurer or other person as designated by the Board and maintained off-site.
5. Document Destruction | Birthline of Colorado Treasurer or other representative as designated by the Board is responsible for the ongoing process of identifying its records which have met the required retention period and overseeing their destruction. Destruction of financial and personnel-related documents will be accomplished by shredding. Document destruction will be suspended immediately, upon any indication of an official investigation or when a lawsuit is filed or appears imminent. Destruction will be reinstated upon conclusion of the investigation or claim, whichever is latest.
6. Compliance | Failure on the part of employees to follow this policy can result in possible civil and criminal sanctions against Birthline of Colorado and its employees and possible disciplinary action against responsible individuals. The Treasurer or individual designated by the Board or Finance Committee chair will periodically review these procedures with legal counsel or the organization’s certified public accountant to ensure that they are in compliance with new or revised regulations. Questions concerning these policies, the applicability of certain records to the retention or destruction policies, must be addressed to the Treasurer or other individual as designated by the Board.

Loans to and from Officers, Directors, and Employees are prohibited.

1. Annually, the Birthline of Colorado Board, or it’s designated compensation committee, will conduct a “comparability salary review”, independent of the executive.
2. The Board or it’s designated committee will study “comparable” salaries and benefits data, such as that available from salary and benefit surveys, to learn what nonprofit employers with similar missions, and of a similar budget size, located in metro Denver and Colorado geographic region, pay their senior leaders.
3. The independent body that is conducting the review will document who was involved and the process used to conduct the review, as well as document the full board’s decision to approve the executive director’s compensation
4.  The documentation must demonstrate that the board considered comparable data when it approved the compensation.

We, at Birthline of Colorado, are humbled by the generous philanthropy of our precious donors and appreciate their partnering with us to help mothers, their babies, and families. We recognize that it is important for donors to have confidence in our organization and mission. Therefore, Birthline of Colorado declares that donors have the right to:

1. Be informed of the organization’s mission, the way the organization intends to use donated resources, and of its capacity to use donations effectively for their intended purpose.
2. Be informed of the identity of those serving on the organization’s governing board, and to expect the board to exercise prudent judgement in its stewardship responsibilities.
3. Have access to the organization’s most recent financial statements.
4. Be assured their gifts will be used for the purposes for which they were given.
5. Receive appropriate acknowledgement and recognition in a timely manner.
6. Be assured that information about their donations is handled with respect and with confidentiality to the extent provided by law.
7. Expect that all relationships with individuals representing organization of interest to the donor will be professional in nature.
8. Be informed whether those seeking donations are volunteers, employees of the organization or hired solicitors.
9. Be assured that we will not sell, trade, or share a donor’s information with anyone, nor send donor mailings on behalf of other organizations.
10. Feel free to ask questions when making a donation and to receive prompt, truthful, and forthright answers.

Donor Bill of Rights endorsed by the National Catholic Development Conference (NCDC)
As adapted from the Association of Fundraising Professionals