Personal and Professional Integrity

All staff, board members, and volunteers of Awassa Children’s Project (the “Organization”), shall act with honesty, integrity and openness in all their dealings as representatives of the Organization. The Organization promotes a working environment that values respect, fairness and integrity.

Mission

The Organization has a clearly stated mission and purpose, approved by the board of directors, in pursuit of the public good. All of its programs support that mission and all who work for or on behalf of the Organization understand and are loyal to that mission and purpose. The mission is responsive to the constituency and communities served by the Organization and of value to the society at large.

Governance

The Organization has an active governing body that is responsible for setting the mission and strategic direction of the Organization and oversight of the finances, operations, and policies of the Organization. The governing body:

• Ensures that its board members have the requisite skills and experience to carry out their duties and that all members understand and fulfill their governance duties acting for the benefit of the Organization 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; and
• Ensures that the resources of the Organization are responsibly and prudently managed.

Legal Compliance

The Organization is knowledgeable of and complies with all laws, rules and regulations.

Responsible Stewardship

The Organization manages its funds responsibly and prudently. This includes the following:

• It spends a reasonable percentage of its annual budget on programs in pursuance of its mission;
• The Organization has reasonable fundraising costs, recognizing the variety of factors that affect fundraising costs; and
• All financial reports are factually accurate and complete in all material respects.

Openness And Disclosure

The organization provides comprehensive and timely information to the public, the media, and all stakeholders and is responsive in a timely manner to reasonable requests for information. All information about the Organization will fully and honestly reflect the policies and practices of the organization. All financial, organizational, and program reports will be complete and accurate in all material respects.

Inclusivesness and Diversity

The Organization has a policy of promoting inclusiveness and its staff, board and volunteers reflect diversity in order to enrich its programmatic effectiveness. The Organization takes meaningful steps to promote inclusiveness in its hiring, retention, promotion, and board recruitment.

Fundraising

The Organization raises funds from the public and from donor institutions and is truthful in its solicitation materials. The Organization respects the privacy concerns of individual donors and expends funds consistent with donor intent. The Organization discloses important and relevant information to potential donors. In raising funds from the public, the Organization respects the rights of donors, as follows:

• To be informed of the mission of the Organization, the way the resources will be used and their capacity to use donations effectively for their intended purposes;
• To be informed of the identity of those serving on the Organization’s governing board and to expect the board to exercise prudent judgment in its stewardship responsibilities;
• To have access to the Organization’s most recent financial reports;
• To be assured their gifts will be used for the purposes for which they were given;
• To be assured that information about their donations is handled with respect and with confidentiality to the extent provided by the law;
• To expect that all relationships with individuals representing the Organization will be professional in nature;
• To be informed whether those seeking donations are volunteers, employees of the Organization or hired solicitors;
• To have the opportunity for their names to be deleted from mailing lists that the Organization may intend to share; and,
• To feel free to ask questions when making a donation and to receive prompt, truthful and forthright answers.