Practical Policies - Easy and Short!

A national speaker who specializes in non-profit law likes to say “The only thing worse than not having a policy is having a policy in place you don’t follow.”
Policies are like seat-belts: they only work if you have installed them in your car AND you use them.
I recently helped an organization dissolve that, even with three bankers on the board, allowed the Executive Director to move bank balances around electronically – eventually $750,000 went right into his bank account.
“It was so convenient,” said one of the bankers miserably. “We didn’t even think to question it when he asked if we could arrange it!. The E.D. is in Mexico, we think….."

The three issues surrounding polices for your organization are:

1. Know that there are two types of policies: Programmatic and Organization
Program policies deal with human resource/employee issues (the executive director should manage these):

• Money and cash handling systems
• Child policies
• Complaints

Organizational policies (Board directed):

• Ethics
• Gifts
• Board reimbursement
• Financial controls
• Board and key staff dismissal
• Media relations
• Public and internal complaints

2. Organizational policies should not only be written down, they should be in every board member’s notebook and presented at every orientation for new board members. Once every year or two, at a board retreat, the policies should be very briefly reviewed.

3. Policies should be as short as possible, put in everyday language, and available at every board meeting to help with decisions. Policies should be made available to the public as part of any transparent organizational documents, and, of course, staff as well as board members should be trained in all policies.

Many people groan when they hear the word “policy.” Remember – policies can and should be short, easy to read, and in place BEFORE there is a problem. The board can gather examples of polices from other organizations, but they should be customized and then checked with an attorney to make sure they comply with state law.
Policies can derail problems before they arise – most of what we hear in the news are the children and embezzlement cases that make front-page headlines. All could have been prevented with a few simple polices that train people to have “check” systems in place and keep moments of “opportunity” from happening: An volunteer alone with a child, a lone employee that counts cash from a workshop, a board treasurer that can write and sign checks no matter what the amount.
It only takes about three months for a special board task force or “governance committee” to develop polices and then train the rest of the Board and key staff in them. But don’t wait – putting on your seat-belt after the crash is not going to save you.