Residents for Resilience
Code of Conduct and  Ethics:

 

Integrity – Objectivity – Accountability – Honesty - Leadership

 

Under well-established principles of nonprofit corporation law, a board member must meet certain standards of conduct and attention in carrying out his or her responsibilities to the organization. Several states, in fact, have statutes adopting some variation of these duties that would be used in court to determine whether a board member acted improperly.

These standards are usually described as the duty of care, the duty of loyalty, and the duty of obedience.
 

DUTY OF CARE

The duty of care describes the level of competence that is expected of a board member and is commonly expressed as the duty of "care that an ordinarily prudent person would exercise in a like position and under similar circumstances." This means that a board member owes the duty to exercise reasonable care when he or she makes a decision as a steward of the organization.

 

DUTY OF LOYALTY

The duty of loyalty is a standard of faithfulness; a board member must give undivided allegiance when making decisions affecting the organization. This means that a board member can never use information obtained as a member for personal gain, but must act in the best interests of the organization.

 

DUTY OF OBEDIENCE

The duty of obedience requires board members to be faithful to the organization's mission. They are not permitted to act in a way that is inconsistent with the central goals of the organization. A basis for this rule lies in the public's trust that the organization will manage donated funds to advance the organizations mission, if and when we decide to accept donations. This duty also requires board members to obey the law and the organization's internal rules and regulations.

 

WHAT ARE THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF INDIVIDUAL BOARD MEMBERS?

• Attend all board and committee meetings and as many functions, such as special events, as possible.  

• Be informed about the organization's mission, services, policies, and programs.

• Prepare for board and committee meetings by reviewing the meeting agenda and supporting materials.

• Serve on committees or task forces and offer to take on special assignments when your capacity allows.

 

• Inform others about the organization. Advocate for the organization.

• Suggest possible nominees to the board who can make significant contributions to the work of the board and the organization.

• Keep up-to-date on developments in the organization's field.

• Follow conflict-of-interest and confidentiality policies.

• Assist the board in carrying out its fiduciary responsibilities, such as reviewing the organization's financial statements. At this time we are not accepting any donations.

          CODES OF ETHICS

There has been increasing concern about ethical behavior in nonprofit - particularly charitable - organizations in recent years. Public scandals in the nonprofit sector have drawn attention to the need for an increased level of board accountability. In response, our organizations have developed the above codes of ethics, expressing the values of our organization and providing a suggested code of conduct for our volunteers, and board members. While a values statement helps guide the organization in a strategic, fundamental way, codes of ethics help shape the actions, behaviors, and decision making of an organization.

Thank you!