A formally adopted, written code of ethics is extremely important for a non-profit company to adopt and have all of their directors or trustees, staff, and volunteers be familiar with and adhere to. The laws surrounding the code of ethics provide minimum requirements for your board and organization to remain compliant. We suggest using these laws as a set of guidelines to build your code of ethics to the next level. Also remember that ethical standards extend legal requirements, meaning that it is not about just doing things right, but also doing the right thing.
To start conversations around a code of ethics, consider outlining your organization’s beliefs and values to which it aspires and then providing a code of conduct for all those who work with the organization.
LEGAL AND COMPLIANCE ISSUES
-IRS Form 990 does not directly ask whether an organization has a code of ethics, but numerous questions relate to ethical standards and existence of policies.
RESOURCES
-Independent Sector Statement of Values and Code of Ethics www.independentsector.org/about/code.html
-Independent Sector Model Statement of Values and Code of Ethics
-The Nonprofit Policy Sampler by Barbara Lawrence and Outi Flynn. BoardSource, 2006