Principle 3: Conflicts of Interest
A charitable organization should implement policies and procedures to ensure that all conflicts of interest or the appearance thereof, within the organization as well as the board are managed with disclosure and recusal. All conflicts of interest need to be addressed cautiously and quickly resolved even though they may not be illegal or unethical. Yet these are still unavoidable. Strategies need to be intact and followed by the board when dealing with such conflicts. It is also important to make certain that only independent board members vote when a conflict of interest occurs (more information on Principle 12). On the opposite side, board members with material conflict of interest must recuse themselves from such board discussions as well as votes. It is crucial that a written conflict- of- interest policy…