Policies

General

Cedar Rapids Community Schools Foundation (CRCSF) requires directors, officers and employees to observe high standards of business and personal ethics in the conduct of their duties and responsibilities. As employees and representatives of the CRCSF we must practice honesty and integrity in fulfilling our responsibilities and comply with all applicable laws and regulations.

Reporting Responsibility

It is the responsibility of all directors, officers and employees to report ethics violations or suspected violations in accordance with this Whistleblower Policy.

No Retaliation

No director, officer or employee who in good faith reports an ethics violation shall suffer harassment, retaliation or adverse employment consequence. An employee who retaliates against someone who has reported a violation in good faith is subject to discipline up to and including termination of employment. This Whistleblower Policy is intended to encourage and enable employees and others to raise serious concerns within CRCSF prior to seeking resolution outside CRCSF.

Reporting Violations

CRCSF has an open door policy and suggests that employees share their questions, concerns, suggestions or complaints with someone who can address them properly. In most cases, an employee’s supervisor is in the best position to address an area of concern. However, if you are not comfortable speaking with your supervisor or you are not satisfied with your supervisor’s response, you are encouraged to speak with someone serving on the CRCSF Executive Committee. Supervisors and managers are required to report suspected ethics violations to the Executive Committee, who has specific and exclusive responsibility to investigate all reported violations. For suspected fraud, or when you are not satisfied or uncomfortable with following CRCSF’s open door policy, individuals should contact the Foundation’s President directly.

Accounting and Auditing Matters

The Executive Committee shall address all reported concerns or complaints regarding corporate accounting practices, internal controls or auditing. The Executive Committee shall immediately notify the audit committee of any such complaint and work with the committee until the matter is resolved.

Acting in Good Faith

Anyone filing a complaint concerning a violation or suspected violation must be acting in good faith and have reasonable grounds for believing the information disclosed indicates a violation. Any allegations that prove not to be substantiated and which prove to have been made maliciously or knowingly to be false will be viewed as a serious disciplinary offense.

Confidentiality

Violations or suspected violations may be submitted on a confidential basis by the complainant or may be submitted anonymously. Reports of violations or suspected violations will be kept confidential to the extent possible, consistent with the need to conduct an adequate investigation.

Handling of Reported Violations

The Executive Committee will notify the sender and acknowledge receipt of the reported violation or suspected violation within five business days. All reports will be promptly investigated and appropriate corrective action will be taken if warranted by the investigation.

Cedar Rapids Community Schools Foundation Management Staff

Karen A. Swanson, CFRE — Executive Director

Policy Approved by the Cedar Rapids Community Schools Foundation Board of Directors June 2010. Updated May 2011.

Introduction

The Cedar Rapids Community School District Foundation (Foundation) is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization whose mission is building financial support to promote and recognize excellence in the Cedar Rapids Public Schools. The Foundation champions broad and equitable educational opportunities for students and staff by providing supplemental funding for classroom learning materials, professional development for staff, scholarships and enrichment opportunities for students.

Investment Objectives

The Foundation deploys its financial resources to meet the following objectives:

1. Produce the maximum total return on its investments consistent with identified parameters for preservation of principal, income, investment time horizon, diversification, and risk.
2. Respond to changing circumstances without compromising the ability to meet financial obligations.
3. Comply with applicable regulations, including Iowa’s Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act.

Responsibilities

The Foundation’s Board of Directors has delegated the process of overseeing the management of its fiscal resources to its Operations Committee, which is responsible for:

• Selecting investment managers and/or investment vehicles; and
• Ensuring that the Foundation’s assets are invested in compliance with this policy and applicable laws and regulations; and
• Monitoring receipts and disbursements and allocating resources to achieve budget goals; and
• Providing reports at least annually to the Foundation Board showing investment performance and recommendations for changing policies, objectives, and/or investment managers; and
• Delegating responsibility for investing new funds into the three investment funds described below to investment managers and designated volunteers with appropriate expertise. Each investment manager selected by the Operations Committee shall be responsible for:
• Selecting securities which are appropriately diversified within acceptable risk parameters for one or more of the three investment funds as described below.
• Providing written reports at least quarterly to designated Operations Committee members and Foundation staff showing:
  – Receipts and disbursements for the period including all fees and expenses,
  – Current holdings at cost and market value as of the end of the reporting period,
  – Purchases and sales for the period,
  – Performance,
  – Recommended investment strategies, and
  – Other factors of interest to the Operations Committee.
• Clearly communicating with the current Operations Committee Chair as to how Foundation policy guidelines or investment restrictions should be modified to allow the manager to produce appropriate returns and performance for the Foundation.
• Exercising their responsibilities in keeping with appropriate standards for prudent management of institutional funds.

Foundation Funds

The Foundation maintains three funds to meet short- and long-term objectives:

Short-Term Fund: liquid assets to provide at least six months of projected expenses for operating, programming and grant expenses.

• Time horizon: total liquidity at all times (checking, money market, etc.).
• Performance benchmarks: local checking, savings, and money market rates.
• Allowable investments: Accounts with FDIC insurance or equivalent protection from risk of loss.

Intermediate-Term Fund: investments selected to provide liquidity for the last half of a year of operating expenses, plus funds with limited duration which will be depleted within 5 years, including donations with restrictions as to time or purpose which will be disbursed in full for specified purposes.

• Time horizon: funds with initial time horizon of six months to five years; this fund may have multiple sub-accounts which will be managed separately in keeping with planned dates of expenditure as designated by donors or the Foundation board.
• Performance benchmarks: representative sample of local certificate of deposit rates and/or weighted benchmark for investment-grade publicly traded securities with duration fairly representative of the asset allocation and current time horizon for the components of this fund. The Operations Committee may designate an index of government/corporate bonds for some or all of the sub-accounts in this fund.
• Allowable investments: fixed income investments with FDIC or comparable insurance; publicly traded bonds or other fixed income investments of investment-grade quality with maturity date of 5 years or less; mutual funds, ETFs or similar publicly-traded pooled funds with at least 75% of their assets in investment-grade bonds and average duration under 3 years.

Long-Term Fund: permanently endowed assets from which distributions of principal are prohibited, invested to produce long-term growth and current income for operating, grant, and other programs.

• Time horizon: funds with initial time horizon of four or more years; this fund may consist of separate sub-accounts (e.g. funds donated for a specific purpose), and may be invested and managed as a single fund for efficiency by one or more investment managers selected by the Operations Committee.
• Performance benchmarks: blended benchmark for fixed income and equities fairly representative of the current structure of this fund. Operations Committee and investment managers will determine indices and weighting.
• Allowable investments: equity investments appropriately diversified among domestic and international market sectors with a target maximum of 60% in equity investments; fixed income in investment-grade bonds and bond funds with similar risk parameters appropriately diversified among market sectors; other asset classes with designated restrictions may be approved by the Operations Committee.

Ratified by the CRCSF Board of Trustees, August 29, 2013

The purpose of the following policy and procedures is to complement the Cedar Rapids Community School’s Foundation’s (CRCSF) bylaws to prevent the personal interest of staff members, board members, and volunteers from interfering with the performance of their duties to, or result in personal financial, professional, or political gain on the part of such persons at the expense of CRCSF or its Members, supporters, and other stakeholders.

Definitions: Conflict of Interest (also Conflict) means a conflict, or the appearance of a conflict, between the private interests and official responsibilities of a person in a position of trust. Persons in a position of trust include staff members, officers, and board members of. Board means the Board of Directors. Officer means an officer of the Board of Directors. Volunteer means a person — other than a board member — who does not receive compensation for services and expertise provided to and retains a significant independent decision-making authority to commit resources of the organization. Staff Member means a person who receives all or part of her/his income from the payroll of. Member means a Member of which shall be a state association of nonprofit organizations that represent a statewide and multi-sector or subsector 501(c )(3) constituency with a diverse range of corporate identities, or a regional association of nonprofit organizations that represent a specific region within a state or multi-state geographic area and a multi-sector or subsector constituency with a diverse range of corporate identities. Supporter means corporations, foundations, individuals, 501 (c ) (3) nonprofits, and other nonprofit organizations who contribute.

Policy and Practices

1. Full disclosure, by notice in writing, shall be made by the interested parties to the full Board of Directors in all conflicts of interest, including but not limited to the following:

a) A board member is related to another board member or staff member by blood, marriage or domestic partnership.

b) A staff member in a supervisory capacity is related to another staff member whom she/he supervises.

c) A board member or their organization stands to benefit from a transaction or staff member of such organization receives payment from for any subcontract, goods, or services other than as part of her/his regular job responsibilities or as reimbursement for reasonable expenses incurred as provided in the bylaws and board policy.

d) A board member’s organization receives grant funding from CRCSF.

e) A board member or staff member is a member of the governing body of a contributor to CRCSF.

f) A volunteer working on behalf of CRCSF who meets any of the situations or criteria listed above.

2. Following full disclosure of a possible conflict of interest or any condition listed above, the Board of Directors shall determine whether a conflict of interest exists and, if so the Board vote to authorize or reject the transaction or take any other action deemed necessary to address the conflict and protect CRCSF’s best interests. Both votes shall be a majority vote without counting the vote of any interested director, even if the disinterested directors are less than a quorum provided that at least one consenting director is disinterested.

3. A Board member or Committee member who is formally considering employment with CRCSF must take a temporary leave of absence until the position is filled. Such a leave will be taken within the Board member’s elected term which will not be extended because of the leave. A Board member or Committee member who is formally considering employment with CRCSF must submit a written request for a temporary leave of absence to the Secretary of the Board, c/ o the office, indicating the time period of the leave. The Secretary of CRCSF will inform the Chair of the Board of such a request. The Chair will bring the request to the Board for action. The request and any action taken shall be reflected in the official minutes of the CRCSF Board meeting.

4. An interested Board member, officer, or staff member shall not participate in any discussion or debate of the Board of Directors, or of any committee or subcommittee thereof in which the subject of discussion is a contract, transaction, or situation in which there may be a perceived or actual conflict of interest. However, they may be present to provide clarifying information in such a discussion or debate unless objected to by any present board or committee member.

5. Anyone in a position to make decisions about spending CRCSF’s resources (i.e., transactions such as purchases contracts) – who also stands to benefit from that decision – has a duty to disclose that conflict as soon as it arises (or becomes apparent); s/he should not participate in any final decisions.

6. A copy of this policy shall be given to all Board members, staff members, volunteers or other key stakeholders upon commencement of such person’s relationship with CRCSF or at the official adoption of stated policy. Each board member, officer, staff member, and volunteer shall sign and date the policy at the beginning of her/his term of service or employment and each year thereafter. Failure to sign does not nullify the policy.

7. This policy and disclosure form must be filed annually by all specified parties.

©2004 Cedar Rapids Community Schools Foundation

1. All offers of unrestricted cash gifts and publicly traded securities (stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange traded funds, etc.) will be immediately accepted by Cedar Rapids Community Schools Foundation (CRSF). See Acceptance Procedure section below.

2. All offers of cash gifts for restricted purposes will be reviewed by CRSF Executive Director or Operations Committee chair for potential liability, cost and other adverse consequences, and accepted if risk to CRSF appears minimal or is otherwise acceptable. See Acceptance Procedure below.

3. All offers of restricted cash estimated to have more than minimal risk, and all offers of non-cash items must be evaluated for potential liability, maintenance and insurance and other potential risks and costs before any will be accepted.

a) Any CRSF representative made aware of a potential non-cash gift is to notify CRSF Executive Director, who will prepare summary of the proposed gift, identity of offeror, and guesstimate of whether the offered gift meets the following criteria:

i. Condition is acceptable, and
ii. Item can be used immediately to benefit CRSF, Cedar Rapids school district students and/or staff; and
iii. Potential liability, maintenance and insurance and other potential risks appear to be low; and
iv. Annual projected storage, maintenance, insurance and other costs are estimated to have annual cost of less than 20% of the current value of the offered gift; and
v. No unusual restrictions or designations which are conditions for acceptance by the donor have the potential of jeopardizing the CRSF’s tax-exempt status or violate CRSF policies, local, state, or federal law.

b) If the offered gift is believed to meet all criteria above, CRSF Executive Director may authorize acceptance of the gift. See Acceptance Procedure below. c. CRSF Executive Director shall consult with Operations Committee chair or other CRSF designee for help in determining whether offered gift meets criteria above. An ad-hoc committee may be assembled to refine CRSF opinion as to whether criteria above can be met.

4. Acceptance Procedure: For all accepted gifts:

a) CRSF Executive Director or designee will prepare letter of acknowledgement to donor describing the gift received and stating the value of any product or service of value which was provided in exchange for the gift;

b) CRSF will keep a record of donor’s name and description of gift and date of acceptance and ensure that all gifts are recorded on the books of CRSF as appropriate.

c) CRSF Executive Director will be responsible for having items added to insurance policy and schedule storage and maintenance as appropriate.

d) Cash and checks will be deposited to a Foundation bank account. Securities will be transferred to designated financial institution per instructions to be provided to donor, and will be liquidated soon thereafter. Operations Committee chair will be notified so that gift can be invested in short-term, intermediate or endowment fund in keeping with CRSF Investment Policy.

5. Denial Procedure: For all offered gifts determined as not capable of meeting criteria above, or otherwise not in keeping with CRSF’s best interests, the person who offered the gift will be notified by CRSF Executive Director or other CRSF designee by telephone or other means of communication as soon as practicable that the gift will not be accepted. Regardless of whether a written denial is sent, the Executive Director shall make an internal record of the nature of the offer and reasons for denial.

Ratified by the CRCSF Board of Trustees, August 29, 2013

By serving the Cedar Rapids Community Schools Foundation in a volunteer or paid capacity, Board members and staff agree to use reasonable care to prevent the unauthorized use or dissemination of the Foundation’s confidential information, including but not limited to the financial donation history and contact information of donors and patrons. Reasonable care means “at least the same degree of care the volunteer or staff member uses to protect their own confidential information from unauthorized disclosure.”

Confidential information includes but is not limited to: information clearly marked as confidential or disclosed orally and summarized and/or identified as confidential in writing, but also includes information discussed at meetings, entered into the finance statements as donations, and potential and/or planned transactions with donors or patrons, including Board members.

Confidential information does not include information that:

• was known before the Foundation disclosed it;
• is or becomes public knowledge through no fault of the volunteer or staff member;
• is obtained from persons not affiliated with the Foundation who owe no duty of confidentiality to the Foundation;
• is gathered by the volunteer or staff member without using any Foundation resources or information.

In return, the Foundation agrees to use reasonable care in keeping any/all information shared by Board members and staff safe from unauthorized use or dissemination. Personal information held by the Foundation can only be shared for purposes that directly benefit the mission of the Foundation, or in circumstances in which is it legally required. This includes but is not limited to projects for which the Foundation receives funds or provides funds. Information can also be shared for the purpose of class reunions or similar school gatherings. The Foundation must take due care to release only the information needed to carry out the purpose for which it was solicited. Any person or entity obtaining personal information from the Foundation may only use it for the purpose specified in writing by a Foundation employee. Under no circumstances can the information be reproduced or used in ways not approved in writing by the Foundation.

Adopted June 27, 2019 by the Cedar Rapids Community Schools Foundation Board of Trustees.

This policy applies to the personnel of the Cedar Rapids Community Schools Foundation (hereafter referred to as “Foundation”), including its paid staff, members of its board of trustees and to any other persons, such as committee members, who may possess confidential or proprietary information about the Foundation (hereafter referred to as “Foundation personnel.”)

In order to communicate freely and openly with donors, grantees, and members of the public, the Foundation maintains a social media presence. The Foundation continually seeks out new and improved methods of communication and will add different forms of social media as it deems appropriate. Accordingly, the Foundation has given authority to certain Foundation personnel to maintain its social media presence and may invite others to submit postings. This policy does not cover these activities.
The Foundation takes no position on anyone’s decision to start or maintain a blog or participate in other social media or social networking (collectively referred to as “Social Media”) activities. However, it is the rights and duty of the Foundation to protect itself from unauthorized disclosure of confidential and/or proprietary information and from having Foundation personnel indicate that they are speaking on behalf of the Foundation when they are not authorized to do so.
Social Media includes, but is not limited to, personal blogs; sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter; video or wiki postings chat rooms; personal websites; or similar forms of online journals, diaries, or personal newsletters not affiliated with the Foundation.

Personal Use of Social Media – What is Prohibited?

The Foundation respects the right of its personnel to write blogs and use social media and social networking sites. The Foundation does not want to discourage its personnel from self-publishing and self-expression, and the Foundation takes a neutral position toward its personnel who use Social Media in connection with personal interests and affiliations, or for other lawful purposes. However, Foundation personnel are expected to follow the guidelines and policies set forth to make clear that their comments and posts are made by them as individuals, not as employees, agents, or representatives of the Foundation.
Unless specifically authorized in writing by the Foundation, Foundation personnel are not authorized to, and therefore restricted from, speaking on behalf of the Foundation through Social Media.

Foundation personnel must adhere to the Foundation’s Policy on Confidentiality in their use of Social Media. This means they may not discuss any confidential and/or proprietary work-related matters or information through Social Media. Likewise, personnel may not post through Social Media confidential and/or proprietary donor, grantee or Foundation-related documents, or post any information that would violate the Foundation’s Policy on Confidentiality and/or Conflict of Interest.
Foundation personnel are personally responsible for their commentary and posts through Social Media, and can be held personally liable for commentary that is considered defamatory, threatening, intimidating, harassing, obscene, proprietary or libelous.

As with all personal use of the Foundation’s information technology resources, use of the Foundation’s/District’s IT resources to conduct personal Social Media activities should be kept to a minimum and not disrupt work activities. Excessive or inappropriate personal use of the Foundation’s IT resources for Social Media purposes will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination.

When using Social Media, Foundation personnel must use their personal e-mail address and may not use their Foundation e-mail address as their means of identification and communication, except in the case of the Foundation’s Executive Director as directed and appropriate.

Everyone who chooses to identify themselves as Foundation employees, board members, or volunteers through Social Media, must understand that some readers may view them as a spokesperson for the Foundation. Because of this possibility, we ask that when using Social Media, Foundation personnel state clearly that they are speaking on behalf of themselves, that their comments, posts, and views are their own, and that they are not authorized to speak on behalf of the Foundation.

Monitoring

Foundation personnel are cautioned that they should have no expectation of privacy while using Social Media, and that their postings can be reviewed by anyone, including the Foundation. The Foundation will monitor comments, posts, blogs, forums, and discussions about the Foundation, its personnel, its donors, its grantees and community foundations generally that are posted on the Internet or otherwise publicly available.

Reporting Violations

The Foundation requests that anyone who discovers material they believe to be in violation of this policy contact the Executive Director and/or Board Chair. When possible, please take a phot or print out the page(s) containing the material believed to be in violation so that the Foundation may understand the context of the information.

Discipline for Violations

In the case of the Foundation staff, violation of the Foundation’s Social Media policy will result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination, depending on the nature and severity of the violation. The Foundation reserves the right to take legal action against personnel who engage in prohibited or unlawful conduct. Violations by members of the board and other volunteers may lead to dismissal from the board or committee on which the volunteer serves.

Adopted by the Cedar Rapids Community Schools Foundation Board of Trustees: October 24, 2019