Comparable to the US Constitution, our bylaws provide broad and basic instructions for running our organization in accordance with state and federal requirements. Similar to laws, our policies provide specific and detailed guidance for our organization to meet its mission and goals. Parliament enacts laws without changing the US Constitution, and our Board of Directors ratifies policies without changing the bylaws. After receiving a report and recommendations from the Governance Committee, a majority vote of our Board of Directors can create or update a policy.
Official policies of Soap Donation Center.
The Authentication Policy is intended to prevent the fraudulent impersonation of board members (i.e., email spoofing). Among board members, accessing financial records or donors' personal information requires visual verification in person or via Google Meet or verification by telephone with positive confirmation of voice identification. No information regarding financial records or donors' personal information will be shared among board members unless all parties have been positively identified visually or by voice.
The Board Member Term Rotation Policy is formatted as a PDF. policy-board-member-term-rotation.pdf
The Board Packet and Consent Agenda Policy is formatted as a PDF. policy-board-packet-and-consent-agenda.pdf
The Conflict of Interest Policy is formatted as a PDF. policy-conflict-of-interest-and-annual-acknowledgment-statement.pdf
The Document Retention and Destruction Policy is formatted as a PDF. policy-document-retention-and-destruction.pdf
Soap Donation Center, Inc. has adopted and firmly believes in the Donor Bill of Rights created and copyrighted by the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) and the Giving Institute. Soap Donation Center received written permission to repost the PDF. policy-donor-bill-of-rights.pdf
Donor names and addresses are maintained in a database for the purpose of recognizing and thanking donors for their donations and soliciting donations. Donors are removed from the database upon request. Soap Donation Center, Inc. keeps the donor database confidential and never sells nor gives away donor information. Donor credit card numbers and other payment information are destroyed after payment is received and are never stored by Soap Donation Center, Inc. Recurring payments are processed through PayPal. Soap Donation Center, Inc. does not have access to payment information stored by PayPal. Donors may cancel recurring donation payments and remove their payment information from PayPal.
Hard copy forms and documents requiring Board Member signatures include a Memorandum of Understanding, Consent to Electronic Transmissions, Family and Business Relationship Questionnaire, and Conflict of Interest Statement. To reduce expense, waste, storage room, and our impact on the environment, hard copy documents are printed on both sides. Hard copy documents are maintained, protected, and archived by the President and Secretary.
The Nondiscrimination Policy and Diversity Policy page is formatted as a PDF. policy-nondiscrimination-and-diversity.pdf
At any time, the Board of Directors may create either an ad hoc or a standing committee to assist in accomplishing our mission. Board members and volunteers (who are not board members) serve on committees. To best facilitate our mission, the Governance Committee, Program Committee, and Executive Committee were created as standing committees.
The objective of the Governance Committee is to oversee and improve the governance of our organization, including reviewing and updating our mission statement and bylaws, interviewing and nominating board member candidates, creating an annual budget, completing regulatory and tax forms, and accomplishing other necessary tasks to support the success of our mission.
The objective of the Program Committee is to oversee and improve our charitable programs, including coordinating volunteers, fundraising, soliciting in-kind donations of homemade soap, seeking tax-exempt charities to receive homemade soap, writing grants, marketing our organization to sponsors, and completing other tasks to ensure the success of our mission.
The Executive Committee consists of the President, Secretary, and Treasurer. In the event an emergency is too urgent to wait until the next scheduled board meeting, any member of the Executive Committee may call an emergency Executive Committee meeting with forty-eight (48) hours' notice delivered personally or by telephone, including a voice messaging system, or by electronic transmission. The Executive Committee may approve a course of action by a ⅔ majority vote. At the next scheduled board meeting, a majority vote of the full Board of Directors may amend or overturn the outcome of the emergency vote. See Bylaws article 3 § 10 (Notice of Meetings) and article 5 § 1 (Executive Committee).
The Volunteer Hours Policy is formatted as a PDF. policy-volunteer-hours.pdf
The Whistleblower Protection Policy is formatted as a PDF. policy-whistleblower-protection.pdf