Sodus Bay Historical Society Policies
Bylaws
Code of Ethics
Among those responsible for the SBHS mission and operations are the paid staff, volunteer personnel, and members of the Board of Trustees. These individuals are committed to utilizing their knowledge and skills in support of the SBHS and its goals. They recognize their stewardship responsibility to ensure that needed resources are vigorously and ethically sought and that the intent of the donor is honestly fulfilled. Such individuals practice their profession or activity with integrity, honesty, truthfulness and adherence to the absolute obligation to safeguard the public trust. The SBHS Codes of Ethics involves, but is not limited to, a commitment to the following standards of professional practice:
- - To serve the ideals of philanthropy and volunteerism
- - To put charitable mission above personal gain, only accepting compensation by approval of Trustees and in accordance with the bylaws
- - To recognize their individual boundaries of competence and be forthcoming about their professional qualifications and credentials
- - To value the privacy, freedom of choice and interests of all those affected by their actions
- - To disclose all relationships that might constitute, or appear to constitute, conflicts of interest
- - To avoid disclosing privileged information to unauthorized parties
- - To ensure that all solicitation materials are accurate and correct and correctly reflect the organization’s mission and use of solicited funds
- - To utilize the monies from the sale of any artifacts or materials for new acquisitions or preservation of the collection, and not for the general fund
- - To utilize accurate and consistent accounting methods in stating fund-raising results in accordance with *AICPA guidelines
- - To respond quickly and flexibly to the Sodus Bay region’s changing needs and aspirations with regard to its historic heritage
- - To actively encourage all their colleagues to embrace and practice these ethical principles
This draft of ethical principles was written and presented to SBHS Board Members by, SBHS Museum Director, Bradley D McCreary in July of 2007. Approved by Board of Trustees on July 18, 2007.