Conflict of Interest Policy
Approved by NCPS Board on 9/18/2015 with amendments
A. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
Those who volunteer to serve the North Carolina Poetry Society owe a duty of loyalty never to act in ways that cause a conflict between their personal interests and NCPS’s organizational interests. As officers of a nonprofit organization that depends on its members and donors and receives charitable funds in trust for those it serves, NCPS Board Members and Committee Chairs have a special obligation in this regard. Board Members and Committee Chairs will, however, often serve in many capacities in the various organizations and institutions of the larger community. Such involvement can give rise to a duality of interest which, while proper, permissible and beneficial to the community, may give rise to misunderstandings. Therefore, it is important that Board Members and Committee Chairs treat potential conflicts of interest seriously. The responsibility for avoiding actual conflicts and disclosing potential conflicts falls on the individual NCPS REPRESENTATIVE, defined as including but not limited to Board Members and Committee Chairs, committee members, and any other persons appointed or
authorized to represent the NCPS and promote its programs.
B. POLICY
1. Representatives of the North Carolina Poetry Society are expected to commit themselves to ethical and professional conduct. This includes the proper use of authority and appropriate decorum.
2. Representatives must represent unconflicted loyalty to the organizational interests and
programs of the NCPS. This accountability supersedes any conflicting loyalty such as that to advocacy or interest groups, business interests, personal interests, or paid or volunteer service to other organizations. It also supersedes the personal interest of any Representative acting as a consumer or client of NCPS’s services.
3. It is the policy of the NCPS that no Representative shall derive any direct personal profit or gain by reason of his or her service to the NCPS. In selecting recipients of awards, contracts, or other benefits of the NCPS, Representatives shall insure that there is no actual or perceived gain from the selection (no quid pro quo).
4. There may be no self-dealing or any conduct of private business or personal services by any Representative in the course of promoting the programs of NCPS except those conducted in an open and objective manner to ensure equal competitive opportunity and equal access to information.
5. Board Members or Committee Chairs must not use their positions to obtain special privileges in the NCPS for themselves, family members, or close associates.
6. Board Members or Committee Chairs may not attempt to exercise individual authority over the policies and operations of the NCPS except through their roles as voting Representatives of the Board or volunteer committees.
7. Board Member or Committee Chairs in their interaction with the press and the public must recognize the inability of any individual member of the Board or Committee to speak for the NCPS except as expressly authorized by the Board Chairman.
8. The NCPS will comply with both the letter and spirit of all public disclosure requirements, including the open availability of its Form 990 tax returns. However, all Representatives must hold strictly confidential all issues of a private nature, including, but not limited to, issues related to private businesses, contributions from individuals, businesses, and other private entities, and all personnel matters.
9. In conducting the affairs of the NCPS, conflict of interest shall be presumed when a person to whom this policy applies or a member of his/her immediate family: serves as a trustee, officer, or staff member of an affected organization or firm; has a formal affiliation or interest in an affected organization or firm; could expect personal or professional advancement from a particular decision; or could expect financial gain or loss from a particular decision.
10. Before a Board Member or Committee Chair begins his or her service with the NCPS, he or she shall file with the Board a list of his or her principal business activities, as well as involvement with other charitable and business organizations, vendors, or business interests, or with any other associations that might produce a conflict of interest. If additional conflicts arise during the member’s tenure on the Board, he or she will disclose these to the President or his or her designee.
11. In addition to the disclosure required by the previous paragraph, each Representative is under an obligation to the NCPS, to his or her fellow Representatives, and to the community served by the NCPS to inform the NCPS of any position he or she holds or of any business or vocational activity which may result in a possible conflict of interest or bias for or against a particular grantee, action, or policy, at the time such grant, action, or policy is under consideration by the Board or any committee of the NCPS.
12. When the Board, committee, or other NCPS designee is to decide upon an issue about which a Representative has an unavoidable conflict of interest, that Representative shall physically absent herself or himself without comment from not only the vote, but also from the deliberation, unless directly requested by the Chairman of the Board or relevant committee to provide factual information or answer factual questions that may assist the Board or Committee in making a wise decision. In no case shall that Member vote on such matter or attempt to exert personal influence in connection therewith.
13. Disclosure and abstention shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting(s) at which the issue is discussed and decided.
14. In any situation not specifically covered by the previous sections of this policy,
Representatives shall consider carefully any potential conflict of their personal interests with the interests of the NCPS and refrain from any action which might be perceived as an actual or apparent conflict of interest.
C. EXAMPLES
The editor of the NCPS newsletter plans to use a new printing service; the selection should
exclude any services with which the editor has an ongoing business interest.
In selecting contest judges, the committee chair should avoid family members, business partners, or persons from whom the chair might receive special consideration of any kind, including selection or publication of the chair’s own writing.
D. ATTESTATION & DISCLOSURE
By my signature below I attest that I have read and understand this conflict of interest policy of the North Carolina Poetry Society, and that I agree to comply with all its provisions.
My current affiliations which could produce a potential conflict of interest (including but not limited to employment, other volunteer organizations, literary groups, publishing contracts) are:
In addition I disclose the following potential conflicts of interest:
If additional conflicts should arise in the future, I agree to disclose them to the President of the Board of the North Carolina Poetry Society or his or her designee.
Name:
Signature:
Date:
[The NCPS President or his or her designee will maintain a file of all attestations for reference during the person’s tenure in service.]