Venice Community Housing (VCH) has adopted the “Donor Bill of Rights” which was created by the American Association of Fund Raising Counsel (AAFRC), the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).

Philanthropy is based on voluntary action for the common good. It is a tradition of giving and sharing that is primary to the quality of life. To ensure that philanthropy merits the respect and trust of the general public, and that donors and prospective donors can have full confidence in the nonprofit organizations and causes they are asked to support, we declare that all donors have these rights:

1. To be informed of the organization’s mission, of the way the organization intends to use donated resources, and of its capacity to use donations effectively for their intended purposes.
2. To be informed of the identity of those serving on the organization’s governing board, and to expect the board to exercise prudent judgment in its stewardship responsibilities.
3. To have access to the organization’s most recent financial statements.
4. To be assured their gifts will be used for the purposes for which they were given.
5. To receive appropriate acknowledgement and recognition.
6. To be assured that information about their donation is handled with respect and with confidentiality to the extent provided by law.
7. To expect that all relationships with individuals representing organizations of interest to the donor will be professional in nature.
8. To be informed whether those seeking donations are volunteers, employees of the organization or hired solicitors.
9. To have the opportunity for their names to be deleted from mailing lists that an organization may intend to share.
10. To feel free to ask questions when making a donation and to receive prompt, truthful and forthright answers.

Donor Privacy Policy
Venice Community Housing values its donors, volunteers and prospects (hereafter referred to as “stakeholders”) and takes their privacy seriously. Our commitment to respect the privacy of our stakeholders extends to how we obtain, use, protect and share information about them.

Our privacy policy articulates the principles and actions by which VCH collects, retains and utilizes information related to our donors, volunteers, prospects, and affiliated agencies and organizations. The policy has been established to guide the actions of VCH employees, volunteers, and authorized representatives. Covered information includes:

1. Personal information obtained from donors, volunteers and prospects through pledge cards, letters, surveys, applications, and other forms, in writing, in person, by telephone, or electronically (e.g. name, address, employer, birth date, credit card number, Social Security number, names of family members, interests, etc.).
2. Individual information collected about donors, volunteers and prospects’ present and past giving history, volunteer activity, committee service, information from public documents and reports, and any other interactions an individual may have had with VCH.

VCH Practices:

• We do not lend, rent, trade, or sell supporter information.
• Without the supporter’s consent, we do not provide their information to organizations or individuals outside VCH.
• Apart from donor information required by and released to the IRS, we hold strictly confidential all information concerning donors and prospects, including addresses, names of beneficiaries, nature and value of estates, amounts of provisions or gifts, etc., unless a donor or prospect grants permission to use selective information for purposes of referral, testimonial, example, recognition, or publicity.
• We protect the anonymity of stakeholders who do not want their name used in any promotional material, wish their name removed from solicitation lists, or wish to have their gifts or services be anonymous.
• We will collect, use and share information about our stakeholders among employees and volunteers only on a needs-to-know basis and for the sole purpose of carrying out the mission of VCH.
• We have procedures in place to limit access to information to those employees and volunteers who need to know such information in order to fulfill our mission.
• Staff do not divulge passwords which provide access to confidential information to unauthorized staff or to volunteers.
• Confidential information is not to be left out in the open and unsupervised, whether on paper or on screen, in view of people other than Development staff or a designated volunteer.
• Confidential information must be shredded rather than placed in waste receptacles.
• Any questions not anticipated by this policy regarding the potential use or abuse of donor information should be brought to the attention of a person’s supervisor within Development before information is released.