Middlesex United Way takes its responsibility as a steward of donor contributions very seriously. United Way’s Board of Directors, staff and other professional volunteers with expertise in financial management and governance have established fiscal controls to ensure the highest level of accountability and transparency in United Way’s operations.
Code of Ethics: Middlesex United Way has adopted a code of ethics and is committed to operating at the highest ethical standards, including complying with generally accepted accounting principles, providing full and fair disclosure of all relevant information, and spending donor money efficiently, objectively and honestly.
Annual independent audit: Middlesex United Way has had a clean, unqualified financial audit for many years. Appropriate accounting safeguards are in place to ensure that no one employee has access to both physical assets and the related accounting records or to all phases of transaction. Internal control procedures are regularly reviewed by United Way auditors and Finance Committee members.
Check signing: The board annually authorizes select board members and the executive director to sign checks. All checks over the amount of $2,500 require two signatures. The senior director of finance and administration prepares checks but is not authorized to sign checks.
Payroll: United Way contracts with a local payroll service to process paychecks and prepare tax reports.
Volunteer Oversight: 1. Board of Directors: United Way’s Board of Directors meets eight times per year and discusses and approves financial statements at every meeting.
2. Finance Committee: The Finance Committee, comprised of volunteers with expertise in financial management and governance, review and monitor the day to day fiscal operations of Middlesex United Way, including reviewing the budget and annual audit. These volunteers meet at least four times a year.
3. Investment Committee: The Investment Committee, comprised of volunteers with expertise in financial planning and investments, meets at least twice annually to review and monitor all investments of Middlesex United Way.
Capital Purchases: It is standard practice to request at least three bids on all significant capital purchases.
Conflict of Interest: All board members annually sign a conflict of interest policy requiring them to disclose if they or someone related to them would benefit from any decisions made by the United Way Board of Directors.
Overhead: A vast network of volunteers involved in all aspects of United Way’s operations has kept United Way’s overhead at a low 15.3%, which is consistent with the average overhead of United Ways of similar size throughout the country. This figure compares favorably to the suggested Better Business Bureau’s recommendation of up to 35%.
