Non-Disclosure Policy

Psst!

Also commonly known as a confidentiality agreement, a policy of non-disclosure should be applied, at the very least, to board members with regard to board meetings, and to all trustees, staff and volunteers regarding donor information. An effective Non-Disclosure policy should have a surprisingly counter-intuitive effect. Trustees, staff, donors, and listeners, knowing themselves to be in a safe environment with trusted practices, will be able to freely and openly communicate within the organization. This should prove an effective witness to the virtues of Catholicism.

Board Meetings

A culture of confidentiality in the board room will foster frank and open discussions on important topics relating to your organization. An effective policy should also serve as a deterrent toward any temptation to reveal sensitive information should a board member become dissatisfied. Board members should be given a written agreement to sign with clear language in order to avoid any ambiguous understanding of what the non-disclosure covers.

Donor Information

Donors to a Catholic apostolate have an expectation of privacy. Policies and practices should be in place in order to assure donors that their financial information is protected at every level. For example, donor lists, as a rule, should not be sold or lent to other institutions even if they are also nonprofits. Board members, staff, and even volunteers will most likely have access to who the donors are, what they give, and how they give. Therefore, anyone privy to this information should be given written a policy and an acknowledgment form to sign. This policy may be developed by the board of trustees (which may be adapted from the template provided) and adopted.

Other Information

As Catholic broadcast entities, a close relationship with the listening community is fostered and developed. Listeners may very well contact the station with prayer requests, conversion stories, questions about the faith, or even complaints. It should be the default assumption for all involved with the apostolate that these communications will be kept private. Of course, it’s also perfectly okay to ask the listener if he would like to be added to the prayer list or if she would like to come in and tell her incredible conversion story so that it could be either broadcast or referenced in a newsletter. As long as permission to use the information is granted, it is okay to share within the parameters established.

Balance and Transparency

Should it become an objective of the organization to present itself as more transparent, the board may develop and adopt additional practices. For example, perhaps a summary of the boards activities could be referenced in a newsletter or website on a quarterly basis. Or, the apostolate may want to share general financial benchmarks with listeners and donors.