Whistleblower policy

Redeemer Forge Incorporated (the “Corporation”) expects everyone who acts for it to be honest, to obey the law, and to keep the Corporation’s money and the people it serves safe. This policy gives anyone a safe way to raise a concern that this is not happening, and protects them for doing so.

Any concern, raised in good faith, that someone acting for the Corporation has done or is doing any of the following:

1. Misusing, taking or mishandling the Corporation’s money or property, including spending a restricted gift on something other than what the donor gave it for.
2. Keeping false records, or giving false information to the Board, a donor, a grantmaker, a bank or a government agency.
3. Breaking the law, the Articles of Incorporation, the Bylaws, or a policy the Board has adopted.
4. Acting with an undisclosed conflict of interest.
5. Putting a child or any participant in a program at risk.

Anyone who suspects that a child is being abused, abandoned or neglected must report it to the Florida Abuse Hotline at 1-800-96-ABUSE (1-800-962-2873), or online through the Florida Department of Children and Families, straight away. Florida law places that duty on every person, not only on professionals, and it cannot be delegated to the Corporation. If a child is in immediate danger, call 911 first.

After reporting to the authorities, the person also tells the President, or an independent director under Article IV, so the Corporation can act under its safeguarding policies. Nothing in this policy delays or replaces a report to the authorities.

A concern may be raised in writing or in person with the President. If the concern involves the President, or the person would rather not go to the President, it may be raised with any director who is not paid by the Corporation and is not related to anyone who is. Those directors are named in the Corporation’s records and on its website.

A report may be made anonymously. An anonymous report should give enough detail — what happened, when, and who was involved — for it to be looked into, because the person receiving it cannot ask follow-up questions.

No one who raises a concern in good faith shall be removed, demoted, threatened, excluded from a program, or treated worse in any other way because they raised it — even if the concern turns out to be mistaken. Anyone who retaliates against a person for raising a concern is subject to removal from office or from the program.

Good faith means the person had reasonable grounds to believe what they reported. Knowingly making a false report is itself a serious matter, and this protection does not cover it.

The identity of the person who raised a concern, and what they reported, shall be kept confidential so far as is consistent with looking into it properly and with the law. Where the law requires a matter to be reported to the authorities, it will be.

1. The person who receives the report tells the person who raised it, within five business days, that it has been received, unless the report was anonymous.
2. Every report is brought to the attention of the independent directors. No one named in a report takes part in deciding how it is handled.
3. The independent directors decide how to look into it, and may ask a lawyer, an accountant or another outside adviser for help.
4. Where the concern is upheld, the Board takes appropriate action and records it in its minutes, without naming the person who raised it.
5. The Secretary keeps a confidential log of every report, the date it was received, and how it was resolved. Where the Secretary is named in a report, an independent director keeps the log for that matter.

This policy is given to every director, officer, program leader and volunteer when they begin to serve, is published on the Corporation’s website, and is reviewed by the Board each year at its annual meeting.