ECFA is committed to helping Christ-centered organizations earn the public's trust through developing and maintaining standards of accountability that convey God-honoring ethical practices.
HELPING
ECFA is committed to helping Christ-centered organizations by:
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Establishing and interpreting standards of accountability that are Biblically based.
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Providing up to date information through correspondence, telephone and e-mail on issues related to nonprofit organizations.
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Conducting regional workshops and periodic on-site field reviews to provide training and education.
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Interpreting member interests to responsible government and private organizations.
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Promoting the membership to donors and the public.
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Acting as a referral agent for resources and information pertinent to nonprofit community.
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Instilling and promoting to the donor public a confidence in giving.
CHRIST-CENTERED ORGANIZATIONS
ECFA defines Christ-centered organizations as those organizations that subscribe to a written statement of faith clearly affirming a commitment to the evangelical Christian faith. That statement should include, at a minimum, the commonly held essentials of the Christian faith. The statement of faith adopted by ECFA is an example of one that identifies the areas of faith that undergird evangelical Christianity. These include belief:
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In the Bible as the inspired and the only infallible, authoritative Word of God.
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that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
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in the deity of Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, in His present rule as Head of the Church and in His personal return in power and glory.
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that for the salvation of lost and sinful men, regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential.
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in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit, by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life.
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in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost, they that are saved unto the resurrection of life and they that are lost unto the barrenness of damnation.
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in the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ, with equality across racial, gender and class differences.
Every ECFA member organization must agree to conduct its financial and other management operations in a manner that reflects generally accepted Biblical truths and practices. Members are also expected to practice a proper Christian response of humility, openness and cooperation when confronted with alleged violations relating to any ECFA Standard.
EARN THE PUBLIC’S TRUST
ECFA is committed to helping Christ-centered organizations earn the public’s trust by fostering confidence in the ECFA membership seal. This is accomplished by:
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Addressing, in a biblical manner, complaints from the public, demonstrating respect for both the complainant and the member organization.
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Serving the public by providing free of charge member profile reports, an 800 number telephone access, and a Giver’s Guide which includes a “Donor’s Bill of Rights” designed to help donors give wisely.
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Promoting the membership and ECFA’s Standards to the public on a continuing basis through public service announcements, various advertisements, and radio and television talk shows, etc.
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Representing the membership and the Standards to the media through interviews, press releases, and at conferences and other events.
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Providing materials that aid member organizations in promoting their membership to their respective constituencies.
DEVELOPING AND MAINTAINING
ECFA is committed to helping Christ-centered organizations in developing and maintaining standards of accountability by:
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Establishing criteria for membership based on generally accepted Biblical truths and practices, as well as applicable charitable solicitation laws, state registration requirements, security regulations and other statutory provisions.
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Regularly updating ECFA Standards and requests for compliance documentation to correspond with changing federal, state and municipal laws, regulations, and requirements pertaining to nonprofit charities.
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Regularly providing commentaries, information, and assistance to ministries to educate and encourage full compliance with the ECFA Standards.
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Fairly and consistently applying ECFA Standards and determining compliance for each member and application for membership.
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Investigating possible noncompliance with the ECFA Standards.
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Carrying out compliance reviews if credible evidence exists of possible violation of any ECFA Standard.
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Conducting periodic, random on-site reviews of member organizations to educate and verify full compliance with the ECFA Standards.
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Suspending or terminating membership as appropriate when a violation of any ECFA Standard(s) exists.
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Promoting those organizations that are in compliance with the ECFA Standards, as well as make known those that have resigned, been suspended, or terminated.
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Promoting those generally accepted biblical truths and practices for Christian ministries as found in the ECFA Standards.
STANDARDS OF ACCOUNTABILITY
The Seven Standards of Responsible Stewardship™ required for membership are:
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Standard 1 - Doctrinal Issues: Every member shall subscribe to a written statement of faith clearly affirming a commitment to the evangelical Christian faith or shall otherwise demonstrate such commitment and shall operate in accordance with biblical truths and practices.
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Standard 2 - Governance: Every member shall be governed by a responsible board of not less than five individuals, a majority of whom shall be independent, who shall meet at least semiannually to establish policy and review its accomplishments.
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Standard 3 - Financial Oversight: Each member shall prepare complete and accurate financial statements. The board or a committee consisting of a majority of independent members shall approve the engagement of an independent certified public accountant, review the annual financial statements and maintain appropriate communication with the independent certified public accountant. The board shall be apprised of any material weaknesses in internal control or other significant risks.
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Standard 4 - Use of Resources and Compliance with Laws: Every member shall exercise the appropriate management and controls necessary to provide reasonable assurance that all of the member’s operations are carried out and resources are used in a responsible manner and in conformity with applicable laws and regulations, such conformity taking into account biblical mandates.
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Standard 5 - Transparency: Every member shall provide a copy of its current financial statements upon written request and shall provide other disclosures as the law may require. The financial statements required to comply with Standard 3 must be disclosed under this standard.
A member must provide a report, upon written request, including financial information on any specific project for which it has sought or is seeking gifts.
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Standard 6 - Related-party Transactions: Every member shall avoid conflicts of interest. Transactions with related parties may be undertaken only if all of the following are observed: 1) a material transaction is fully disclosed in the financial statements of the member; 2) the related party is excluded from the discussion and approval of such transaction; 3) a competitive bid or comparable valuation exists; and 4) the member’s board has acted upon and demonstrated that the transaction is in the best interest of the member
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Standard 7 - Stewardship of Charitable Gifts:
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7.1 Truthfulness in Communications: In securing charitable gifts, all representations of fact, descriptions of the financial condition of the member, or narratives about events must be current, complete, and accurate. References to past activities or events must be appropriately dated. There must be no material omissions or exaggerations of fact, use of misleading photographs or any other communication which would tend to create a false impression or misunderstanding.
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7.2 Giver Expectations and Intent: Statements made about the use of gifts by the member in its charitable gift appeals must be honored. A giver's intent relates both to what was communicated in the appeal and to any instructions accompanying the gift, if accepted by the member. Appeals for charitable gifts must not create unrealistic expectations of what a gift will actually accomplish.
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7.3 Charitable Gift Communication: Every member shall provide givers appropriate and timely gift acknowledgments.
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7.4 Acting in the Best Interest of Givers: When dealing with persons regarding commitments on major gifts, a member’s representatives must seek to guide and advise givers to adequately consider their broad interests.
A member must make every effort to avoid knowingly accepting a gift from or entering into a contract with a giver that would place a hardship on the giver or place the giver’s future well-being in jeopardy.
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7.5 Percentage Compensation for Securing Charitable Gifts: A member may not base compensation of outside stewardship resource consultants or its own employees directly or indirectly on a percentage of charitable contributions raised.
GOD-HONORING ETHICAL PRACTICES
Ethical practices which seek to honor God are those practices that:
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Proclaim a Christian witness to the glory of God.
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Reflect generally accepted biblical truths and practices.
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Promote integrity, honesty, and openness in the manner in which the ministry conducts its daily financial and management operations.
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Demonstrate accountability beyond what the law requires.
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Reflect a willingness to do what is right not only in the Lord’s sight but also in the sight of others.