UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CONGREGATION OF ATLANTA
POLICIES

On April 21, 2007, the Board of Trustees officially adopted new policies using a model of policy based governance. Policy based governance is intended to:

• elevate the voice and vision of congregation as the driving force behind what we do
• empower and free congregants to work together creatively to realize their visions
• clarify roles of staff and board
• ensure accountability for achieving shared outcomes
  

With policy based governance, the board listens to the congregation and is responsible for articulating the congregation's goals and values as Ends statements. We call these Ends the gifts we wish to give. A beautiful tapestry summarizing these Ends statements now hangs in the sanctuary. The policies are available online or contact the UUCA Board of Trustees.

• Overview and Table of Contents
  
• Policies
• Reports
• Training presentations
• 2008 "Flower Power"
• 2007 "Policy Governance in a Nutshell" presentation (Powerpoint format and PDF format)
• "Making Community" brochure (PDF format and available in brochure rack in UUCA foyer)
  
• UUCA policy governance blog
• UUWiki on policy governance
  

On June 3, 2007, Dr. John Carver, an avid humanist and creator of the Policy Governance model, visited UUCA to speak about his faith journey and about the ways in which Policy Governance is consistent with humanist values. A video DVD and an audio CD of the John Carver session are available from the UUCA library.

All are invited to a policy governance seminar at UUCA on September 27 with Miriam Carver.  Free for members of UUCA and $30 for non-members that includes registration, materials, lunch, and childcare. Continental breakfast available at 8:00.  Workshop is 8:30-4:30. Download flier for details or to register, please contact Laura de Castro.

Overview and Table of Contents

The Board governs through set policies and acts on behalf of the congregation to further the congregation's mission and chosen Ends. Accordingly,

1. The Board is the link between the Executive and the congregation.

2. The Board will produce written governing policies that, at the broadest levels, address each category of organizational decision.

a. Ends: The difference we make in the world.

• Our Mission
• Our Values
• Ends Statements

b. Executive Limitations: Constraints on executive authority that establish the prudence and ethics boundaries within which executive activity and decision must take place.

• Treatment of Congregants
• Treatment of Staff
  
• Compensation and Benefits
• Financial Planning and Budgeting
  
• Financial Condition and Activities
• Asset Protection
• Asset Utililzation
  
• Grants and Contracts
• Gift Acceptance
• Communication and Support to the Board
  
• Executive AbsenceExecutive Well Being

c. Board-Executive Linkage: How authority is delegated and its proper use monitored.

• Composition of Executive
  
• Unity of Voice
• Accountability of Executive
• Delegation to the Executive
• Executive Performance Assessment

d. Board Governance: Specification of how the Board conceives, carries out, and monitors its own task.

• Governing Principles
• Job Description
  
• Annual Work Plan
• Role of the President
• Board Members Code of Conduct
  
• Board Committee Principles
  
• Cost of Governance
  
• Complaint and Inquiry Process

3. The Board will assure Executive performance in compliance with the Ends and Executive Limitations polices.

I. ENDS

A. Our Mission

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta is a community of faith that encourages and supports our individual spiritual quests out of which we act together for social justice.

B. Our Values

We are grounded in the principles of the Unitarian Universalist Association, covenanting with each other and other UU congregations to affirm and promote:

• The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
• Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
• Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;
• A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
• The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
• The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
• Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

We value

• Community. We value the friendship, love, and caring that we find in our congregation. We value the varied parts of our community---our children, youth, young adults, not so young adults, and the adults who are gracefully growing old within our midst.
• Diversity. We believe in and value the inherent worth and dignity of all people. We believe in this even when we are in conflict with people and value the conflict resolution process for the opportunities it provides us to learn. We value people across all racial, ethnic, and religious categories.
• Spiritual growth and development. We value an intellectually rich spiritual environment that transforms people’s lives. We value all the performing and graphic arts as they are represented in our worship and throughout our building. We value our rituals and traditions, across the life cycle from birth to death. We value experiences for our children andyouth that promote their healthy development and dissemination of our socially and religiously liberal values.
• Social justice. We are a people moved to put our faith into action. We value our congregation’s history of involvement in social justice and community activism, and we value our status as “a force to be reckoned with” for liberal activism and justice in the wider world.
• Involvement and participation. We value generosity and opportunities to share our time, talents, and money to sustain our community and extend our reach into the world.

C. Ends Statements - the difference we will make in the world

Acting out of our values, and in accordance with our mission, UUCA will give to the world:

• A vibrant faith community for spiritual seekers that worship together, embracing lifelong religious learning and respecting different spiritual journeys.
• A loving community that provides support and care for others through both the best and the most difficult of times.
• A safe and welcoming community where all are valued.
• Children and youth, centered in the values of our religious community and nurtured in love, who are compassionate leaders in seeking justice and peace.
• People with a passion for social and economic justice who work together for human rights and a sustainable environment.
• A creative community that challenges us to see the world with new perspectives and gives voice to the human spirit through music and the Arts.

We are a place where hope is born - Hope that we as a congregation, nation, and world can live harmoniously, with arms that can reach across great divides to offer support, find friendship, and make peace. We give these gifts to the world.

II. EXECUTIVE LIMITATIONS

The Executive shall not cause or allow any practice, activity, decision, or congregational circumstance that is inconsistent with our Unitarian Universalist principles or is unlawful, imprudent or in violation of professional ethics, or commonly accepted business practices.

A. Treatment of Congregants (members, friends, and visitors)

With respect to interactions with congregants, the Executive shall not cause or allow conditions or practices that are unsafe, unnecessarily intrusive, disrespectful, or that fail to provide appropriate confidentiality or privacy.

B. Treatment of Staff

With respect to the treatment of paid and volunteer staff, the Executive shall not cause or allow conditions or practices that are unsafe, unclear, disrespectful or unprofessional.

Accordingly, the Executive shall not:

1. Operate without written policies applicable to paid staff and volunteers that adhere to accepted employment or volunteer management practices. These policies shall provide among other things, for the effective handling of grievances and protection from improper working conditions.
2. Fail to make employment or other decisions based solely on qualifications and performance.
3. Fail to abide by the congregation's mission, values, and Ends when interacting with paid and volunteer staff.

C. Compensation and Benefits

With respect to employment, compensation and benefits to employees, consultants, and contract workers, the Executive shall not cause or allow jeopardy to fiscal integrity and shall not fail to strive for fair compensation.

D. Financial Planning and Budgeting

Accordingly, the Executive shall not allow budgeting which:

1. Fails to include credible projection of revenues and expenses, separation of capital and operational items, cash flow, and disclosure of planning assumptions.
2. Plans the expenditure in any fiscal year of more funds than are conservatively projected to be received in that period.
3. Provides less for Board prerogatives during the year than is set forth in the Cost of Governance Policy.

Further, the Executive shall not fail to show the Board the proposed budget for its approval, showing the full level of detail at which the budget has been prepared.

E. Financial Condition and Activities

With respect to the congregation's actual, ongoing financial condition and activities, the Executive shall not cause or allow the development of financial jeopardy or a material deviation of actual expenditures from Board priorities established in Ends Policies, the annual budget, or the Long Range Plan.

Accordingly, the Executive shall not:

1. Fail to comply with any Board approved Financial Policy or By-law.
2. Indebt the congregation or use Unrestricted Reserves in an amount greater than can be repaid by normal cash flow variations in revenue anticipated within the next 60 days or the end of the Fiscal Year, whichever comes first.
3. Use any long term, dedicated reserves, or the budgeted contingency fund, unless authorized by the Board to do so.
4. Fail to settle payroll and accounts payable in a timely manner.
5. Fail to anticipate and plan for seasonal changes in cash flow.
6. Conduct line item shifting in amounts that deviate materially from the approved budget.
7. Commit to expenses of a future fiscal year budget without approval from the Board.
8. Acquire, encumber or dispose of real property.
9. Fail to pursue receivables after a reasonable amount of time, nor fail to report to the Board with regard to such receivables.
   
10. Fail to create maintain a Growth Initiatives Fund to receive undesignated, unexpected gift income which is directed to UUCA, and which is independent of the annual operating budget, and therefore may carry a balance forward from one fiscal year to the next.
11. Fail to inform the Board with respect to the use of the Growth Initiatives Fund, or fail to consult with the Board before any decision is made to use an amount from the Growth Initiatives Fund which is more than 2% of the current operating budget.
12. Fail to establish procedures and controls that meet generally accepted standards for receiving, processing, or disbursing funds.

F. Asset Protection

The Executive shall not allow the congregation's assets and property to be unprotected, inadequately maintained, or unnecessarily risked.

To this end, the Executive shall not:

1. Fail to establish and implement appropriate plans and procedures for risk management, safety and security.
2. Fail to report to the Board annually regarding the status of risk management, safety and security.
3. Fail to insure against theft and casualty loss at replacement value.
4. Fail to insure against congregational liability and personal liability of Board members and staff relating to congregational business, including the development and implementation of a prevention and reporting policy on child abuse, taking into account all applicable elements of Georgia law relating to tax-exempt, not-for-profit organizations.
5. Allow unbonded personnel to have access to material amounts of funds.
6. Subject the building, grounds or equipment to improper wear and tear, insufficient maintenance, or environmental degradation, nor fail to provide for building security.
7. Unnecessarily expose the congregation to liability claims.
8. Make any purchase: a) without assuring normally prudent protection against conflict of interest; b) of over $500 without having analyzed comparative prices and quality; or c) of over $1000 without a stringent method of assuring the balance of long-term quality and cost.
9. Fail to protect the congregation's intellectual property, information and records, both paper and electronic, from loss, or fail to develop and maintain policies requiring staff and members to abide by copyright laws.
10. Receive, process or disperse funds under controls that are insufficient to meet the Board-appointed auditor's standards.
11. Invest or maintain congregational funds without first obtaining expert advice, nor invest or maintain such funds in other than interest-bearing instruments, with adequate insurance, without the approval of the Board.
12. Endanger the congregation's public image or credibility, particularly in ways that hinder its accomplishment of mission.

G. Asset Utilization

The Executive shall not devote congregational assets to endeavors that fail to support Ends policies or are incongruent with Unitarian Universalist principles.

To this end, the Executive shall not:

1. Fail to consider, and to report to the Board on, investing and maintaining congregational funds in socially responsible ways.
2. Fail to develop and implement policies for building usage, by members, staff and by others, including fund-raising events, that are consistent with the congregation's Mission, and the Board's Ends policies, that give priority to use by members and staff, and that protect the integrity and cleanliness of the building and the surrounding area, including the creek.
3. Fail to develop and implement policies that permit the fullest practical use of the building by persons with disabilities.
4. Fail to develop and implement policies and procedures for reviewing, approving and reimbursing expenses incurred by members and staff on behalf of the congregation.
5. Permit use of congregational funds or accounts in any manner that endangers the congregation's tax-exempt, not-for-profit status under federal and state laws.

H. Grants and Contracts

Accordingly, the Executive shall not:

1. Fail to inform the Board with sufficient prior notice of any plan or decision to solicit or terminate a grant or contract that will have a significant impact on programs or that will be in effect for more than year.
2. Fail to adequately asses the qualifications and capacity of a grantor or contractor to fulfill their responsibilities as identified in a grant or contract.
3. Fail to administer a grant or contract in a business-like manner that will avoid the appearance of favoritism and/or nepotism.

I. Gift Acceptance

The Executive shall not accept any gift with restrictions that are contrary to the standards of the congregation's Mission, Ends, and Unitarian Universalist Principles.

Accordingly, the Executive shall not:

1. Fail to direct undesignated, unexpected gift income into the Growth Initiatives Fund.
2. Fail to invest the Growth Initiatives Fund in liquid, short-term investments.
3. Fail to discourage any restricted gift with the exception of improvement projects special projects or growth initiatives approved by the Board.
4. Fail to create and review with the Board a list of approved improvement projects special projects or growth initiatives.

J. Communication and Support to the Board

The Executive shall not cause or allow the Board to be uninformed or unsupported in its work.

K. Executive Absence

To prevent loss of Executive services, the Executive will not fail to have at least one staff person sufficiently familiar with Board and Executive issues and processes to enable that person to take over with reasonable proficiency as an interim successor.

L. Executive Well-Being

The Executive shall not fail to provide adequately for his or her well-being and spiritual care.

III. BOARD-EXECUTIVE LINKAGE

The Board will hold the Executive accountable for the operational organization, its achievements and conduct, and for operating under an annual strategic plan approved by the Board.

A. Composition of the Executive

The Executive or Executive Team shall be defined by the Board, and shall usually consist of the Senior Minister only or the Senior Minister and one or more senior staff.

B. Unity Of Voice

Only decisions of the Board acting as a body, stated in officially passed motions, are binding on the Executive.

Thus, decisions or instructions of individual Board members, officers, committees or congregation members are not binding on the Executive except in rare instances when the Board has specifically delegated the exercise of such authority.

C. Accountability of Executive

The Board holds the Executive accountable for organizational operations, achievement and conduct. All authority and accountability of paid staff and volunteers is considered by the Board to be the authority and accountability of the Executive.

Accordingly,

1. The Board will refrain from giving instructions to persons who report directly or indirectly to the Executive.
2. The Board will refrain from evaluating, either formally or informally, any staff other than the Executive.
3. The Board will view Executive performance as identical to organizational performance, so that organizational accomplishment of Board-stated Ends and avoidance of Board-proscribed Means will be viewed as successful Executive performance.

D. Delegation to the Executive

Accordingly,

1. Each year the Executive will present to the Board a strategic plan that will address and work toward the Ends in the context of the Long Range Plan. The Board must review and agree to this strategic plan.
2. The Board will develop executive limitations that define the latitude the Executive may exercise in choosing how to accomplish the strategic plan.
3. The Board may change the executive limitations, thereby changing the latitude of the Executive.

E. Executive Performance Assessment

Performance will be monitored by regular and systematic reports, according to a schedule set by the Board.

1. The purpose of monitoring is to determine whether and to what extent Ends, the strategic plan and Executive Limitations are being met.
2. The Board will acquire monitoring data by one or more of the following methods:
• a. By internal report, in which the Executive discloses compliance information to the Board;
• b. By external report, in which an external, disinterested third party selected by the Board assesses compliance with Ends and Executive Limitations;
• c. By direct Board inspection, in which one or more Board members designated by the Board, or the Board as a whole, assesses compliance with the appropriate Board policy criteria.
3. In every case, the standard for compliance shall be any reasonable interpretation of the policy being monitored.
4. All policies that instruct the Executive will be monitored at a frequency and by a method chosen by the Board. The Board can monitor any policy at any time by any method, but will ordinarily depend on a routine schedule.

IV. BOARD GOVERNANCE

The Board of Trustees of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta will govern through set policies and will act on behalf of the congregation to further the congregation's mission and chosen Ends.

A. Governing Principles

The Board will govern with emphasis on:

1. the seven Unitarian Universalist Principles,
2. outward vision,
3. open and candid deliberations,
4. collective rather than individual decisions,
5. shared responsibility for decisions,
6. spiritual and strategic leadership more than administrative detail,
7. clear distinction of Board and Executive roles,
8. the future while learning from the past and present.

   Accordingly,

1. The Board will cultivate a sense of group responsibility. The Board, not the Executive, will be responsible for excellence in governing. The Board will use the expertise of individual members to enhance the ability of the Board as a body rather than to substitute individual judgments for the Board's values. The Board will allow no officer, individual, or committee of the Board to hinder or be an excuse for not fulfilling Board commitments.
2. The Board will govern and inspire the congregation and direct the Executive through the careful establishment of broad written policies reflecting the congregation's values and the desired Ends to be achieved and the means to be avoided. The Board's major policy focus will be on the desired Ends, not on the administrative or programmatic means of attaining those Ends.
3. The Board will enforce upon itself whatever discipline is needed to govern with excellence. Discipline will apply to matters such as attendance, preparation, policy-making principles, respect of roles, and ensuring continuance of governance capability. Continued Board development will include orientation of new Board members in the Board's governance process.
4. The Board will monitor and regularly discuss the Board's own process and performance and will periodically discuss process improvements.

B. Board Job Description

Accordingly,

1. The Board is the link between the Executive and the congregation.
2. The Board will produce written governing policies that, at the broadest levels, address each category of organizational decision.
• a. Ends: The difference we make in the world.
• b. Executive Limitations: Constraints on executive authority that establish the prudence and ethics boundaries within which executive activity and decision must take place.
• c. Board Governance: Specification of how the Board conceives, carries out, and monitors its own task.
• d. Board-Executive Linkage: How authority is delegated and its proper use monitored.
3. The Board will assure Executive performance in compliance with the Ends and Executive Limitations policies.

C. Annual Work Plan

The Board will develop and follow an annual work plan that

1. re-explores Ends policies with congregants and lay-leaders in regular dialogue,
2. systematically monitors and reviews Board policies including those set forth in the schedule outlined in the Board-Executive Linkage,
3. provides education and enrichment opportunities that enhance Board performance, and
4. provides education and communication to enhance the congregation's understanding of policy-based governance.

D. Role of the President

Accordingly,

1. It is the responsibility of the President to ensure the Board behaves consistently with its own rules and those legitimately imposed upon it from outside the organization.
• a. Meeting discussion content will be only those issues which, according to Board policy, clearly belong to the Board to decide, not the Executive.
• b. Deliberations will be fair, open, and thorough but also timely, orderly, and kept to the point.
2. The authority of the President consists in making decisions that fall within the policies in Board Governance and Board-Executive Linkage, except where the Board specifically delegates portions of this authority to others. The President is authorized to use any reasonable interpretation of the provisions in these policies.
• a. The President shall preside at all business meetings of the congregation.
• b. The President is empowered to chair Board meetings, with all the commonly accepted authority of that position.
• c. The President, as an individual, has no authority to make decisions about policies created by the Board within Ends and Executive Limitations policy areas. Therefore, the President, as an individual, has no authority to supervise or direct the Executive.
• d. The President may represent the Board to outside parties in announcing Board-stated positions and in stating the President's own decisions and interpretations within his or her authority.
• e. The President may delegate this authority to another Board member, but remains accountable for its use.

E. Board Members’ Code of Conduct

Accordingly,

1. Members will disclose their involvement with other organizations, with vendors, or with any other associations that might produce a conflict of interest.
2. Members must represent unconflicted loyalty to the interests of the congregation. This accountability supersedes any conflicting loyalty such as that to advocacy or interest groups and membership on other Boards or staffs. It also supersedes the personal interest of any Board member acting as a consumer of the congregation's services.
3. Members must avoid conflict of interest with respect to their fiduciary responsibility.
• a. There must be no self-dealing or any conduct of private business or personal services between any Board member and the congregational staff except as procedurally controlled to assure openness, competitive opportunity, and equal access to inside information.
• b. When the Board is to decide upon an issue about which a Board member has an unavoidable conflict of interest, that member shall absent herself or himself from not only the vote but also from the deliberation by leaving the meeting.
• c. Board members must not use their positions to obtain employment by UUCA for themselves, family members, or close associates. Should a member of the Board desire employment, he or she must resign from the Board first.
4. Board members may not attempt to exercise individual authority over the organization except as explicitly set forth in the Board policies.
• a. Members' interaction with the Executive or with staff must recognize the lack of authority vested in individuals except when explicitly Board-delegated.
• b. Members' interactions with public, press or other entities must recognize the same limitation and the inability of any Board member to speak for the Board except to repeat explicitly stated Board decisions.
• c. Members will not express or act on their individual judgments of the Executive or staff performance outside of the Board.
5. Members will respect the confidentiality appropriate to issues of a sensitive nature.

F. Board Committee Principles

Accordingly, the only two standing committees of the Board are

1. Executive Committee, which attends to such details of business as are delegated by the Board of Trustees, per Article XI.A of the Bylaws.
2. Stewardship Committee
• a. This committee endeavors to concentrate on the need of the giver to give (stewardship approach) rather than the need of the congregation to receive (bill-paying approach). It is charged with the following functions:
• i. To provide institutional memory, recruit leadership for and support the annual generosity efforts of the congregation, such as Pledge Drive, Auction, Kroger Certificates, Bookstore, etc.
• ii. To coordinate the pledging of new members between pledge drives.
• iii. To advise our fundraisers about successful stewardship practices in other congregations.
• iv. The Chair and other members of the committee will be nominated by the President and elected by the Board and will include at least two members of the Board of Trustees, the Executive or his designee as ex-officio member and other staff or UUCA members.

G. Cost of Governance

Accordingly,

1. Board skills, methods, and support will be sufficient to assure governing with excellence.
• a. Training and retraining will be used to orient new and prospective Board members, as well as to maintain and increase existing member skills and understandings.
• b. Outside monitoring assistance will be arranged so that the Board can exercise confident control over organizational performance. This includes but is not limited to fiscal audit.
2. Costs will be prudently incurred, though not at the expense of endangering the development and maintenance of superior capability,
• a. For training, including attendance at conferences and workshops.
• b. For audit and other third-party monitoring of organizational performance.
• c. For surveys, focus groups, opinion analyses, and meeting costs.

H. Complaint and Inquiry Process

The Board will address complaints and inquiries that relate to Board policies. Other matters will be referred to the appropriate entity.

Accordingly, the Board establishes the following procedures and guidelines for the resolution of formal complaints about the compliance with these policies by Board members or by the Executive:

1. A formal complaint that "valid on its face" is a factual claim which, if true, would indicate a significant violation of one or more of these policies. In determining whether a complaint is valid on its face, it may be appropriate to consider whether the claimed act or omission happened only once, or whether it was, instead, part of a pattern of behavior.
2. Anyone concerned about a possible violation of policy may raise the matter with any member of the Board. The Board member should discuss with the concerned party the advisability of resolving the matter informally. However, if the concerned party wishes to lodge a formal complaint, the Board member will so advise the President.
3. A formal complaint may be made orally or in writing.
4. On being advised of a formal complaint, the President will appoint one, two, or three Reviewers, at least one of whom must be a member of the Board.
5. The Reviewer(s)
• will promptly meet with the concerned party,
• may, as a matter of discretion depending on the circumstances, ask the concerned party to attempt to resolve the matter informally before proceeding further,
• determine whether the complaint is valid or invalid on its face,
• if the complaint is determined to be valid on its face, talk to those with knowledge of the facts and take all other reasonable steps to learn what actually happened,
• if a valid complaint is factually substantiated, form a judgment as to what specific steps the Board should take in order to fulfill its responsibility to require accountability, and
• report to the Board on all the foregoing, including any complaints found to be facially invalid or factually unsubstantiated.
6. Based on the report, the Board will take any action it deems appropriate to enforce accountability. In accordance with the general procedures for conducting sensitive matters in executive session, the Reviewers' report and the Board's discussion of the report may be held in executive session. If the complaint is against a Board member, that member will have no part in the Board's deliberations in respect of the Reviewers' report.
7. The President will ask a member of the Board to advise the concerned party as to the outcome of the review and the Board's action.