A conflict of interest is defined as an actual or perceived interest by a staff or Board member in an action that results in, or has the appearance of resulting in, personal, organizational, or professional gain. Officers and members are obligated to always act in the best interest of the organization. This obligation requires that any officer or member, in the performance of organization duties, seek only the furtherance of the organization’s mission. At all times, staff, officers, and board members are prohibited from using their job title or Inter-Cooperative Council’s (ICC) name or property for private profit or benefit.

A. The officers and members of the ICC should neither solicit nor accept gratuities, favors, or anything of monetary value from contractors/vendors. This is not intended to preclude bona-fide organizational fund-raising activities.

B. No officer, or member of the organization shall participate in the selection, award, or administration of a purchase or contract with a vendor where, to their knowledge, any of the following has a financial interest in that purchase or contract:

1. The officer or member,

2. Any member of their immediate family,

3. Their partner,

4. An organization in which any of the above is an officer, director or employee,

5. A person or organization with whom any of the above individuals is negotiating or has an arrangement concerning prospective employment.

C. Disclosure -- Any possible conflict of interest shall be disclosed by the person or persons concerned. The General Manager/President shall be responsible for managing the issue as needed.

D. Board Action -- When a conflict of interest is relevant to a matter requiring action by the Board, the interested person(s) shall call it to the attention of the Board and said person(s) shall not vote on the matter. In addition, the person(s) shall not participate in the final decision or related deliberation regarding the matter under consideration. When there is a doubt as to whether a conflict exists, the matter shall be resolved by vote of the ICC Board, excluding the person(s) concerning whose situation the doubt has arisen.

E. Record of Conflict -- The official minutes of the Board shall reflect that the conflict of interest was disclosed and the interested person(s) did not participate in the final discussion nor the vote.

Confidentiality is defined as respecting the privacy of our clients, donors, members, staff, volunteers and of the ICC itself is important to the organization.

Personal and financial information is confidential and should not be disclosed or discussed with anyone without permission or authorization from the General Manager or the Board. Care shall also be taken to ensure that unauthorized individuals do not overhear any discussion of confidential information and that documents containing confidential information are not left in the open or inadvertently shared. 

Board members of the ICC may be exposed to information which is confidential and/or privileged and proprietary in nature. It is the policy of the ICC that such information must be kept confidential both during and after employment or volunteer service. Staff and volunteers, including board members, are expected to return materials containing privileged or confidential information at the time of separation from employment or expiration of service. Unauthorized disclosure of confidential or privileged information is a serious violation of this policy and will subject the person(s) who made the unauthorized disclosure to appropriate discipline, including removal/dismissal.