Policies

The purpose of these policies are to inform users of VOCF about general guidelines that may affect them.

Liability
Statements made on this website are the thoughts of the authors and not necessarily shared by each group or member associated with VOCF. Since each VOCF group or member is independent, VOCF is not responsible for the actions of groups or members.

VOC Exchange
Exchange of resources between VOC Groups and Members are free and voluntary choices. The community of VOCF is a self-regulating and rating community that help users of VOC Exchange make wise choices. While VOCF cannot ultimately be responsible for the quality execution or finances between groups, VOCF and its global community will continuously look for ways to improve the information, policies and systems available to its users. For addiitonal information, see the VOC Exchange Policies shown below.

Assistance without Prejudice
VOCF encourages all groups and members to help people without regard to race, religion, gender or political persuasion.

Information
VOCF will make every effort to ensure the security of information. VOCF never sells, rents, leases or exchanges personal information with other organizations.

Except in open forums where users may choose to express their identity, the full identity of VOCF members and donors is kept confidential. Friends and Groups can choose what amount of personal information they share with others.

VOCF allows users to manage which email lists they subscribe to. Subscribers can be removed at any time by emailing to remove@vocf.net

Use of Website
VOCF reserves the right to suspend or delete any postings by VOC Friends or Groups on the VOCF website that are deemed inappropriate.

Conflict Resolution
There may arise conflicts between VOCF groups or members at times. In this case, VOCF encourages everyone to use Biblical Principles of conflict resolution such as those found in Matthew 18:15-18. Serious cases of behavior may result in loss of VOCF friend or group status.

Changes in Policies
VOCF reserves the right to change or add policies as it learns and grows. VOC Friends and Groups are always free to decide whether to continue with VOCF.

© Copyright
Copyright for VOCF means you have the right to copy. The only exception is information from other VOCF groups and organizations, or links to their websites.

Refund Policy
Donations made are 100% refundable if we receive a request to do so within 48 hours of the donation. However, there is an administrative charge of $50 for every refund transaction made. Refunds for donations of under $50 will be given at the discretion of the VOCF management. Donations after 48 hours are governed by VOCF's Guarrantee.

Privacy Policy
Privacy is a very serious matter for VOCF  and Kentucky Christian Foundation, Inc. It is true that in order to process your request, we must know basic contact information such as your full name, address, e-mail address, and method of payment. All required information is kept internally and is never shared with third parties.

Contact Address
VOCF:  2993 Tulip Trace, Lexington, KY 40503 USA
Kentucky Christian Foundation, Inc:  250 West Main Street, Suite 1600, Lexington, KY, 40507-1746, USA.

VOC Exchange Policies 
 The following policies guide the VOC Exchange system.  These are in addition to other VOCF policies and are subject to change as VOCF grows and learns.

1. Minimum Criteria for VOC groups to post a proposal on VOC Exchange

• Once accepted as a VOC group, a group can post as many projects as desired on VOC Exchange.
• If VOCF feels a problem exists, it will consult with the VOC group.  VOCF reserves the right to remove a proposal or not approve a transfer of donated funds until the problem is resolved.

2. General Proposal Standards

• All proposals must show a serious plan to produce the three processes of Vision of Community. In other words, proposals must include activities that benefit the local people of God (churches), local leaders, and families.
• Proposals may not exceed 3 years in length, but can be renewed with a new proposal.
  
• Proposals must benefit the public and not be for the personal gain of individual members within a proposing group or their families.  For example, scholarships cannot be for a group’s employee, or their children or relatives.
• Proposals must benefit people without prejudice for their religion, race, political persuasion, or gender.
• Proposals must show the full picture of expenses for the project and all sources of income, not just the amount being requested.
• Proposing groups and donors must not have any association with illegal activities such as money laundering, terrorism, pornography, drugs, child exploitation, or other similar activities.
• Proposals and donations must be approved by the VOCF board of directors, or an authorized sub-council or executive working within VOCF policies, before donations are released to a project.

3. Standards for Special Types of Proposals
   Community-worker

   Support for a community-worker can only be requested and administered through an approved VOCF group.  Only in rare exceptions will a worker be supported directly by VOCF. VOCF's contributions for workers in the same country are set at the same monthly level. These levels are set according to local, not international, levels of compensation. VOCF's contributions help the local VOC group fulfill its compensation obligations, it does not raise a worker's total compensation level.

   Blessed Communities (sponsorship)

   The Blessed Community program is a group sponsorship system. Rather than sponsoring individual children, groups of people sponsor a group of children (for example, for one school). VOCF offers other software systems for individual child sponsorship.  To inquire about either system, email to info@vocf.net For the protection of children, the contact information of children and their families (email, address, telephone, etc.) must never be shared with donors.  In other words, donors must only relate with a VOCF group and never have private, direct communication with a child in a community.

4. Cash Management Standards

• The only deduction from donations for projects are the wiring fees and/or foreign exchange fees.  Support to VOCF’s support services are kept separate from donations for projects. 
• If VOCF spots an issue in contradiction to VOCF policies, it reserves the right to stop a transfer to a receiving group and will advise the donor and receiving group immediately.
• Any interest that accrues while funds are in escrow and in VOCF accounts will go to VOCF to help pay for the system.
• If donations for a proposal must be redirected to another project, the donor will be consulted first.
• If donors choose to give in excess of a request, the receiving organization must account for the full amount received. VOCF limits excess giving to 30% over the proposal amount.
• If events (war, emergency, political upheaval, etc.) result in a proposing group’s inability to do a project, the group must consult with its donors and arrive at a mutual agreement on what to do with funds they have received.

5. VOCF Rating Criteria

The five-star rating system of VOCF is based on the following criteria:

Red Star:  Local Endorsement.  A written endorsement exists from an independent local national Christian leader, including their contact info for verification.  Examples are a national Christian association or an international organization of good reputation.

Blue Star: Legal Registration.  A written document showing legal registration in a country.

Orange Star:  Financial Audit.  An independent financial audit is provided from the previous fiscal year.  VOCF may require additional verification that the auditing company is legitimate.

Green Star: Active Participation.  The proposing Group is an active participant in the VOCF global community.  This can be evidenced through the sharing of ideas through the Global Community (VOC Knowledgebase, etc.), use of kingdom lifestyle groups, or the giving of people or financial resources with others in the VOCF network.

Purple Star: Verifying Visits.  Another VOCF Group has visited the proposing group and verified the need, that the project is in progress, or past VOC Exchange projects have been completed.  This requires proactively creating relationships with others in the VOCF Global Community.

It is the responsibility of the Proposing group to provide substantiating documentation for each rating criteria and monitor that their rating is up-to-date.  The decision on whether to award a star for each rating is up to the VOCF Community Council or a sub-council for ratings.

The privileges and limitations of star ratings are shown below.

Number of Stars	Request allowable (US$)	Project duration limit
1.	Under 500	6 months
2.	501 - 1,000	1 year
3.	1,001 - 5,000/year	3 years
4.	5,001 - 10,000/year	3 years
5.	10,001+/year	3 years

6. Accountability and Reporting Standards

• The Group Manager of the Proposing/Receiving group is the accountable person for a project.
• Receiving groups must abide by national accounting and legal standards.
• Receiving groups can use their own program and finance reporting formats unless otherwise agreed with donors. Financial reports must be in US Dollars unless otherwise agreed with the donor.
• Receiving groups or workers must post an update at least every 3 months while their proposal is posted on VOCF's website,  unless otherwise agreed with the donors. The regular schedule is April 10, July 10, October 10 and January 10.
  
• Receipts must be kept for all project expenditures and shared with a donor if requested.
• Large expenditures should get at least three prior bids.  The definition of large depends on the local context.
• A project completion and financial report must be posted according to the time commitment made by the proposing group in its original proposal.  Lateness or incomplete reporting may affect the rating of a group.  Significant delays or poor reporting can result in the loss or lowering of privileges in the VOC Exchange system.

7. Communication Standards

• The proposing Group’s Group Manager is the official point person for all communication.
• Communication and reports can be in any language, but is generally English unless otherwise agreed between the proposing group and donors.  English as a second language is acceptable as long as it is understandable.
• While VOCF cannot control communication between groups and donors, it is highly advised that all communication be through the VOCF website and not independent emails.  This provides a communication trail and helps resolve misunderstandings.
• The personal contact information of individuals in a community or donors must never be given out.

8. Compliance and Consequences

VOCF seeks to be a self-regulating movement of like-minded people and groups.  Rather than investing in expensive compliance departments, we believe the community of VOCF can work together to provide equal if not better compliance than traditional systems. While VOCF provides systems that facilitate compliance and accountability, VOCF is not ultimately responsible for the completion of projects and care of finances once they reach VOC Groups.

• When a project proposal is funded by donors, the proposal acts as a contract between the giving and receiving group.
• Any significant changes in a project (e.g. change in location, objectives, or significant budget change) must be discussed between the giving and receiving groups prior to making changes.
• Conflicts or disagreements about compliance should be handled directly between receiving groups and donors following Biblical processes for resolution (See Mathew 18:15-20).  If a conflict is considered serious by the donor or receiving group, a request can be made to the VOCF Community Council to facilitate resolution.
• Participants in VOC Exchange are responsible to report abuses.  Examples of abuse are the violation of any of these policies or other Biblical standards of conduct.
• If an abuse is reported, VOCF has the right to immediately freeze remaining transfers of funds and suspend a group’s VOCF privileges.
• The VOCF Community Council reserves the right to make final decisions in the best interests of the overall community of VOCF.