Our Governance
Our governance is formed around our core values, ways of working and code of conduct that characterises the work of our Board, management team and employees. It encompasses our organizational structure, leadership, decision-making powers, responsibilities and employee competencies, as well as the internal and external controls that govern and regulate our work.
Strategy
Reach for Change has one global strategy that applies to the whole organization. Our current strategy is Vision 2021 (2017-2021). You can read more about our Vision 2021 and related milestones here. Our statutes are also available for your reference.
Our Structure
External and Internal Quality Assurance
In order to guarantee that our activities are carried out as efficiently as possible and in accordance with our mission, vision, strategy and all applicable guidelines, agreements and regulations, we place a strong emphasis on having a robust governance system with all necessary internal and external controls in place. This includes, amongst other things, continuous quality assurance in strategy implementation, ongoing dialogue with partners, internal skills development and further development of processes and support. This has resulted in a high awareness of the importance of Reach for Change’s values and ways of working that is integrated into all aspects of our organisation.
In this section you can read about how our organization is governed both internally and externally.
External quality assurance
Reach for Change is a member of FRII (The Swedish Fundraising Council), a trade organization that works to ensure transparency and ethical standards in fundraising. As members, we comply with the FRII Quality Code, which sets out best practice for governance of charitable organizations including internal controls that must be in place. Reach for Change conducts a bi-annual external audit as an external verification that Reach for Change complies with such requirements, and also publishes an annual FRII Impact Report (in addition to our own Global Social Impact Report) that verifies and highlights progress made towards our long-term impact goals. In this way, our partners can feel safe that our governance standards are in line with industry best-practice.
In line with FRII requirements, a number of our policies are to be made publicly available and these can be found below and in the internal controls section:
R4C report on FRII Quality Code
Salary and remuneration of highest official
Reach for Change also has a 90-Account as a member of the independent inspection authority, the Swedish Fundraising Control. Having a 90-Account means that Reach for Change meets the requirements of the Authority with regards to how fundraising income is used and acts like an additional stamp of approval with regards to our fundraising policies and processes. For all organizations that have a 90-account, a maximum of 25 percent of total costs may be used for fundraising and administration. The Authority carries out an annual check to ensure we meet their 90-Account requirements. In 2018, Reach for Change used 12% percent for fundraising and administration.
Our annual external audit also takes into account our internal controls and processes as part of their review.
Internal Controls
Internal control is part of the financial and operational management at Reach for Change. The continuous development, improvement and quality assurance of Reach for Change’s internal controls (including but not limited to rules, guidelines and process descriptions) is overseen by our COO and Finance function, and followed-up with our management team and our Board of Directors on an ongoing basis.
Amongst our internal policies, Reach for Change ensures awareness and training in relation to the following policies:
- Fundraising - Our Fundraising Policy sets out the principles and requirements that we apply to our fundraising activities.
- Investment - Our Investment Policy establishes the rules, objectives and organisation applying to Reach for Change’s management of its funds.
- Countering irregular conduct - Our Policy for Countering Irregular Conduct aims to keep to a minimum the risk of irregular conduct. The purpose of this policy is to serve as a guiding principle when dealing with suspicions concerning irregular conduct whenever this may arise.
- Whistleblower - At Reach for Change we are committed to the highest possible standards of openness, honesty and accountability. In line with that commitment, our Whistleblower Policy sets out our requirement and process for employees and others that we deal with who have serious concerns about any aspect of the organization’s work to come forward and voice those concerns.
- Code of Conduct - Reach for Change wants to create a workplace where each employee achieves the highest business and personal ethical standards and where employees feel proud of our operations. Therefore we comply with the United Nations Convention Against Corruption, the Children’s Rights and Business Principles, and the Global Compact Reporting Guidance on the 10th principle to develop a strong commitment against corruption. The Reach for Change Code of Conduct exists to ensure that all our employees, social entrepreneurs, and affiliates share Reach for Change’s commitment to such responsible business practices.
