Barton Foundation Financial Processes

The Barton Foundation’s commitment to ensuring your dollars go where you want them to go

It seems every couple of weeks we hear horror stories of not for profits whose board members or paid staff embezzle thousands of dollars that donors (people like you!) donated to their cause. Now, that money is gone and, sadly, the real losers are those in need. The local Boys and Girls Club did a great article (good work Jude!) after the recent news story regarding just such an occurrence at a local charity. So, we thought, in an effort to reassure our donors of the safety of their donation, we would do the same.

First of all we are lucky. The Barton Foundation’s overhead, salaries, and operating expenses are paid by Barton Health. This ensures that the money that we receive from our donors really does benefit the patients and the community we serve.

1. Only one credit card is in use and, while all staff members have access, it is regularly monitored by the Executive Director of the Foundation, the CEO of the health system, and Barton Health’s accounting staff. We can not get cash back using the cards.
2. Only three of our Executive Board Members are able to sign checks. Checks over $2,500 are processed through the Barton Health accounting department. 
3. Invoices over $2,500 are processed through Barton Health’s procurement department.
4. Staff are unable to make electronic transfers.
5. We have no petty cash on hand.
6. All Cash is received and given a receipt (when possible). Then the cash is deposited on the next deposit day. Cash is locked in cash drawer; key is kept with Barton Foundation Staff. if Cash bank is over $500.00 then deposit is made first business day available. The Barton Health accounting department tracks revenue and expenses and reconciles the bank accounts each month.
7. The Executive Director has to approve all expenses prior to purchase.
8. All invoices and receipts have a general ledger account attached to them, and each GL area has a budget attached.
9. A budget variance report is completed by the internal bookkeeper which looks at our expenses vs. the projected budget. All variances have to be explained. Variances are reviewed by the Executive Director, the CEO of Barton Health and the Barton Health Accounting Department.
10. The Finance Committee of the Foundation Board of Trustees receives a financial statement every quarter and a verbal report is given. 
11. We have a full professional audit each year and file a 990 with the State. The full audit requires a review of our accounting procedures to ensure we are complying with best practice.
12. All donations are recorded in our donor database and a gift receipt letter is sent. At the end of the year a Tax Confirmation letter is sent to all donors stating their total tax deductible donation to the Foundation.
13. We provide reports, including copies of receipts, to all grants and Foundations.
    

Some of our Board Members, staff, and volunteers do handle cash at Barton Foundation fundraising events. Obviously, there is some risk to undertaking these activities, however, we do have controls in place i.e. amount in each bank is monitored, age of volunteer, etc. so that we minimize our risk.

Commitment to our Donors

Donors trust in us to be good stewards of their gifts and we take this responsibility seriously. If our donors want their money to go to cancer - it is our duty to ensure that happens. Therefore, in addition to all of the measures listed above, we have many conversations about where our money should go - what it should fund, what should be paid by the hospital vs. the Foundation, etc. - all in an effort to maximize the dollars going to fund our good works and minimize the dollars spent on backend operations, salaries, etc.

If you have any questions or concerns about the Barton Foundation’s financial processes please do not hesitate to contact us.