Stewardship of Funds

Eastern Illinois Foodbank takes its responsibility for the stewardship of funds very seriously. We know this is important to you, and to all people, agencies, foundations, corporations, missions and municipalities which continue to invest in the Foodbank as the most reliable and efficient way to serve the thousands upon thousands of hungry and food insecure people.

Our Affirmation

The Foodbank has declared and adopted the following statements to apply to voluntary gift support and to our development efforts:

Confidence and Integrity
We recognize that each person who provides voluntary gift support to the Foodbank, as well as each prospective donor, has the right to full confidence in the Foodbank and for the complete integrity of functions and operations.

Act of Giving
We recognize that only the person who provides voluntary gift support to the Foodbank can determine or define generosity, and therefore we accept that the act of giving voluntarily underlines our stewardship responsibilities and standards.

Sincere Concern
We recognize the importance of demonstrating sincere concern for the interests and well-being of donors and prospective donors, and to discern a direction for their philanthropy that honors and respects them.

Giving Support
We recognize that people can and do give generously to the Foodbank in many ways, including gifts of food and food products, contributions of volunteer time and resources, bequests, memorials, tributes and gifts of property or other financial or estate assets, and we respect all giving support.

Public Trust Commitment
We recognize that the Foodbank holds a public trust to alleviate hunger in eastern Illinois and must continually demonstrate its commitments to public trust and be accountable to all it exists to serve, to all who support it and to society.

Our Core Principles

Accordingly, these ten Core Principles of Stewardship apply to those who choose to provide voluntary gift support to the Eastern Illinois Foodbank:

1. To be informed of the Mission, Purpose and Philosophy of the Foodbank, as well as the funding goals and any significant changes thereto.
2. To be informed of the purposes for which the Foodbank intends to use the voluntary gift contributed and the fund to which the gift is to be applied, and to receive assurance that the funding support is indeed used for the purpose provided and intended.
3. To be informed of the membership of the Board of Directors and of any decisions by the Board or by responsible officials which would significantly affect the Foodbank's finances and the contributions made by donors.
4. To be assured of truthfulness in the Foodbank's promotions and communications, with honest accounts and statements of purpose, and without overstating hunger and other needs of the people or the agencies the Foodbank assists and supports.
5. To have access to the Foodbank's most recent financial statements, to be provided, where appropriate, applicable information regarding how funds are managed and invested, and to be assured of minimal overhead and administrative costs.
6. To receive appropriate, prompt and personalized acknowledgement and recognition for all voluntary gift contributions made to the Foodbank.
7. To be assured that information and records kept on file by the Foodbank regarding donors and gifts are maintained and handled with respect and confidentiality.
8. To have their name deleted from any mailings, including annual fund communications or other invitations for gifting by the Foodbank, as may be desired and requested.
9. To be free to make any inquiries and ask any questions about the Foodbank, about the development policies and standards and about donations and investments, and to receive forthright responses.
10. To be assured that the Foodbank will adhere to the spirit as well as the letter of all applicable laws, regulations and principles, and will maintain utmost accountability for all resources.

Eastern Illinois Foodbank makes this pledge to you!