Please visit GiveWell.org This CharityScorecard.org site was in use from 2006 to 2008, but is now mostly dormant, and the material here is out of date. The GiveWell project has similar goals and is being actively maintained. I've left the old CharityScorecard.org content here just for the historical record.

From CharityScorecard

This is a simple example template for outlining an organization's privacy and transparency policies.

Policies

No policy yet

= We haven't yet decided how we want to handle these documents, and don't plan to decide until later when we have more time to think about it.

Generally private

= We plan to keep most of these documents private, with a few possible exceptions.

Up to someone else

= For these documents we'll follow the wishes of the other party involved (employee, donor, charity, etc.) regarding whether to post the documents or whether to keep them private.

Generally public

= Ideally we'd like to make most of these documents public. If it's cheap and easy to post them on the website, then we will. If posting them is a chore, then we may not bother now, but we could post them later if we have time and we get funding to cover the effort.

Documents

Accounting	Documents	No policy yet	Generally private	Up to someone else	Generally public
	Accounts accounts payable ledgers accounts receivable ledgers investment lists (listing individual securities held)	...?
	Annual reports				public
	Annuity gift agreements		private
	Audited financial statements				public
	Bank records bank deposit records bank reconciliations bank statements	...?
	Canceled checks ordinary checks taxes, property and important payments	...?
	Contributions/donations/grants (incoming) unrestricted temporarily restricted perm. restricted/endowment	...?
	Contributions/donations/grants (outgoing)				public
	Donor records names, addresses, dates			up to someone else
	Expense analyses/distribution schedules	...?
	Fixed asset records, appraisals, depreciation schedules	...?
	Internal audit reports	...?
	Invoices (to customers/from vendors)	...?
	Life income agreements	...?
	Physical inventory records	...?
	Purchase orders	...?
	Requisitions	...?
	Shipping and receiving reports	...?
	Subsidiary ledgers	...?
	Tax returns (IRS form 990) and worksheets				public
	Uncollectable accounts and write-offs	...?
	Vouchers for payment to vendors, employees and others	...?
	Withholding tax statements (W4's)	...?
Corporate	Documents	No policy yet	Generally private	Up to someone else	Generally public
	Charters, constitutions, bylaws				public
	Contracts, mortgages, notes and leases expired still in effect	...?
	Deeds, bills of sale	...?
	Government correspondence IRS rulings subpoenas Freedom of Information Act requests etc.	...?
	Incorporation records, 501(c)(3) determination				public
	Labor contracts employment agreements contracting agreements	...?
	Legal agreements involving $10,000 or more	...?
	Loan documents, notes	...?
	Licenses	...?
	Minutes from board meetings agendas audio recordings slides or attachments voting results				public
	Non-disclosure agreements signed by officers or employees	...?
	Patents and related papers	...?
	Trademark registrations and copyrights	...?
	Written policies (with dates of effect) policies set by the board policies set by officers	...?
Operations	Documents	No policy yet	Generally private	Up to someone else	Generally public
	Charity meeting lists names and dates of meetings with staff members from charities under review	...?
	External e-mail mail exchanged with people outside of the organization	...?
	Internal e-mail mail exchanged between people in the organization	...?
	IM logs transcripts of organization work done via IM, chatrooms, IRC, SMS, etc.	...?
Personnel	Documents	No policy yet	Generally private	Up to someone else	Generally public
	Employment applications hired not hired		private
	Employment offer letters	...?
	Garnishments	...?
	I-9's (after termination)	...?
	List of board members (with dates of service)	...?
	List of consultants and contractors (with dates of service)	...?
	List of employees (with dates of employment)	...?
	Payroll records and summaries	...?
	Personnel files (after termination)	...?
	Retirement and pension records	...?
	Time sheets	...?
Insurance	Documents	No policy yet	Generally private	Up to someone else	Generally public
	Accident reports and claims	...?
	Fire inspection reports	...?
	Group disability reports	...?
	Insurance records (expired contracts)	...?
	OSHA logs	...?
	Worker’s compensation documentation	...?