Record Keeping Draft Guidance on Record Retention for

Record Keeping & Draft Guidance on Record Retention for Ski Councils & Clubs NSCF Meeting in Grand Targhee ID September 2013

General statements about record keeping �Good records help you monitor the progress of your organization, i. e, you know where you’ve been and where you are. �Good records are necessary to comply with financial reporting requirements (IRS tax returns, etc…) �Good records (especially for a social organization) are desired for sentimental and historical purposes

Methods of Record Storage Pros Cons Hard Copy Easy No computer skills needed Need space to store records, such as the personal home of officer/chair or rented space. Need to transfer the “stuff” when change officers, or new officers need to be aware of where they are if records are not relocated Electronic Varying technical skills among the volunteers who are the officers/ chairs. Small amount of physical space needed Can save money if council/club was previously renting space for storage of boxes

Present day (from last year’s discussion) Most councils/ clubs have old (& new) hard copy records stored in boxes that are kept in someone’s home or rented space

Challenge with boxes If you tend to keep everything… Space becomes an issue – Where do you put it all?

Present day… Councils & Clubs have started keeping electronic records

We all want to effectively manage records with minimal time & effort

Electronic Storage • Google Drive (aka Google Docs) • Google provides 15 GB of online storage for free to individuals, $5 per month for businesses • Sky. Drive • A Microsoft product that provides 7 GB of free storage • Drop Box • Used for file sharing & collaboration • Service provides 2 GB of free storage

Electronic storage can save money Example: Austin Ski Club was spending about $500 a year to rent a locker to store boxes of records. Last year they decided to convert the records to digital format to save money. A team of 3 people sorted through the documents to discard the unneeded documents. They took the remaining boxes to a service that scanned the documents and put them on a flash drive. The fee was about $500. While that did not save them any money the first year, they no longer have that expense. All financial records, such as transaction forms and receipts are submitted by email with the documentation already in a digital format. The Treasurer uses Google Drive to store the needed documents. It is free, quick and easy.

Member Management Services Wild Apricot & Club Express: Are cloud based Service providers backs everything up People can complete forms on-line for membership and trips Service provides low tech interface, making it easier for council/ clubs to manage and host the website, provide ability to do email blasts and record trip financial transactions Price depends on the size of membership database

Financial �Bank Automation �Many banks now offer convenience with electronic banking, e. g. , bank statements, deposits using a “deposit only” ATM card, transfer, etc. �Quick Books �Electronic program for keeping financial records and generating reports

Record Retention Good housekeeping of records on a regular basis is good for keeping organized

Less can be More “The more you have, the more you are occupied. The less you have, the more free you are. ” Mother Teresa “When you have cleared all of your clutter, you can be of greater service to those around you. ” Michael B. Kitson

House keeping & Record Retention �What if you inadvertently throw out something critical? �How do you know what to discard and what to save? �A Record Retention Policy will let everyone involved in the organization know what to save, what to archive, and what to shred – and when. There is no current guidance to help ski councils/ clubs develop a Record Retention Policy

Record Retention • A document retention and destruction policy identifies the record retention responsibilities of staff, volunteers, board members, and outsiders for maintaining and documenting the storage and destruction of the organization’s documents and records http: //www. councilof nonprofits. org/document-retention-policies

Record Retention • Having a written policy, and regular business practice of document destruction according to a schedule, lets people know what documents to retain and for how long. • Such a policy is not only a prudent practice but also sound risk management.

Record Retention “The process of developing a document retention policy involves: (1) Identifying what types of paperwork (and electronic files) your nonprofit generates; (2) Determining the appropriate (and legal) length of time to retain them; and (3) Recording those retention times on a written schedule. ” http: //www. councilof nonprofits. org/document-retention-policies

If/when you eliminate a record… please destroy (shred or burn) Members’ personal information & banking information are in those records

Discussion & Collaboration Let’s look at the Draft Guidance on Record Retention for Ski Councils & Clubs

Finalizing the Guide Please email your comments and suggested changes to Pam Korenewych at pkorenewych@gmail. com by November 1, 2013