Mid-January it was the Foodbank's turn for a site inspection as we participated in a three-day audit by Feeding America. Our contract with Feeding America requires regular audits of food banks in the network to ensure the highest standrards are being maintained in the interest of our Foodbank, Feeding America and the Network as a whole. At the conclusion of the visit, Patrick Colley, Director, Compliance & Capability shared his feedback with our Board of Directors and Foodbank senior leaders, "This was a great audit with many areas that exceeded our standards".
The audit process involved review of the following areas:
- general administration and management of the organization
- financial health of the organization
- relationship of the Foodbank to its peers in the network, to its member agencies and to the food industry
- compliance with federal regulations pertinent to the Foodbank's operation
- files and records, including Member Agency files
- in-depth inspection of the facilities
The only area of compliance that requires follow-up because of this audit involves our Member Agency Network, and a new requirement that went into effect October 1, 2014. This new requirement calls for all church who hold membership at the Foodbank and have submitted a Chruch Qualifier checklist to verify compliance with IRS tax regulations to complete a new Church Qualifier form and provide supporting documentation for each item checked-off on this form. A minimum of 9 out of the 14 items on this checklist must be met to qualify as a church by IRS guidelines. Previously, the Foodbank only required this document to be submitted on church letterhead and signed by the Chief Executive or Senior Pastor. With this new requirement, all current and future Foodbank members that intend to hold a membership through a church must provide this additional documentation.
To ensure all agency files are in compliance, a new Church Qualifier Form is now available. For each item on the checklist, there are examples of supporting documentation. For example, "Established place of worship" could be documented by submitting a copy of the church bulletin showing the church address. Articles of Incorporation registered with the state, along with a church bulletin could, in many cases, fulfill the requirement.
All churches have already been contaced by their Member Services representative via email or phone. Documentation must be submitted by Member Agencies to the Foodbank no later than Friday, May 15, 2015. If you have any questions, please contact your Member Services representative. Thank you in advance for your cooperation to complete this compliance requirement.