***This sample is provided solely for informational purposes. Nothing in this document constitutes legal advice*** DOCUMENT RETENTION AND DESTRUCTION POLICY OF EAST HARLEM ARTS ARTICLE I Purpose East Harlem Arts (the Corporation ) acknowledges its responsibility to preserve information relating to litigation, audits and investigations, and to remain in compliance with federal and state reporting laws. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 makes it a crime to alter, cover up, falsify, or destroy any document to prevent its use in an investigation or official proceeding. Failure on the part of directors, officers, or employees of the Corporation to retain certain corporate records can result in civil and criminal sanctions against the Corporation and its directors, officers, members or employees and disciplinary action against responsible individuals. to: The purpose of this Document Retention and Destruction Policy (the Policy ) is (a) (b) (c) ensure that all non-critical records are retained for no longer than the minimum period required by law (see Schedule B, Records Retention Schedule), thereby eliminating storage space problems and minimizing expense; ensure that all critical records, are retained either permanently or for the required period (see Schedule B, Records Retention Schedule); and ensure that records are destroyed pursuant to a standard policy that has been developed for business reasons. ARTICLE II Corporate Records The corporate records of the Corporation (the Corporate Records ) include all records produced by directors, officers, members or employees, whether in paper or electronic form. The Corporate Records include memoranda, e-mail, contracts, minutes, voicemail, reports, receipts and revenue filings regardless of where the document is stored, including network servers, desktop or laptop computers and handheld computers and other wireless devices with text messaging capabilities.
ARTICLE III Document Retention and Destruction a. Length of Retention. The Corporate Records should be retained for the relevant period set forth on Schedule B. The categories listed on Schedule B are intended to be general and should be interpreted as including all types of records relating to that category, including correspondence, notes, and reports. Documents sent to storage should be identified by category and should specify a scheduled destruction date in accordance with Schedule B. b. Scheduled Destruction. The elected secretary of the board of directors of the Corporation (the Secretary ) shall be responsible for ensuring that any scheduled destruction of the Corporate Records is carried out in accordance with Schedule B and this Policy. c. Prohibited Destruction. Destruction of records relating to litigation or governmental investigations may constitute a criminal offense. The Secretary shall be responsible for suspending destruction of any Corporate Records as soon as any litigation, governmental investigation or audit, civil action or enforcement proceeding is suspected, reasonably anticipated or commenced against the Corporation, its officers, directors, members or employees. d. Reporting Requirement. A director, officer, member, or employee with knowledge of potential or actual litigation, an external audit, investigation or similar proceeding involving the Corporation, must report this information to the Board of Directors as soon as possible. e. Electronic Records. This Policy shall apply to all records regardless of whether the records are stored on paper or on computer hard drives, floppy disks or other electronic media. See Schedule A, Guidelines for the Disposition of Electronic Mail Messages. From time to time the Corporation may establish additional retention or destruction policies or schedules. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if any member or employee believes or is informed by the Corporation that certain records are relevant to litigation or potential litigation, then those records must be preserved until the board of directors determines the records are no longer needed. ARTICLE IV Administration and Oversight The Secretary is responsible for the administration and enforcement of this Policy. Either the Secretary or another responsible person must monitor compliance with the retention periods. That person is specifically charged with overseeing periodic reviews of records in accordance with the policy.
ARTICLE V Adoption of Policy This policy was adopted on, 2008 by resolution of the board of directors. 3
ANNEX A EAST HARLEM ARTS DOCUMENT RETENTION AND DESTRUCTION POLICY ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I,, the undersigned check one [ ] Member [ ] Officer and/or Director [ ] Employee of the East Harlem Arts (the Corporation ) affirm that: a. I have received a copy of the Corporation s Document Retention and Destruction Policy; b. I have read and understand the policy; and c. I agree to comply with the policy. Name: Title:
Schedule A Guidelines for Disposition of Electronic Mail Messages East Harlem Arts-related e-mail messages are corporate records and must be managed according to this Policy. As per Schedule B, general e-mail correspondence should be deleted after one year. E-mail that contains or attaches other records should be retained for the period relevant for the contained or attached record. An e-mail message that does not meet the definition of a record (i.e., personal e-mail or junk e-mail) should be deleted immediately from the system. East Harlem Arts e-mail servers are NOT intended for long-term record retention. E-mail messages and any associated attachment(s) with retention periods greater than three (3) years should be kept in similar fashion to paper records or electronically stored in an appropriate file on the network drive. The printed or electronic copy of the e-mail message must contain the following header information: who sent the message; who the message was sent to; date and time the message was sent; and the subject of the message. An e-mail message can be deleted once a paper copy has been printed or the e- mail message has been stored electronically. The paper copy or the electronic copy must be retained for the appropriate time period per this record retention policy.
Schedule B Records Retention Schedule Category of File Item Retention Period Corporate Records Correspondence, Finance & Administration Insurance Real Estate Tax Development Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws, Minute books Board meeting agendas & materials Conflict of interest disclosure forms Accounts payable ledgers and schedules Auditor management letters, audit reports Bank deposits & statements Bank reconciliations Charitable organization registration statements (filed with New York State Attorney General) Checks (for important payments and purchases) Contracts, notes & agreements Correspondence general (including e-mail) Correspondence legal and important matters Depreciation Schedules Expense analyses/expense distribution schedules Financial statements (audited) IRS Form I-9 (store separate from personnel file) Policies occurrence type and claims-made types Accident reports, Claims (after settlement), Fire inspection reports Group disability records Safety (OSHA) reports Deeds, Mortgages, and Bills of Sale Leases (expired) Correspondence with legal counsel or accountants, not otherwise listed IRS exemption determination & related correspondence Tax audit closing letters and Tax returns Timecards Withholding tax statements Fund agreements (signed) and correspondence Gift acknowledgments 3 years 2 years after all obligations end 1 year Greater of 1 year after end of service, or 3 years after end of benefits after all obligations end after return is filed 3 years 10 years
Category of File Item Retention Period Community Philanthropy Human Resources Trust agreements and correspondence Approved grant applications, acknowledgement letters Declined/withdrawn grant applications Consultant contracts/files Employment applications and resumes nonemployees Employee handbooks, orientation & training materials Employee personnel files, payroll records and timesheets Workers compensation claims (after settlement) after termination of trust after completion of funded program after application is declined or withdrawn after all obligations end 1 year from date of termination 10 years Technology Software licenses & support agreements after all obligations end Trademark registrations and copyrights 7