The Alliance for Continuing Medical Education (Alliance) Code of Ethical Conduct (Code) requires directors, officers and employees to observe high standards of business and personal ethics in the conduct of their duties and responsibilities. As employees and representatives of the Alliance, we must practice honesty and integrity in fulfilling our responsibilities and comply with all applicable laws and regulations.

I. Personal and Professional Integrity
All staff, board members and volunteers of the Alliance act with honesty, integrity and openness in all their dealings as representatives of the organization. The Alliance promotes a working environment that values respect, fairness and integrity.

II. Mission
The Alliance has a clearly stated mission and purpose (attached), approved by the board of directors, in pursuit of the public good. All of its programs support that mission and all who work for, or on behalf of, the organization understand and are loyal to that mission and purpose. The mission is responsive to the constituency and communities served by the Alliance and of value to the society at large.

III. Governance
The Alliance has an active governing body that is responsible for setting the mission and strategic direction of the organization and oversight of the finances, operations, and policies of the organization. The governing body:

•	Ensures that its board members or trustees have the requisite skills and experience to carry out their duties and that all members understand and fulfill their governance duties acting for the benefit of the Alliance and its public purpose;
•	Has a conflict of interest policy (attached) that ensures that any conflicts of interest or the appearance thereof are avoided or appropriately managed through disclosure, recusal or other means;
•	Has a statement of personal commitment (attached) that provides attestation to the commitment to the Alliance’s goals and values;
•	Is responsible for the hiring, firing, and regular review of the performance of the chief executive officer, and ensures that the compensation of the chief executive officer is reasonable and appropriate;
•	Ensures that the CEO and appropriate staff provide the governing body with timely and comprehensive information so that the governing body can effectively carry out its duties;
•	Ensures that the Alliance conducts all transactions and dealings with integrity and honesty;
•	Ensures that the Alliance promotes working relationships with board members, staff, volunteers, and program beneficiaries that are based on mutual respect, fairness and openness;
•	Ensures that the Alliance is fair and inclusive in its hiring and promotion policies and practices for all board, staff and volunteer positions;
•	Ensures that policies of the Alliance are in writing, clearly articulated and officially adopted;
•	Ensures that the resources of the Alliance are responsibly and prudently managed; and,
•	Ensures that the Alliance has the capacity to carry out its programs effectively.

IV. Management
The Alliance staff is responsible for administering policies and programs delegated by the Board. The management, through the direction of the Executive Director:

•	Is responsible for the hiring, firing, and regular performance review of Alliance staff and ensures that the hiring and promotion policies are fair and inclusive and that compensation of these individuals is reasonable and appropriate;
•	Ensures that employees, consultants and contractors understand and have the requisite skills and experience to fulfill their management and administrative duties, acting for the benefit of the Alliance and its public purpose;
•	Maintains and enforces human resource policies outlining conditions of employment, staff benefits, compensation and advancement policies, and grounds for disciplinary action and/or termination;
•	Maintains a staff conflict of interest policy (attached) that ensures that any conflicts of interest, or the appearance thereof, are avoided or appropriately managed through disclosure, recusal or other means;
•	Provides the governing body with timely and comprehensive information so that it can effectively carry out its duties;
•	Ensures that all individuals acting on behalf of the Alliance conduct transactions and dealings with integrity and honesty;
•	Ensures that the Alliance promotes working relationships with board members, staff, volunteers, and program beneficiaries that are based on mutual respect, fairness and openness;
•	Ensures that governance and administrative policies and procedures of the Alliance are followed;
•	Ensures that all applicable laws and regulations are followed;
•	Ensures that the resources of the Alliance are responsibly and prudently managed; and,
•	Ensures that the Alliance has the capacity to carry out its programs effectively.

V. Legal Compliance
The Alliance is knowledgeable of, and complies with, laws and regulations.

VI. Responsible Stewardship
The Alliance manages its funds responsibly and prudently. This includes the following considerations:

•	A reasonable percentage of the annual budget is spent on programs in pursuance of its mission;
•	An adequate amount is spent on administrative expenses to ensure effective accounting systems, internal controls, competent staff, and other expenditures critical to professional management;
•	The Alliance compensates staff, and any others who may receive compensation, reasonably and appropriately;
•	Fundraising costs are reasonable;
•	The Alliance does not accumulate operating funds excessively;
•	The Alliance ensures that all spending practices and policies are fair, reasonable and appropriate to fulfill the mission of the organization; and,
•	All financial reports are factually accurate and complete in all material respects.

VII. Openness and Disclosure
The Alliance provides comprehensive and timely information to the public, the media, and all stakeholders and is responsive in a timely manner to reasonable requests for information. All information about the Alliance will fully and honestly reflect the policies and practices of the organization. Basic informational data about the Alliance, such as the Form 990, reviews and compilations, and audited financial statements will be available to the public. All solicitation materials accurately represent the Alliance’s policies and practices and will reflect the dignity of program beneficiaries. All financial, organizational, and program reports will be complete and accurate in all material respects.

VIII. Program Evaluation
The Alliance regularly reviews program effectiveness and has mechanisms to incorporate lessons learned into future programs. The Alliance is committed to improving program and organizational effectiveness and develops mechanisms to promote learning from its activities and the field. The Alliance is responsive to changes in its field of activity and is responsive to the needs of its constituencies.

IX. Inclusiveness and Diversity
The Alliance is committed to promoting inclusiveness, and its staff, board and volunteers reflect diversity in order to enrich its programmatic effectiveness. The organization takes meaningful steps to promote inclusiveness in its hiring, retention, promotion, board recruitment and constituencies served.

X. Fundraising
Fund solicitation materials are truthful. The privacy concerns of individual donors are respected and funds are expended consistent with donor intent. The Alliance discloses important and relevant information to potential donors.

In raising funds, the Alliance will respect the rights of donors. Donors will…

•	be informed of the mission of the organization, the way the resources will be used and the Alliance’s capacity to use donations effectively for their intended purposes;
•	be informed of the identity of those serving on the organization’s governing board and can expect the board to exercise prudent judgment in its stewardship responsibilities;
•	have access to the Alliance’s most recent financial reports;
•	be assured their gifts will be used for the purposes for which they were given;
•	receive appropriate acknowledgement and recognition;
•	be assured that information about their donations is handled with respect and with confidentiality to the extent provided by the law;
•	expect that all relationships with individuals representing organizations of interest to the donor will be professional in nature;
•	be informed whether those seeking donations are volunteers, employees of the Alliance or hired solicitors;
•	have the opportunity for their names to be deleted from mailing lists that the Alliance may intend to share; and,
•	feel free to ask questions when making a donation and to receive prompt, truthful and forthright answers.

XI. Reporting Responsibility
It is the responsibility of all directors, officers and employees to comply with the Code of Ethical Conduct and to report violations or suspected violations to the Alliance Compliance Officer (Secretary/Treasurer) in accordance with the Alliance Whistleblower policy (attached). The Compliance Officer will notify the sender and acknowledge receipt of the reported violation or suspected violation within five business days, unless the submission of the violation is anonymous. All reports will be promptly investigated and appropriate corrective action will be taken if warranted by the investigation. 

This Code was adapted from “The Statement of Values and Code of Ethics for Nonprofit and Philanthropic Organizations,” drafted by a subcommittee of the Independent Sector Ethics and Accountability Committee and published on February 3, 2004. Subcommittee members (with affiliations at the time of their service on the subcommittee) included:

•	Cass Wheeler, president and CEO, American Heart Association, chair
•	Ed Able, president and CEO, American Associations of Museums;
•	Angela Glover Blackwell, president, Policy Link;
•	The Reverend J. Bryan Hehir, president, Catholic Charities USA;
•	Graham Phaup, executive director, Institute for Global Ethics;
•	H. Art Taylor, president and CEO, BBB Wise Giving Alliance; and,
•	Bill Trueheart, president and CEO, The Pittsburgh Foundation

Approved by the Alliance Board of Directors on May 1, 2005