Covenant House Michigan

“The amended by-laws were adopted during fiscal year 2015. Changes made to the amended by-laws, included the following principal revisions, in addition to other smaller changes: 1) article iii was added to the by-laws to reflect a closer legal relationship to the corporate entity known as "reserved powers of covenant house international." this change basically gives the international board the right to protect the founding mission statement, lead strategic initiatives, appoint or remove one or all of local board members, approve compensation of local executive director, use of the name and/or logo, approval of all expansion or alteration of a program, including all real estate transactions. 2) restatement and realignment of committees including creation of charters 3) number of board members recommended to constitute a full board 4) restatement and revision of terms for a director including the amount of time to serve as a director 5) number of required meetings a board member needs to attend as well as allowing a board member to attend a meeting by electronic device or phone 6) required financial support by board member 7) process of board recruitment including prior review by governance committee 8) allowing action by the board without the benefit of an in-person meeting attendance, with authorization of action allowed via email vote and requiring a quorum 9) role of the chairperson defined in more detail as well as the role and evaluation process of the executive director”

“The sole corporate member of covenant house michigan is its parent organization, covenant house, d/b/a covenant house international.”

“Covenant house michigan (chmi) parent organization, covenant house international has the right to elect or appoint officers of chmi's board of directors.”

“The following decisions for the governing body are subject to approval by chmi parent organization, covenant house international: - revisions or amendments to the mission, vision statements, the core values and principles, the policy of open intake and the by-laws - the compensation of the executive director of chmi - the use of covenant house name, logo, and other specified nomenclature - any significant development, expansion, retrenchment or alteration of program - delegating any of the aforementioned powers of the president of the member”

“Covenant house michigan has its form 990 prepared by an outside accounting firm and has established the following review process to ensure that the information reported is complete and accurate. When the form 990 has been prepared, reviewed by management and the finance committee and is ready to be filed with the internal revenue service, it is electronically sent to the board members of the organization for any comments. Any comments are then grouped, summarized and provided to the outside accountants. Each issue is documented and addressed until the return is finalized and approved for filing.”

“The organization requires annual disclosure and affirmation of the conflict of interest policy by all officers, directors and key employees. The disclosure statement required each officer, director, and key employee to disclose any business or personal interests, direct or indirect, that the person may have in an organization that completes with or does business with covenant house international or any other organization business/ agency affiliated with covenant house international. If a conflict is determined to exist, it must be reported and addressed to the satisfaction of the organization. Any other person having a conflict, and attending said meeting, shall retire from the room in which the board or committee is meeting and shall not participate in the final deliberations or decisions regarding the matter under consideration. Any interested director shall also abstain during such vote. The minutes of the meeting of the board or committee shall reflect that the conflict of interest was disclosed and that the interested person was not present during the final discussion or vote and did not vote. A summary of the annual conflicts of interest and copies of the conflicts of interest reports from the directors, executive director, and officers of the organization are also sent to the parent organization, covenant house international. The parent, covenant house international also ensures the annual conflicts of interest reports are accomplished for each affiliate and that the required information is sent to them.”

“The executive director's compensation is determined by the compensation committee working in conjunction with the president of covenant house international (parent). A salary structure and range were determined using a compensation committee and independent consultant for the executive director. Factors considered were the size of the agency budget, program size and complexity, local market compatibility, and the cost of living, with compensation approved by the chc board of directors. The executive director met with the executive committee of the board on june 2, 2015 to recommend increases for his direct reports, including the key employees and other officers. To determine the compensation, personal performance and achievements throughout the year and salary surveys from the michigan federation for children and families (2013); michigan non-profit association; and the u.s. Bureau of labor statistics occupational employment statistics were used as benchmarks from organizations with similar revenue. (please note that the director of finance position had less than six months employment and did not receive an increase during that fiscal year and the starting salary for that position was determined based on a previously established range.) records of executive committee's compensation decisions are maintained in the covenant house international (parent) human resources department record. This process was last undertaken in fiscal year 2015.”

“The organization makes its form 990 available to the public by retaining a copy at its place of business. The form 990 is published on the internet at www.guidestar.org. The governing documents, conflict of interest policy and financial statements are all available for public inspection upon request at 2959 martin luther king jr. Blvd, detroit, mi 48208.”

“A donee organization must file a separate form 1098-c, contributions of motor vehicles, boats, and airplanes, with the irs for each contribution of a qualified vehicle that has a claimed value of more than $500. A qualified vehicle is any motor vehicle manufactured primarily for use on public streets, roads, and highways. However, property held by the donor primarily for sale to customers, such as inventory of a car dealer, is not a qualified vehicle. Since the organization received a donated car directly from the dealership, no form 1098-c was required to be filed.”

“The process for selecting an independent accountant and establishing a committee that assumes responsibility for oversight of the audit has not changed from prior years.”