Records Retention and Destruction Policy

Purpose: The purpose of this policy is to ensure that necessary records and documents of the Carrie Tingley Hospital Foundation are adequately protected and maintained and to ensure that records that are no longer needed by the Foundation or are of no value are discarded at the proper time. This policy is also for the purpose of aiding employees in understanding their obligations in retaining electronic documents - including e-mail, Web files, text files, sound and movie files, PDF documents, and all Microsoft Office or other formatted files.

Policy: The Foundation’s policy is to retain records for the period of their immediate or current use, unless longer retention is necessary for historical reference, or to comply with contractual or legal requirements. Records that are no longer required, or have met their required periods of retention, shall be destroyed.

Retention Schedule: The following schedule is a guideline for the retention of specific documents and may be modified as necessary.

  1. Corporate Documents (Permanent):
    • Articles of Incorporation
    • Bylaws
    • IRS Form 1023 (Application for Tax-Exempt Status)
    • IRS Determination Letter
    • Board Meeting Minutes
  2. Tax Records (7 years):
    • Annual Returns (Form 990)
    • Audit Reports
    • Financial Statements
  3. Employment Records (7 years after termination):
    • Employee Handbooks
    • Personnel Files
  4. Grant Records (7 years):
    • Grant Applications and Contracts
    • Grantor Reports and Correspondence
  5. Press Releases/Publications (Permanent):
    • Major Publications by the Foundation
  6. Legal Documents (Varies – consult with legal counsel):
    • Contracts
    • Leases
    • Trademark Registrations

Destruction of Documents: The destruction of documents shall be overseen by the Executive Director. Destruction shall be undertaken at least annually and shall be documented by a Destruction Log, which shall include a description of the documents destroyed, the destruction method, and the date of destruction.

Electronic Documents and Records: Electronic documents will be retained as if they were paper documents. Therefore, any electronic files, that fall into one of the document types on the above schedule, will be maintained for the appropriate amount of time. If a user has sufficient reason to believe that a document, e-mail, or file is of importance or will be of importance in the future, it should be printed and stored in the file system.

Exceptions: Nothing in this policy shall be construed as prohibiting the Foundation from retaining any document for longer periods than specified herein, nor shall it prohibit the Foundation from disposing of documents earlier if retaining such documents is not required by law or regulation and the document is no longer needed by the Foundation.

Amendment and Review of the Policy: This policy can be amended by a quorum vote by the Board of Directors. The policy shall be reviewed annually to ensure it is in compliance with new or revised regulations, and is in accordance with best practices.

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