We are the stewards of the community's resources and must act in ways that justify and sustain that important confidence. Accepting the hard-earned dollars of community members means standing accountable for how each of those dollars are spent.

In addition to utilizing Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, we have a number of additional practices in place to address the need for transparency and accountability, including:

• Ensuring that an annual independent audit of the agency's financials is conducted by an outside firm and that those audit results are readily available to the public (see right hand column for audited financials).
  
• Ensuring a formal monthly review of the agency’s financials by the senior management team, the finance committee, and the board of directors.
  
• Monthly un-audited financials are available to anyone who requests them, either by phone or by emailing the chief executive officer at djacobs@thecentersd.org.
  
• The convening of a strong finance committee that includes members of the community and others outside the organization. This committee includes Certified Public Accountants, CFOs and non-profit executives from other organizations and meets monthly to review agency financials.
  
• A set of accounting and development procedures that allow us to provide specific detail on all Center programs and initiatives.
  
• Careful monitoring of administrative overhead and fund raising expenses with a goal of no more than 25% of resources being allocated to management/fundraising needs.
  
• A willingness to answer the publics questions about any and all expense items.

We are extremely proud of our responsiveness to date and will continue to seek methods and safeguards that make certain we are good stewards of the resources provided to us. If you have questions or suggestions, please do not hesitate to contact us at djacobs@thecentersd.org.