Advancement · Grants & Funding

Every policy reviewed
on schedule.

Boards adopt policies and then forget them: a conflict of interest policy last read three years ago, a technology policy written before the law changed. Enter each policy with its last review and cycle, and the calendar works out the next date, lists what is overdue or coming up, and marks the policies funders and Form 990 ask about.

Add a policyWhat you get
$19one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $19

Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the Grant writer’s desk, $49 for 32 items.

Your policies

The worked example is made up: a conflict of interest policy on a two-year cycle last reviewed in 2023, and a technology use policy due in April. Saved on this device only.

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What you get

Advancement · Grants & Funding$19 · included with Classroom and Whole-school licenses

What you finish with
A record per policy: name, area, whether Form 990 asks about it, owning committee, adopted and last reviewed dates, the review cycle, what requires it, five review steps and whether the law changed. Works out the next review date and days to it, counts overdue and upcoming reviews; flags overdue and due-soon reviews, law changes, Form 990 policies and reviews older than three years.
Who it is for
Board chairs and secretaries, heads of school, executive directors and governance committees.
Format
Browser calendar with a saved record per policy. Prints one policy, the whole calendar in a table or a blank sheet; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
$19 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Also in the Grant writer’s desk ($49) and the Advancement Suite pass ($99), and 1 more bundle. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Grants & Funding space in Caveat Advancement.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Add each policy with its last review date and cycle.
  2. Name the committee that owns it.
  3. Mark what requires it and whether the law changed.
  4. Put overdue reviews on the next board agenda.
  5. Record the vote and post the new version.

Add a policy

Form 990 policies

Three policies Form 990 asks aboutConflict of interestWho must discloseinterestsHow conflicts arehandledAnnual disclosurestatementsWhistleblowerHow to report wrongdoingProtection fromretaliationWho receives the reportDocument retentionWhat is kept and for howlongSecure destructionA litigation hold thatstops itThree policies Form 990 asks aboutConflict of interestWho must disclose interestsHow conflicts are handledAnnual disclosure statementsWhistleblowerHow to report wrongdoingProtection from retaliationWho receives the reportDocument retentionWhat is kept and for how longSecure destructionA litigation hold that stops it
Form 990 does not require these policies, but it asks whether the organization has them, and many funders and accreditors expect them.

Choosing a cycle

Many boards review governance and finance policies every one to three years and review some, such as conflict of interest disclosures, every year. Policies tied to laws that change often, like student privacy and technology, may need a shorter cycle.

Practice and paper

A review is not only a reread. Ask staff whether practice matches the policy; a policy no one follows is a risk in itself.

Sources

  1. Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 990, Part VI: governance, management and disclosure (irs.gov).
  2. BoardSource. Recommended governance practices and policy resources (boardsource.org).
  3. National Council of Nonprofits. Policies for nonprofits: conflict of interest, whistleblower, document retention (councilofnonprofits.org).
  4. Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, sections 802 and 1107, on document destruction and whistleblower retaliation, which apply to nonprofits.

The worked examples are made up. Review cycles are your board’s choice unless a law, accreditor or funder sets one. Not legal advice. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.