Our Commitment to Our Donors

We will not sell, share or trade our donors’ names or personal information with any other entity, nor send mailings to our donors on behalf of other organizations. This policy applies to all information received by WCNY, both online and offline, on any platform (“Platform”, includes the WCNY website and mobile applications), as well as any electronic, written, or oral communications.

Thank you for visiting wcny.org. Protecting the private information of visitors to our site is important to us.

Below is information about our commitment to ensuring the privacy of you and your children’s personally identifiable information (such as your full name, address, email address, telephone number and/or other identifying information), and preserving the integrity of the medium. Please read the following carefully:

GATHERING AND USE OF INFORMATION

WCNY will never willfully disclose any personally identifiable information about our online audience to any third party without first receiving the user’s permission. We do not collect personally identifiable information from our visitors other than what is supplied to us on a voluntary basis.

Visitors to the WCNY web site may voluntarily supply certain personally identifiable information in connection with (i) contest or sweepstakes registration, (ii) subscription registration for sites or services which require subscription (such as email newsletters), (iii) requests for membership information, and (iv) e-commerce transactions. In addition, personally identifiable information is voluntarily provided in connection with certain content submissions, community postings (i.e., forums or bulletin boards), comments and suggestions, or voting.

WCNY may use such information only for conducting the activities stated above, for internal marketing and promotional purposes, or, on occasion, when mailing lists are made available to other organizations. (The occasional provision of mailing lists to such organizations is only in cases where WCNY utilizes a third party vendor to conduct marketing services for its own purposes. All vendor/partners are contracted to keep WCNY’s constituency information private). The extent of such use is always explained at the time a site visitor provides such information. If the visitor does not want this information collected and used by us for the disclosed internal purposes, the visitor is given an opportunity to “opt-out.” Our visitors need to recognize, however, that under certain circumstances, if they select to “opt-out” they may not be eligible for certain activities for which the personally identifiable information is needed. (For example, if a contest participant elects to “opt-out” on permitting us to collect and use their personal information, we cannot contact them if they win without using such information.)

ACCEPTANCE OF WCNY WEB SITE PRIVACY POLICY TERMS AND CONDITIONS

By using this site, you signify your agreement to the terms and conditions of this WCNY web site Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to these terms and conditions, please do not use the site. We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to change, modify, add, or remove portions of this policy at any time. Please check this page periodically for any changes. Your continued use of the WCNY web site following the posting of any changes to these terms shall mean that you have accepted those changes.

THE PUBLIC BROADCASTING COUNCIL OF CENTRAL NEW YORK, INC.
WHISTLEBLOWER POLICY

I. Purpose:
The purpose of this Whistleblower Policy (the “Policy”) is to: (1) encourage employees, volunteers, directors and officers of The Public Broadcasting Council of Central New York, Inc. (“PBCCNY”) to come forward with credible information on illegal or fraudulent practices, or violations of adopted PBCCNY policies; (2) specify that PBCCNY will protect any individual who makes a good faith report from all forms of retaliation; and (3) identify the procedures for reporting such information.

It is the intent of PBCCNY to adhere to all applicable laws and regulations.

II. Scope:
This Policy pertains to all whistleblower activity and covers all employees, volunteers, directors and officers.

III. Authority:
The President/Chief Executive Office (“President/CEO”) shall establish PBCCNY policies, practices, procedures and guidelines to ensure that all complaints, reports or inquiries pertaining to illegal or improper practices are dealt with in a timely manner. In the event the President/CEO is the subject of a complaint, report or inquiry, the duties described above will be performed by the Chair of the Board of Trustees.

IV. Responsible Persons:
It is the responsibility of all employees, volunteers, directors and officers to report violations or suspected violations in accordance with this Policy.

The President/CEO has been designated to administer this Policy and to ensure that the Board of Trustees receives notice of any subjects raised under this Policy. The President/CEO, or his/her designee, has the authority to take the steps necessary to effectuate the purpose of this Policy in unique or ambiguous situations. If a complaint involves the President/CEO so as to present a conflict of interest, the duties described above will be performed by the Chair of the Board of Trustees or, in the event of a conflict with the Chair of the Board of Trustees, the Vice Chair.

VI. Policy Statement:

A. Encouragement of Reporting
PBCCNY encourages good faith complaints, reports or inquiries about actual or suspected illegal or fraudulent practices, or violations of its policies, including illegal or improper conduct by PBCCNY itself, by its leadership, or by others on its behalf. PBCCNY wants to reiterate and reaffirm its commitment to whistleblower protection and create an environment in which employees, volunteers, directors and officers feel free to voice their legitimate concerns without fear of reprisal. Appropriate subjects to raise under this Policy would include financial improprieties, accounting or audit matters, ethical violations, or other similar illegal or improper practices or policies.

Other subjects on which PBCCNY has existing complaint mechanisms should be addressed under those mechanisms, such as raising matters of alleged discrimination or harassment via PBCCNY’s human resources channels, unless those channels are themselves implicated in the wrongdoing. This Policy is not intended to provide a means of appeal from outcomes in those other mechanisms.

B. Protection from Retaliation
PBCCNY prohibits intimidation, harassment, discrimination or other retaliation by or on behalf of PBCCNY against employees, volunteers, directors and officers for making good faith complaints, reports or inquiries under this Policy or for participating in a review or investigation under this Policy. This protection extends to those whose allegations are made in good faith but prove to be mistaken. PBCCNY reserves the right to discipline persons who make bad faith, knowingly false, or vexatious complaints, reports or inquiries or who otherwise abuse this Policy.

It is a prohibited personnel practice for PBCCNY to subject an employee to a personnel action if the action is threatened, proposed, taken, or not taken because of whistleblowing activities. Whistleblowing means disclosing information that the employee reasonably believes is evidence of a violation of any law, rule, or regulation, gross mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, an abuse of authority, or a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety. An employee is protected if he/she makes such a disclosure to PBCCNY or to any other individual or organization, such as Special Counsel, Inspector General, Congressional Committee or the media, provided that the disclosure is not specifically prohibited by law. Protecting the rights of employees and volunteers is a statutory obligation. Managers and supervisors have a responsibility and will be held accountable for enforcing standards of appropriate workplace behavior, and are expected to take prompt action to deal with conduct identified as retaliatory based on whistleblowing.

C. Procedure for Reporting:
Complaints, reports or inquiries should be directed to PBCCNY’s President/CEO or to the Chair of the Board of Trustees; if both of those persons are implicated in the complaint, the reporting individual is not comfortable reporting to these individuals, or these individuals are otherwise unavailable, the complaint, report or inquiry should be directed to the Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees.

In order to facilitate a complete investigation, complaints or reports should describe in detail the specific facts demonstrating the basis for the complaint or report (e.g., a description of the questionable practice or behavior, the names of any persons involved, the names of possible witnesses, dates, times, places, and any other available details). Upon receipt of a complaint or report, a prompt, discreet, and objective review or investigation will be conducted. Investigations may include any of the following: consulting with legal counsel, internal or external audits, interviews with possible witnesses, or any other lawful method of investigation. The investigator will determine if the allegations are true, whether the issue is material, and what, if any, corrective action is necessary to ensure compliance with legal and ethical requirements.

Complaints, reports or inquiries may be made under this Policy on an anonymous or confidential basis. All complaints, reports, inquiries, or corresponding investigations, shall be kept confidential to the greatest extent possible; however, consistent with the need to conduct an adequate investigation and PBCCNY’s obligation to investigate and correct unethical or unlawful practices, PBCCNY cannot guarantee complete confidentiality in all circumstances. Reporting individuals must also understand that PBCCNY may be unable to fully evaluate a vague or general complaint, report or inquiry that is made anonymously.

VII. Other Relevant Information:
 Internal Revenue Service Form 990
 The Non-Profit Revitalization Act of 2013
 PBCCNY Employee Handbook

A copy of this Policy is distributed to all directors, officers, employees and volunteers who provide substantial services to PBCCNY.

This is the Comment Policy for WCNY’s social networking tools. All participants offering comments on wcny.org are required to follow these guidelines. Those violating the guidelines may have their comments removed or blocked.

Our guidelines are intended to facilitate a connection between members of the WCNY online community. When contributing to our online community, please keep the following guidelines in mind:

Be respectful and civil. If polite language isn’t possible, please don’t post. Engage points, focus on ideas, debate, and discuss. Never resort to name-calling, slander, or obscenities. Messages that include anything WCNY determines to be hate speech, a threat, harassment, or anything illegal will be removed and the poster will be blocked.

Post clear, concise comments (no more than 200 words would be ideal). Long posts may be edited by WCNY. Before submitting, take a moment to re-read your post for clarity, grammar, punctuation, and spelling. And please avoid typing in all caps; it’s the online version of shouting.

Stay with the topic at hand. Keeping your posts focused contributes to the best possible discussion.

Write your own posts. A link or quote from another source can be a meaningful addition to the discussion; copying and pasting an entire article from elsewhere does not contribute in a meaningful way. In addition, it often violates the author’s copyright. Help keep the conversation lively and focused by posting only one link per comment.

Promote the discussion, rather than your own interests. WCNY’s online community is not an appropriate venue for posters’ advertisements, promotions, campaigns or solicitations. There can be a fine line between discussion and promotion of personal interests; use your best judgment and we’ll use ours.

All comments are moderated, and WCNY will not publish comments that don’t meet these guidelines. Our guidelines are adapted in part from NPR’s Guidelines for Commenting. Thank you for being part of WCNY’s online community.