We here at ACCESS would like to thank you for supporting our mission in enhancing safety, empowering survivors, and promoting understanding and social justice within our community. Please click the Shelter Wish List link to the left for the most updated list of current needs.
With much gratitude,
Michelle Cole
Executive Director
For questions about all of our giving options please contact Annie Randolph at annie@assaultcarecenter.org.
Gifts by check can be mailed to:
PO Box 1429
Ames, IA
50014
Donors also have the option of giving to our future. ACCESS can offer you the opportunity to receive an Endow Iowa tax credit through a gift to our fund established through the Story County Community Foundation. The Story County Community Foundation (SCCF) is a nonprofit public charity created by generous local citizens. It builds permanent charitable funds called endowments. Each endowment distributes a portion of its earning annually in perpetuity--forever--to support a charitable purpose. Donations may be made to funds which address community needs and reflect a donor's interests and personal philanthropic goals. The SCCF acts as a broad umbrella, sheltering many separate funds, including a fund set aside for ACCESS.
To learn more about this giving option and the tax benefits, https://www.desmoinesfoundation.org/accessendowment
ACCESS, Assault Care Center Extending Shelter and Support, recognizes that the efficient operation of ACCESS requires the maintenance and management of extensive donor, prospect and fund records. (“Records” includes all files, including electronic data, containing information on donors or prospective donors to ACCESS.) These Records may contain sensitive information that has been shared with or developed by the ACCESS staff or volunteers on a confidential basis. Donors and prospects may be attracted to ACCESS based upon its ability to assure temporary or permanent anonymity. ACCESS encourages donors to share their philanthropy with the public, with the belief that sharing this might encourage others to be similarly philanthropic. However, protecting donor confidentiality is an essential part of providing good service to donors.
In view of the mission of ACCESS and the nature of its activities, the Board of Directors adopted this Public Information Policy to set out the practices of ACCESS regarding disclosure of information held by it and the procedures for requesting information. ACCESS believes that information held by it should be as open to public inspection as possible, while still respecting the privacy rights of donors, prospective donors, and ACCESS employees, and without compromising ACCESS’s ability to secure and steward funds for the continued success of ACCESS.
I. Confidentiality of Records: The Executive Director shall be responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of donor and prospect Records, as well as fund information. Records will normally be available to staff as needed to fulfill their duties. ACCESS and ACCESS’s auditors, legal counsel and other contractors are authorized to review donor/prospect and fund Records as required for the purposes for which they are engaged.
All persons accessing donor, prospect or fund Records in the conduct of ACCESS business shall maintain the confidentiality of such Records. Staff may share information with donors, fund beneficiaries, and grantees pertaining to their own gifts, funds, grants, etc.
II. Publication of Donor Names: Unless otherwise requested by the donor, the names of all individual donors may be printed in ACCESS’s annual report and in other appropriate listings. ACCESS will not publish the amount of any donor’s gift without the permission of the donor. Unless otherwise specified in the document, donors making gifts to ACCESS by bequest or other testamentary instrument shall be deemed to have granted such permission.
III. Memorial/Tribute Gifts: The names of donors of memorial or tribute gifts may be released to the honoree, the honoree’s next of kin, or to an appropriate member of the honoree’s immediate family, unless otherwise specified by the donor. Gift amounts are not to be released without the express consent of the donor.
IV. Anonymous Gifts: The Executive Director and other staff are authorized to accept anonymous gifts to ACCESS, and to handle them appropriately. This would include informing the ACCESS Board Chair of the gift and the need to maintain anonymity as part of the Chair’s oversight responsibilities.
V. Disclosures to Third Parties: ACCESS shall not release to third parties or allow third parties to copy, inspect or otherwise use ACCESS records or other information pertaining to the identification of a donor or donor’s gifts. No disclosures to third parties of such information, including addresses and demographic information, shall be made without the donor’s consent.
VI. Public Disclosure: ACCESS will comply with public disclosure requirements, including the open availability of its Form 990 tax returns. This Public Information Policy shall not be construed in any manner to prevent ACCESS from disclosing information to taxing authorities or other governmental agencies or courts having regulatory control or jurisdiction over ACCESS. Except as provided herein, or as may be required (a) by law in the opinion of ACCESS’s legal counsel, or (b) by an order of a court of competent jurisdiction, all employees, Board members and officers, volunteers, and contractors must hold strictly confidential all information of a private nature, including, but not limited to, all items explicitly discussed in this policy.
VII. Procedures for Requesting Public Information: It is ACCESS’s goal to make reasonable accommodations for those who wish to examine publicly available information held by ACCESS. Much of ACCESS’s public information is available on ACCESS’s website www.assaultcarecenter.org. Additional information may be requested by contacting ACCESS’s Executive Director at 515.292.0500.
ACCESS will make every effort to assist an organization or an individual in obtaining requested information, but for administrative and legal reasons it is not obligated to create a record that does not exist at the time of the request. In addition, while ACCESS will make every effort to accommodate requests, ACCESS may deny requests for unreasonable amounts of information.
VIII. Documents Not Covered by the Policy: To the extent ACCESS receives requests for information not accounted for in this policy, the Board of Directors or its designee will evaluate such requests within a reasonable time and determine whether the requested information can be disclosed consistent with this policy.
