Dear Colleagues,
Since 1985, Winrock International has made and continues to make a difference in the lives of thousands of people around the world. The respect and confidence that our funders, subcontractors, vendors, and the people we serve have in our organization is rooted in the hard work and integrity of our employees. Our continued success depends on each of us maintaining the highest of standards, where each employee, Board member, volunteer, intern and fellow, and consultant is committed to ethical behavior, honesty, and integrity.
Our shared mission is to empower the disadvantaged, increase economic opportunity and sustain natural resources. Our mission is core not only to what we do, but also to how we do it. For example, we must comply with all the laws wherever we work. We comply with our funders’ requirements. We also have requirements for how we conduct ourselves in the workplace, set forth in this Code of Conduct.
Our Code of Conduct is a collection of guiding principles which are an extension of our mission. It dictates how we conduct ourselves in performing this important work, and provides resources to help us make good, informed decisions and to act on those decisions with integrity. These principles are required by our funders and meeting our obligations to our funders requires us to adhere to these principles in letter and spirit. We take all aspects of ethics and integrity very seriously and believe that all of us have a duty to fully understand this Code. You should use the Code as an everyday guiding rulebook to help you navigate what’s right in a particular situation and minimize legal and ethical risk.
We each have both the privilege and the responsibility of sustaining and building upon Winrock’s reputation for excellence. To succeed in this endeavor, we must all work together to continue to get the right results in the right way.
Knowing when to seek guidance or to speak up is also an important part of everyone’s personal accountability. We are committed to maintaining a culture where people are encouraged to seek advice, voice concerns or report possible misconduct and are protected from retaliation. If you have questions or if something doesn’t seem right to you, please contact our Hotline, or any of the channels available to you under this Code.
This Code needs to work for you, our valuable employees. If you have questions, concerns, or suggestions for a better Code, please contact our Risk and Compliance Office.
