Record Retention Policy

‍Purpose & Summary: The purpose is to ensure compliance with federal and state laws and regulations regarding requirements for record retention and to eliminate inadvertent destruction of required records. It is also to help provide guidance of efficient record storage and appropriate record elimination schedule.

Applies To: The Mini Mountain Farm Sanctuary Inc. (“Our Sanctuary”)’s board of directors, officers and employees.

1. Requirements:
   1. Our Sanctuary has documents that are required to be retained for various regulatory requirements. Types of documents to be retained may include:some text
      1. Accounting
      2. Grant
      3. Tax
      4. Corporate records
      5. Board meeting minutes
      6. Employee
      7. Volunteer 
      8. Website
      9. Contribution 
      10. Services
   2. These records will be retained according to the retention schedule established for each record type in Appendix A.  Once the retention period has been reached the document will be disposed of or destroyed by an approved method, unless the document retention period has been determined to be extended.
2. Electronic Records: some text
   1. Our Sanctuary’s electronic records for the various record categories will be treated equally to any hard copy records.  This can include e-mail messages, electronic board conversations or other social network messaging that may include relevant records related to the established categories.  
3. Record Archival: some text
   1. Our Sanctuary’s records will be archived and backed up through Google cloud storage.
4. Litigation or Claims and the Suspension of Record Disposal: some text
   1. During an ongoing or anticipated investigation or legal proceeding by federal, state or local government agencies, regulatory agencies, law enforcement agencies and civil and criminal courts,  no Board of Director, officer, employee, volunteer or agent of Our Sanctuary shall destroy, dispose of, conceal or alter any record or document while knowing that it may be relevant to an ongoing or anticipated investigation or legal proceeding, or ongoing internal investigation, audit or review. 
   2. During an ongoing or anticipated investigation or legal proceeding, Our Sanctuary shall suspend any further disposal of documents until stated otherwise.

‍

APPENDIX A – RECORD RETENTION SCHEDULE

A. Accounting and Finance

Record Type Retention Period

• Accounts Payable ledgers and schedules - 7 years
• Accounts Receivable ledgers and schedules- 7 years
• Annual Audit Reports and Financial Statements - Permanent
• Annual Audit Records, including work papers and other documents that relate to the audit 7 years after completion of audit
• Bank Statements and Canceled Checks - 7 years
• Expense Records - 7 years
• General Ledgers - Permanent
• Electronic Payment Records - 7 years
• Notes Receivable ledgers and schedules - 7 years
• Investment Records - 7 years after sale of investment

B. Corporate Records

‍Record Type Retention Period

• State Annual Report - Permanent
• Articles of Incorporation- Permanent
• By-laws - Permanent
• Board Meeting Minutes - Permanent
• Board Policies/Resolutions - Permanent
• IRS Application for Tax-exempt Status (Form 1023) - Permanent
• IRS Determination Letter - Permanent
• State Sales Tax Exemption Letter - Permanent
• Contracts (after expiration) - 7 years
• Licenses and Permits - Permanent

C. Employee Records

Record Type Retention Period

• Benefit Plans - Permanent 
• Employee Files Termination + 7 years
• Employment job descriptions - 3 years
• Forms I-9 - 3 years after hiring, or 1 year after separation
• Employment Taxes - 7 years
• Payroll Registers (gross and net) - 7 years
• Time Cards/Sheets - 5 years
• Unclaimed Wage Records - 6 years
• Retirement and Pension Records - Permanent

D. Property Records

Record Type Retention Period

• Resource Notes, Sources, And Interviews - Permanent
• Internet purchases, including subscriptions - Permanent

E. Tax Records

Record Type Retention Period

• Tax exemption documents  and related correspondence - Permanent 
• IRS 990 and 990T Tax Returns - Permanent
• Tax Bills, Receipts and Statements - 7 years
• Tax Workpaper Packages - Originals - 7 years
• Sales/Use Tax Records - 4 years

F.  Grant Records

Record Type Retention Period

• Original Grant Proposal - 7 Years after completion of grant period
• Grant Agreement including all modifications - 7 Years after completion of grant period – of last modification
• All requested IRS/grantee correspondence including determination letters and “no change” in exempt status letters - 7 Years after completion of grant period
• Final grantee reports, both financial and narrative - 7 Years after completion of grant period
• All evidence of returned grant funds - 7 Years after completion of grant period
• All pertinent formal correspondence including opinion letters of counsel - 7 Years after completion of grant period
• Report assessment forms - 7 Years after completion of grant period
• Documentation relating to grantee evidence of invoices and matching or challenge grants that would support grantee compliance with the grant agreement - 7 Years after completion of grant period
• Pre-grant inquiry forms and other documentation for expenditure responsibility grants - 7 Years after completion of grant period
• Grantee work product produced with the grant funds - 7 Years after completion of grant period

G. Contribution/Fundraising Records

Record Type Retention Period

• Records of contributions - Permanent
• Documents for evidencing terms of gifts - Permanent