The Toolkit — free, open-access, ready to adopt
Enabling U.S. nonprofits to operationalize their duty of care.
97% of U.S. charitable nonprofits operate on budgets under $5 million (National Council of Nonprofits, 2019), a scale at which dedicated safeguarding staff is rarely possible. All tools are free under CC BY 4.0 — adopt them, adapt them to your context, and share them.
These are operational resources, not legal advice. They do not certify compliance with any law, funder condition, or accreditation standard. Have your completed policy reviewed by counsel licensed in your state before adoption. The author is not admitted to practice law in the United States.
New: score the self-assessment in your browser. All 32 indicators, with live domain subtotals and your score band. Nothing is submitted or stored. Open the interactive self-assessment →
Organizational Safeguarding Policy Template
A board-ready policy a small nonprofit can adapt without outside help: a code of conduct adapting all six IASC Core Principles, narrowed to protect program participants while leaving staff-on-staff conduct to ordinary employment law; sections on screening, training, reporting channels, response, partner flow-down, and board accountability; and an appendix mapping every section to published standards, including a definitional-basis note anchoring key terms to UN and U.S. law. Sections 1–3 are the minimum viable policy for a very small, all-volunteer organization; Sections 4–9 complete the whole-of-organization system.
Safeguarding Self-Assessment
Thirty indicators across six domains, keyed to published standards, with scoring bands that turn a raw count into a starting point. No registration, no data collection — score it internally and keep the results.
→ Complete it in your browser · Download: PDF · Word · Zenodo
Adopter Feedback Form
Fifteen to twenty minutes that shape the next published version: what your organization used, what it adopted, what needed adaptation, and what was wrong for your state, size, or population. Complete it in your own copy and email it back — the form can be returned anonymously.
Safeguarding Training Outlines
Three sessions your own staff deliver: a 60-minute orientation, a 45-minute annual refresher, and a 90-minute responder session. As an iterative resource, this curriculum is actively expanded and improved using the real-world feedback returned by our early adopters.
How to Adopt (Self-Directed Pathway)
-
Week 1
Adopt
Board adopts the policy (Tool 1) and names a Safeguarding Focal Point.
-
Weeks 2–3
Screen
Background and reference checks; signed code-of-conduct acknowledgments.
-
Month 2
Train and tell
Staff-led orientation (Tool 4); reporting channels posted; Participant Charter given at intake.
-
Month 3
Measure
Run the 32-indicator Self-Assessment (Tool 2) as your baseline.
-
Then
Tell us
Send the two-minute Notice of Adoption and, if willing, the Feedback Form (Tool 3).
Prefer to see where you stand first? Run the Self-Assessment before step 1 — it takes about an hour.
self-assessment indicators require no spending — only time and a decision.
All materials are free. The project does not sell tools, training, or consulting; feedback from adopters informs published, sector-level research.