Document Retention Policy

Purpose

The purpose of this Document Retention Policy is to ensure that the Transgender Healthcare Access Fund (THAF) maintains necessary records for the appropriate period to meet legal, fiscal, operational, and historical requirements, while ensuring the secure destruction of documents when they are no longer needed.

General Principles

THAF shall retain all organizational records for the period required by applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and best practices for nonprofit organizations. All records shall be stored in a secure manner with appropriate access controls, whether in physical or electronic form, to protect against unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. When retention periods expire and records are no longer required, they shall be destroyed in a secure manner that prevents unauthorized reconstruction or access. Confidential and sensitive information shall be handled in accordance with THAF's Privacy Policy and applicable privacy laws. Electronic records shall be retained and destroyed with the same level of care and security as physical records, including proper data sanitization methods for electronic storage media.

Retention Schedule

Permanent Retention

The following categories of records shall be maintained permanently: Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws, and any amendments thereto; official minutes of all Board of Directors meetings, committee meetings, and resolutions adopted by the Board or its committees; annual information returns filed with the Internal Revenue Service (Form 990, 990-EZ, or 990-N) and all related schedules and attachments; independent auditor's reports and management letters; records of real property ownership including deeds, mortgages, and related documents; trademark and copyright registrations and related agreements; significant contracts and agreements that govern ongoing relationships or have long-term implications; and any other records that THAF determines should be maintained indefinitely for legal, historical, or operational purposes.

Seven (7) Year Retention

The following categories of records shall be retained for a minimum of seven (7) years: financial statements including balance sheets, income statements, and statements of cash flows; general ledgers, journals, and subsidiary ledgers; payroll records including time sheets, pay stubs, W-2 and W-4 forms, and payroll tax returns; federal, state, and local tax returns and supporting documentation; grant agreements, grant applications, and grant reports submitted to funding organizations; donor records including contribution acknowledgments and donor correspondence related to major gifts; bank statements and reconciliations; investment records and statements; and employment records related to current and former employees including personnel files, performance evaluations, and disciplinary actions.

Four (4) Year Retention

The following categories of records shall be retained for a minimum of four (4) years: employment applications and resumes for positions that were not filled or for candidates not selected; benefit plan records including enrollment forms, beneficiary designations, and plan documents for terminated plans; expense reports and supporting receipts for employee reimbursements; vendor contracts and purchase agreements that have expired or been terminated; insurance policies that have expired (provided claims have been resolved); and general correspondence that does not fall into other retention categories.

Three (3) Year Retention

The following categories of records shall be retained for a minimum of three (3) years: routine bank statements and deposit slips; cancelled checks and check registers (excluding checks related to capital expenditures or significant contracts, which should be retained for seven years); routine invoices and purchase orders (excluding those related to capital equipment or multi-year contracts); insurance policies that have expired where no claims were made; and routine administrative correspondence.

Funding Application Records

Records related to funding applications shall be retained in accordance with the following schedule: Approved applications and all supporting documentation shall be retained for seven (7) years from the completion of the funding period or the last activity on the funded matter, whichever is later; Denied applications shall be retained for three (3) years from the date of the denial decision; Incomplete applications or applications withdrawn by the applicant shall be retained for one (1) year from the date of last activity or one year from the date the application was determined to be incomplete, whichever is later. These retention periods ensure compliance with audit requirements, allow for potential appeals or reconsiderations, and support program evaluation while protecting applicant privacy.

Destruction Procedures

When records reach the end of their designated retention period and are no longer required for legal, operational, or historical purposes, they shall be destroyed in accordance with the following procedures. Paper records containing confidential, sensitive, or personal information shall be shredded using a cross-cut or micro-cut shredder, or disposed of through a certified document destruction service that provides certificates of destruction. Electronic records shall be permanently deleted using secure deletion methods that render the data irretrievable, including secure wiping of hard drives, degaussing of magnetic media, or physical destruction of storage media when appropriate. A log of all destroyed records shall be maintained, documenting the type of records destroyed, the date of destruction, the method of destruction, and the individual authorizing and performing the destruction. Destruction of records shall be immediately suspended if litigation, governmental investigation, audit, or other legal action involving such records is anticipated, threatened, or initiated, and such records shall be retained until the matter is fully resolved and final.

Exceptions and Litigation Holds

Notwithstanding any retention period specified in this policy, if THAF becomes aware of pending, threatened, or actual litigation, governmental investigation, audit, or other legal action that may involve particular records, or if THAF receives a subpoena, discovery request, or other legal process requiring the preservation of records, the destruction of such records shall be immediately suspended. A "litigation hold" or similar preservation notice shall be issued to relevant staff, volunteers, and contractors, and all records subject to such hold shall be retained until the Board of Directors, in consultation with legal counsel, determines that the matter has been fully resolved and that the litigation hold may be lifted. This exception applies regardless of whether the applicable retention period has expired, and records subject to a litigation hold shall be preserved in their original form without alteration or deletion.

Policy Review

This Document Retention Policy shall be reviewed at least annually by the Board of Directors or a designated committee thereof, and updated as necessary to reflect changes in federal, state, or local laws, regulations, best practices for nonprofit organizations, or THAF's operational needs. Any amendments to this policy shall be approved by the Board of Directors and communicated to all staff, volunteers, and contractors who handle organizational records. The Board may designate the Executive Director or other appropriate personnel to oversee day-to-day implementation and compliance with this policy.