Contribution Policy

As a member of the Westchester community, Westchester County Psychological Association’s (WCPA) social responsibility is to support local, nonprofit community organizations by providing in-kind advertising, volunteer support, and financial contributions. In keeping with our mission we aim to further the development of psychology as a science and as a profession, to safeguard the interests of the public and of the profession, and to provide a basis for professional growth and association among psychologists.

This Contribution Policy ensures that all WCPA donations are coordinated and aligned with our goals, foster long-term relationships, maximize opportunities for visibility to the wider Westchester community, and are within our budget and resource limitations.

WCPA’s giving is predominantly in in-kind advertising. WCPA advertises in following ways:

• Advertising space in our newsletter
• Advertising space on our website
• Advertising in our emails to members

All requests for contributions will be handled as outlined below.

• Requests for contributions can be made to individual Board members or submitted to the Executive Director at [email protected] for presentation to the Board.
• Requests will be discussed and voted upon at the following bimonthly Board meeting or when necessary voted on via email between meetings.
• The Executive Director will communicate directly with organizations and will coordinate any follow up documentation, or activities such as advertising, event coordination, invitations, etc.

The following guidelines will be used in reviewing requests for charitable contributions, sponsorships, volunteer initiatives and in-kind advertising.

Only 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations, and 501(c)(6) business leagues will be considered for donations, Westchester based organizations will be given preference.

• The following exclusions apply: WCPA will not support organizations that discriminate on the basis of age, sex, race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, or disability with respect to employment, volunteer participation, or the provision of services.
• Contributions will be made only to the qualifying nonprofit agency. Contributions will not be made to organizations conducting fundraising (third party giving) on behalf of nonprofit agencies.
• Requests from religious organizations for sectarian purposes will not be considered; however, a community program sponsored by a religious organization will be considered (e.g., food pantry).  
• Requests from all local, regional, and/or school-based sports teams will not be considered.
• Requests from individual Westchester elementary or secondary schools (public or private) will not be considered, unless the request is for programming specifically designed to address psychology, or mental health.
• Financial requests for capital campaigns will not be considered.

The major focus of our contributions will be on psychology, mental health, and local community causes.  

Contributions will be coordinated with member volunteer activities, and other WCPA activities when possible to achieve maximum impact and visibility within budget guidelines.
 
WCPA retains the right to request information on how donations are utilized. This includes information on organizations’ administrative costs vs. programming costs.