Access should be shaped by need. Not by who someone is.

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to establish Love Well Spent's commitment to nondiscrimination and fair treatment across our programs, services, workplace, volunteer activities, partnerships, educational activities, and public-facing operations.

This policy is intended to support a respectful environment and to guide organizational decisions in a manner consistent with applicable law and Love Well Spent's charitable mission.

Scope

This policy applies to Love Well Spent's:

• employees and contractors;
• board members;
• volunteers and interns;
• program applicants and participants;
• donors and supporters;
• educators and workshop participants;
• partner representatives acting with or on behalf of LWS;
• events and service-learning activities;
• Digital Access Grant activities;
• ConnectWell-related organizational interactions;
• website and online communications; and
• other Love Well Spent programs and activities.

Nondiscrimination Commitment

Love Well Spent does not unlawfully discriminate in the administration of its programs, services, employment, volunteer opportunities, or organizational activities on the basis of characteristics protected by applicable law.

Depending on the jurisdiction and context, protected characteristics may include:

• race;
• color;
• national origin or ancestry;
• ethnicity;
• religion or creed;
• sex;
• pregnancy or related conditions;
• sexual orientation;
• gender identity or expression;
• age;
• disability;
• genetic information;
• veteran or military status;
• marital or familial status where protected;
• citizenship or immigration status where protected; and
• other characteristics protected by applicable law.

The exact protections that apply may vary depending on the activity, location, funding source, and applicable law.

Programs & Services

Love Well Spent seeks to administer charitable programs and services according to legitimate program criteria.

Decisions about participation, eligibility, prioritization, fulfillment, or service availability may consider factors directly related to a program's purpose or operation, including:

• program eligibility requirements;
• demonstrated need;
• technology access barriers;
• urgency;
• service geography;
• partner coverage;
• available funding;
• inventory or equipment availability;
• program capacity;
• safety requirements;
• age requirements tied to the program itself;
• educational or service purpose; and
• other legitimate operational considerations.

Employment & Volunteer Opportunities

Love Well Spent seeks to make employment and volunteer decisions based on legitimate considerations such as qualifications, experience, skills, role requirements, availability, conduct, performance, safeguarding needs, and organizational capacity.

Employment and volunteer practices should be administered without unlawful discrimination.

Some volunteer or staff roles may involve additional requirements because of direct access to children, confidential information, financial systems, equipment, vehicles, or other responsibilities.

Those requirements should be tied to the responsibilities and risk profile of the role.

Partners, Contractors & Representatives

Organizations and individuals working with or representing Love Well Spent are expected to interact with participants, families, volunteers, staff, and community members in a professional and respectful manner.

Love Well Spent may consider a partner's conduct, legal compliance, safety practices, program capacity, geographic coverage, service quality, mission alignment, and ability to perform the work when deciding whether to establish or continue a relationship.

Love Well Spent may take appropriate action when a partner, contractor, or representative engages in unlawful discriminatory or harassing conduct connected to LWS activities.

Disability, Accessibility & Reasonable Accommodation

Love Well Spent seeks to make its programs, services, communications, events, and digital resources reasonably accessible to people with disabilities.

Where required by law and reasonably appropriate to the circumstances, Love Well Spent will consider requests for reasonable accommodations or modifications that help a person access a program, service, activity, workplace, or volunteer opportunity.

An accommodation may depend on the nature of the request, program requirements, safety considerations, available resources, technical feasibility, and applicable law.

Additional information is available in our Accessibility Statement.

Harassment & Disrespectful Conduct

Love Well Spent does not condone unlawful harassment connected to protected characteristics.

Harassment may include unwelcome verbal, written, visual, digital, or physical conduct that violates applicable law or creates an environment inconsistent with Love Well Spent's expectations for respectful participation.

This policy does not prohibit respectful disagreement, discussion, or differences in viewpoint. It does require people participating in LWS activities to interact in a manner that does not become threatening, abusive, or unlawfully discriminatory.

Non-Retaliation

Love Well Spent prohibits retaliation against a person for raising a good-faith concern about possible discrimination, requesting an accommodation, participating in a review, or exercising a right protected by applicable law.

A good-faith report does not have to be proven correct in order to be protected from retaliation.

Knowingly making a deliberately false report is different from making a good-faith report that cannot ultimately be substantiated.

Raising a Concern

A person who believes they experienced or witnessed discrimination, harassment, retaliation, or an accessibility barrier connected to Love Well Spent may contact the organization.

Reports may be made through our Contact Us page.

A report should include enough information for Love Well Spent to understand the concern, such as the program or activity involved, what occurred, approximate dates, and any relevant communications or documentation.

How Love Well Spent Responds

Love Well Spent will review concerns in a manner appropriate to the nature of the report and the organization's role.

Depending on the circumstances, the organization may:

• request additional information;
• review relevant communications or records;
• speak with involved individuals;
• take steps to protect participants or preserve safety;
• correct an administrative or accessibility issue;
• modify a practice or procedure;
• address staff, volunteer, contractor, or partner conduct;
• seek legal or professional guidance; or
• take other action appropriate to the circumstances.

Information will be shared only as reasonably necessary for review, response, safety, legal compliance, or other legitimate organizational purposes.

Lawful Program Criteria & Distinctions

Nothing in this policy prevents Love Well Spent from establishing lawful eligibility requirements or making legitimate distinctions that are reasonably related to a program, service, role, grant, partnership, or funding requirement.

Examples may include:

• a program designed for a particular educational population;
• age requirements tied to a particular activity;
• income or demonstrated-need criteria;
• geographic limits imposed by a service provider;
• technology or network availability;
• role-specific experience or qualifications;
• background screening for certain youth-serving roles;
• funding-source eligibility requirements; and
• other lawful criteria connected to program operation.

These distinctions should be applied consistently and should not be used as a pretext for unlawful discrimination.

Policy Review

Love Well Spent will review this policy periodically and may update it as programs, partnerships, staffing, organizational practices, or legal requirements change.

The effective or last-updated date displayed on this page reflects the most recent revision.