Frequently Asked Questions

We conduct a Needs Assessment before any work is done.  This insures that we understand the culture of your organization.  Our services include the sensitivity to your unique DNA.  Once the assessment is completed we meet with your leadership to review our recommendation(s).  With your approval, we move forward with our services.

We focus on two main areas:  

• Helping churches and non-profits streamline processes in order to re-direct resources of time and money for ministry.  We do this by assessing your financial and personnel policies and procedures and recommending strategic steps to lower risk and improve stewardship.
   

• Helping churches and non-profits safeguard people by reducing the risk of child sexual abuse and harassment.  We do this by assessing your current practices and helping you develop, implement, and train key personnel and volunteers in ways to reduce this epidemic.  

Each organization is unique, therefore the assessment times will vary. However, here are some basic guidelines...

• Financial Assessments: When reviewing policies and practices we set aside a few hours to review policies and a few hours to interview accounting personnel.
   

• Personal Assessments: Personnel Assessments depend on the nature of the assessment.  Personnel Policy and Practices usually take about half a day.  In circumstances where employees are interviewed for a compatibility assessment, it could take up to one day, depending on the number of employees interviewed.  We schedule 45 minutes per employee when interviewing.
   

• Sexual Abuse Assessments:  This usually takes about an hour of conversation with the leadership of children and students and an hour reviewing current written documentation.

Upright Ministries provides your organization with a pre-visit questionnaire that will help you prepare for our visit.  You may also be asked to provide Upright Ministries with copies of your current written policies or practices.  

Our fees will vary depending on the scope of the project.  If we do an assessment and conduct the work resulting from the recommendations we discount the total project.  Because churches, schools, and non-profits all vary in size we price each project according the scope of the project.  We are sensitive to the ministry budget constraints.  Know that our services will help reduce your expenses and help you save ministry dollars.  Contact our office for specific pricing of your needs.

We offer a wide range of services.  Some common services we provide are:

• Assessing your current practices and procedures to help identify risks to your organization.

• Reviewing your personnel polices to insure they are not a potential liability to your organization.

• Restructuring your Chart of Accounts that result in clear and simple financial reporting.

• Assessing the tasks of your financial personnel to insure adequate division of duties for low risk of embezzlement and fraud.

We coach you in the development process as well as the implementation process.  It seldom works to adopt a personnel policy without the support of leadership and buy-in from employees.  We work with you through the entire process.  We meet with your staff or Personnel Team to discuss the items to include in a handbook and the type of language to use to keep your risk of a potential lawsuit low.  A personnel policy or handbook should be a positive tool in employee management.  It should also be a tool that helps protect your organization and provide flexibility.  If not properly compiled and written, it could actually be a greater risk than not having one at all.  Since each organization’s practices are different, we do not produce copies for you to fill in your church or school name.  You need policies that reflect your organization’s practices and we will help you do just that.

Some of the other services we provide are:

• New hire procedures review

• New-hire coaching for safe hiring

• Interview training

• Onboarding training

• Termination or downsizing coaching

• Employee discipline coaching

• Mediation

• Reducing the risk of child sexual abuse and harassment training for staff  and volunteers  

We assess your current practices, make you aware of the 4 components that make up a strategic plan for reducing this epidemic; provide you with the tools to put a plan together and conduct a two-hour training for your staff and volunteers who work with infants, preschoolers, children, students, and the disabled.

We provide a condensed list on our website under the tab, Resources.  If you contact us directly we can share additional services we provide and the churches we have served.

Complete the Contact Us Form and we will aim to contact you within 24 hours. 
You can also reach us at 281-797-8619.