Policy on Endorsements and Partnerships

Purpose

  1. Safety Behind the Wheel Foundation (“Foundation,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) is committed to reducing vehicle accidents, promoting road safety, and supporting public education, awareness, and advocacy relating to safer transportation practices.
  2. This Policy on Endorsements and Partnerships explains how the Foundation evaluates, enters into, discloses, manages, and, when appropriate, terminates endorsements, sponsorships, collaborations, partnerships, and other external relationships.
  3. The purpose of this Policy is to help ensure that all partnerships and endorsements are consistent with the Foundation’s mission, values, nonprofit purpose, ethical standards, and public trust obligations.

Mission Alignment

  1. The Foundation may engage with individuals, organizations, companies, public agencies, nonprofit entities, educational institutions, community groups, sponsors, and other third parties where such relationships support or advance the Foundation’s mission.
  2. Partnerships and endorsements must be reasonably aligned with the Foundation’s goals of reducing vehicle accidents, improving road safety awareness, supporting responsible driving practices, and promoting public education.
  3. The Foundation will not knowingly enter into or maintain a partnership that materially conflicts with its mission, compromises its independence, or undermines public confidence in its work.

Types of Relationships

  1. The Foundation may participate in collaborative initiatives, public awareness campaigns, educational programs, community outreach efforts, research related activities, fundraising initiatives, sponsorship arrangements, media collaborations, and other mission related activities.
  2. A partnership may involve shared programming, joint messaging, educational content, public events, donor support, financial sponsorship, in kind contributions, technical assistance, or other forms of cooperation.
  3. A sponsorship may involve financial or in kind support provided to the Foundation in connection with a campaign, event, program, publication, website feature, or other Foundation activity.
  4. An endorsement may occur only where the Foundation expressly states that it supports, approves, recommends, or recognizes a particular person, organization, program, initiative, product, service, or resource.
  5. Mere mention of a third party, link to a third party website, participation in a joint activity, receipt of sponsorship, or publication of informational content does not, by itself, constitute an endorsement by the Foundation.

Selection Criteria

  1. The Foundation evaluates prospective partners, sponsors, collaborators, and endorsement opportunities based on factors that may include mission alignment, reputation, integrity, public safety impact, transparency, legal compliance, ethical conduct, and consistency with the Foundation’s values.
  2. The Foundation may consider whether a prospective relationship advances road safety, supports accident prevention, improves public education, expands community access, enhances awareness, or otherwise contributes to the Foundation’s charitable and educational objectives.
  3. The Foundation may also consider whether the prospective partner’s products, services, practices, public statements, advertising, business conduct, or organizational activities could create confusion, reputational risk, legal risk, or a conflict with the Foundation’s mission.
  4. The Foundation reserves the right to decline any partnership, sponsorship, collaboration, or endorsement opportunity for any reason, including where the Foundation determines that the relationship is inconsistent with its mission, values, legal obligations, or ethical standards.

Vetting Process

  1. Before entering into a significant partnership, sponsorship, collaboration, or endorsement arrangement, the Foundation may conduct reasonable due diligence.
  2. Due diligence may include reviewing the prospective partner’s mission, public reputation, website, public materials, safety record, regulatory history, legal compliance, charitable purpose, financial relationship to the Foundation, and proposed role in the relationship.
  3. The level of review may vary depending on the nature, size, visibility, duration, financial value, and potential risk of the relationship.
  4. The Foundation may request additional information, written terms, certifications, representations, or assurances from a prospective partner where appropriate.
  5. Approval of a partnership, sponsorship, collaboration, or endorsement does not guarantee future approval of similar relationships and does not create any continuing obligation by the Foundation.

Editorial Independence

  1. The Foundation maintains editorial independence over its educational materials, website content, public statements, advocacy positions, publications, and program materials.
  2. No partner, sponsor, donor, collaborator, or other third party may control the Foundation’s content, conclusions, public positions, safety recommendations, educational messaging, or mission related priorities.
  3. Financial support, sponsorship, in kind assistance, or other benefits shall not determine the substance of the Foundation’s educational content or advocacy positions.
  4. The Foundation may consider information, expertise, or resources provided by partners, but final decisions regarding Foundation content, messaging, and public communications remain with the Foundation.

Transparency and Disclosure

  1. The Foundation is committed to transparency in its partnerships, sponsorships, endorsements, and material third party relationships.
  2. Where appropriate, the Foundation may disclose the nature of a partnership, sponsorship, endorsement, or material relationship on its website, in event materials, in campaign materials, in publications, or through other reasonable means.
  3. Disclosure may include whether a third party provided financial support, in kind support, collaborative assistance, technical assistance, promotional assistance, or other material benefits.
  4. The Foundation will make reasonable efforts to ensure that public descriptions of partnerships and endorsements are accurate, clear, and not misleading.
  5. A partner, sponsor, or collaborator may not use the Foundation’s name, logo, trademarks, website, materials, or public statements in a manner that suggests endorsement, approval, certification, or affiliation beyond what has been expressly authorized in writing.

Sponsorships and Financial Support

  1. The Foundation may accept sponsorships, grants, donations, in kind contributions, or other support from third parties where such support is consistent with the Foundation’s mission and applicable law.
  2. Acceptance of financial or in kind support does not constitute endorsement of the sponsor’s products, services, policies, practices, or business operations unless the Foundation expressly states otherwise in writing.
  3. The Foundation may recognize sponsors and supporters through appropriate acknowledgments, including on its website, event materials, publications, or donor recognition materials.
  4. Sponsor recognition shall not be presented in a manner that is false, misleading, deceptive, or inconsistent with the Foundation’s nonprofit purpose.
  5. The Foundation reserves the right to refuse, return, restrict, or discontinue sponsorships or contributions that may compromise its independence, reputation, mission, legal compliance, or public trust.

Product and Service Endorsements

  1. The Foundation does not provide blanket endorsements of third party products, services, companies, professionals, platforms, tools, applications, courses, programs, or resources.
  2. Any endorsement of a product, service, program, or resource must be expressly stated and approved by the Foundation.
  3. Unless expressly stated otherwise, references to third party products, services, tools, resources, websites, or organizations are provided for informational or convenience purposes only.
  4. The Foundation does not guarantee the safety, quality, effectiveness, accuracy, reliability, suitability, legality, or performance of any third party product, service, program, or resource.
  5. Users, donors, partners, and members of the public should exercise independent judgment and, where appropriate, consult qualified professionals before relying on, purchasing, using, or participating in any third party product, service, program, or resource.

Use of Name, Logo, and Materials

  1. No third party may use the Foundation’s name, logo, trademarks, branding, website content, publications, statements, or materials without prior written authorization from the Foundation.
  2. Any approved use of the Foundation’s name, logo, or materials must comply with the scope, duration, format, and conditions authorized by the Foundation.
  3. The Foundation may revoke permission to use its name, logo, or materials at any time if such use is inaccurate, misleading, unauthorized, inconsistent with this Policy, or harmful to the Foundation’s mission or reputation.
  4. Partners, sponsors, and collaborators may not imply that the Foundation endorses their products, services, programs, or organization unless such endorsement has been expressly approved in writing.

Conflicts of Interest

  1. The Foundation seeks to avoid actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest in connection with partnerships, sponsorships, endorsements, and collaborations.
  2. Individuals involved in evaluating or approving a partnership should disclose any personal, financial, professional, or organizational interest that could reasonably affect impartial decision making.
  3. Where a conflict of interest exists or may appear to exist, the Foundation may require recusal, additional review, disclosure, modification of the relationship, or rejection of the proposed relationship.
  4. The Foundation may maintain a separate conflict of interest policy for directors, officers, employees, volunteers, committee members, and other individuals acting on behalf of the Foundation.

Ethical Standards

  1. The Foundation expects partners, sponsors, collaborators, and endorsed parties to conduct themselves honestly, lawfully, respectfully, and in a manner consistent with public safety and the Foundation’s mission.
  2. The Foundation may decline or terminate relationships involving fraud, deception, discrimination, harassment, unsafe practices, unlawful conduct, misleading advertising, reputational harm, or conduct inconsistent with the Foundation’s values.
  3. The Foundation will not knowingly allow its name or reputation to be used to promote activities that materially undermine traffic safety, public welfare, lawful conduct, or responsible community engagement.

Public Communications

  1. Public announcements regarding partnerships, sponsorships, endorsements, or collaborations should be accurate, balanced, and approved by the Foundation before publication where the Foundation’s name, logo, statements, or participation are referenced.
  2. Partners and sponsors may not issue press releases, advertisements, website statements, social media posts, or promotional materials referencing the Foundation without prior written approval, unless otherwise agreed in writing.
  3. The Foundation reserves the right to require correction, clarification, removal, or withdrawal of any public communication that misstates the nature of a relationship with the Foundation.

Ongoing Review

  1. Partnerships, sponsorships, collaborations, and endorsements may be subject to periodic review.
  2. The Foundation may evaluate whether a relationship continues to align with its mission, ethical standards, public trust obligations, legal requirements, and organizational priorities.
  3. Review may include consideration of partner conduct, public response, program effectiveness, financial arrangements, compliance obligations, safety implications, and reputational impact.
  4. The Foundation may modify, suspend, or discontinue a relationship based on changed circumstances, new information, strategic priorities, or concerns regarding mission alignment.

Termination Rights

  1. The Foundation reserves the right to terminate, suspend, restrict, or decline to renew any partnership, sponsorship, collaboration, endorsement, or related arrangement at any time, subject to any applicable written agreement.
  2. Grounds for termination may include mission misalignment, reputational risk, legal or regulatory concerns, unethical conduct, misleading statements, failure to comply with agreed terms, unsafe practices, misuse of the Foundation’s name or logo, or conduct inconsistent with this Policy.
  3. Where appropriate, the Foundation may request removal of its name, logo, materials, links, public statements, or references from a partner’s website, marketing materials, social media, publications, or other communications.
  4. Termination of a relationship does not waive any rights, remedies, claims, or defenses available to the Foundation.

No Guarantee or Warranty

  1. The Foundation’s participation in a partnership, sponsorship, collaboration, or endorsement does not constitute a guarantee, warranty, certification, or assurance regarding any third party’s products, services, programs, safety practices, results, or legal compliance.
  2. The Foundation is not responsible for the acts, omissions, products, services, statements, policies, practices, or content of third parties.
  3. Any person who relies on a third party product, service, resource, or program does so at their own discretion and risk.

Compliance With Law

  1. All partnerships, sponsorships, endorsements, and collaborations must comply with applicable laws, regulations, tax requirements, charitable solicitation rules, nonprofit governance obligations, intellectual property rights, privacy requirements, and advertising standards.
  2. The Foundation may require written agreements, disclosures, approvals, or compliance reviews where appropriate.
  3. Nothing in this Policy shall be interpreted to require the Foundation to enter into, continue, or publicly disclose any relationship where doing so would violate applicable law, contractual obligations, donor confidentiality, privacy commitments, or legitimate organizational interests.

Policy Updates

  1. The Foundation may amend, update, or revise this Policy from time to time.
  2. Any revised version will be effective when posted on the Foundation’s website unless otherwise stated.
  3. Continued interaction with the Foundation after changes are posted constitutes acknowledgment of the revised Policy.

Contact Information

  1. Questions regarding this Policy on Endorsements and Partnerships may be directed to Safety Behind the Wheel Foundation.
  2. Email: contact@DriveWithCare.org
  3. Telephone: +1 (302) 579 6191
  4. Website: https://www.DriveWithCare.org/

Reservation of Rights

  1. Safety Behind the Wheel Foundation reserves all rights, remedies, claims, and defenses available under applicable law and equity.
  2. Nothing in this Policy shall be construed as a waiver of any rights, remedies, or defenses, all of which are expressly reserved.
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