Code of Ethics Program

Welcome to our "Ethics Pledge Program".  Here we  hope to give you ethics to guide you through some difficult situations.  This program will never tell you how to run your awards programs, but we will provide you with an ethics pledge that is fair to both you and your applicants.

We believe that an ethics pledge is something that says "We Care", and therefore, we will never make it an issue for anyone who doesn't wish to join us in our beliefs concerning ethics and/or why any person feels as the do.

What are Ethics?

The dictionary defines ethics as: "a formal or professional rules of right and wrong; system of conduct or behavior; and, moral principles by which a person is guided."

With the above definition in mind, we would like to present to you our "Ethics Pledge Program" to help you govern yourself, and the way that you run your awards program.  We're not here to do this for your regardless of what you might think.

Although we're  not here to govern your choice of ethics, we do ask that you follow a few simple rules to join our program.  Plus, install our ethics pledge into your award program (or one of your own).  Or you may simply use ours as a guide to creating your own.

What is an "Ethics Pledge"?

An ethics pledge is simply a promise to use some type of morals to guide yourself and the way in which you conduct your own behavior.  It's a promise you make to yourself and/or other people.  By committing to a pledge, you take responsibility for your own actions.  So in our opinion, this means you pledge to follow the criteria's and/or other guidelines within your awards program.

By applying to join our "Ethics Program", you're promising us that you will do your utmost best to follow our ethics pledge criteria.  In return, we list your awards program with a link so people can find you easier.

Who may join our ethics program?

Anyone running an awards program may join our program providing they are willing to follow our set criteria.  However, they also need to either use our ethics pledge, create one of their own, and/or use our ethics pledge as a guideline to create their own.  Either way, you will need an ethics pledge in place on your awards program before applying.

Can I belong to other ethics programs, and still apply for membership here?

Yes.  But please keep in mind that we will expect you to follow our criteria for this program.