EthicsPoint is a comprehensive and anonymous Internet and telephone based reporting tool that assists management, employees, vendors and volunteers to work together to address financial fraud, abuse, misconduct and other violations in the workplace, while helping to cultivate a positive work environment.

Yes. EthicsPoint offers convenience for filing and helps ensure that reports are filed anonymously.

There are several reasons why we need a reporting tool:

1. We believe that people are our most important asset. Through open channels of communication, you can participate in improving Cranbrook and helping to create a safe and ethical environment.
2. Publicly traded companies are required by law (Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002) to have an anonymous reporting system to address accounting and auditing misconduct.
3. Reporting "hotlines" have proven to be an effective tool in reducing losses and helping to protect an organization’s financial strength.

We certainly do. In fact, we need you to report. You know what is going on at Cranbrook – both good and bad. You may have initial knowledge of an activity that may be cause for concern. Your reporting can minimize the potential negative impact on Cranbrook and our people. Also, offering positive input may help identify issues that can improve our culture and performance.

We all have the right to work in a positive environment. But with that right comes the responsibility of acting in an ethical manner and letting the appropriate people know if someone is not acting appropriately. By working together, we ensure that we maintain a healthy and productive environment. As shown by companies like Enron and WorldCom, corporate misconduct anywhere in our organization can threaten our entire campus.

EthicsPoint is a communications tool for sharing concerns about ethical financial behavior (accounting, financial, fraud, theft, donor stewardship). Also, it provides an tool for sharing concerns about discrimination, harassment, and other activity that may damage public trust.

You certainly can, but there are several good reasons why you should use EthicsPoint as well. First, EthicsPoint ensures that your report gets to the appropriate people. That may or may not happen if you simply report something to your manager, especially when dealing with issues not under her or his control. More importantly, reports can be filed anonymously and all report information is secure and held in the strictest confidence.

EthicsPoint does not generate or maintain any internal connection logs with IP addresses so no information linking your PC to EthicsPoint is available.

With fewer than 12 percent of reports generated during business hours, most people prefer to report from the comfort of their home after hours and on the weekend.

A report from home, a neighbor’s computer, or any Internet portal will remain secure and anonymous. An Internet portal never identifies a visitor by screen name and the EthicsPoint system strips away Internet addresses so that anonymity is totally maintained. Plus, EthicsPoint is contractually committed not to pursue a reporter’s identity.

The EthicsPoint system is designed to protect your anonymity. However, as a reporting party, you need to ensure that the body of the report does not reveal your identity by accident, for example, "From my cube next to Jan Smith..." or "In my 33 years...".

Absolutely not. The EthicsPoint system concentrates on being a positive aspect of our overall culture, and allows employees, parents, donors, volunteers and vendors to partner with management to assure a safe, secure and ethical workplace. We encourage you to use the system to seek guidance on ethical dilemmas, provide positive suggestions, or communicate a concern. Effective communication is the lifeblood of any organization and EthicsPoint is a great way to enhance that communication.

Cranbrook chooses to promote ethical behavior. All unethical conduct, at any level, ultimately hurts the organization and all of the people connected to Cranbrook, including you. You only have to consider what happened in recent corporate scandals to see disastrous effects that a seemingly harmless lapse in ethics can have on an otherwise healthy company. So if you know of any incidents of misconduct or ethical violations, consider it your duty to yourself and your coworkers to report it.

File a report. EthicsPoint will help you prepare and file your report so it can be properly understood. We would rather you reported a situation that turned out to be harmless than let possible unethical behavior go unchecked because you weren’t sure.

Reports are entered directly on the EthicsPoint secure server to prevent any possible breech in security. EthicsPoint makes these reports available only to specific individuals at Cranbrook who are charged with evaluating the type of violation and location of the incident. Each of these report recipients has had training in keeping these reports in the utmost confidence. The EthicsPoint system and staff are trained and committed to ensure that no report is ever shared with implicated parties, their peers or subordinates.

The EthicsPoint system and report distribution are designed so that no report is ever shared with implicated parties, their peers or their subordinates. If Cranbrook’s president or COO is implicated, the report is available only to a specified member of the Board of Trustees. This will help eliminate cover-ups by any implicated individual.

When you file a report at the EthicsPoint website or via the international toll-free number, you receive a unique user name and are asked to choose a password. You can return to the EthicsPoint system again either by Internet or telephone and access the original report to answer questions posed by a Cranbrook representative and add further information that would help resolve the open issues. We strongly suggest that you return to the site in 48 hours to answer company questions. At that point, you and Cranbrook will have entered into an "anonymous dialogue" where situations are not only identified but can be resolved, no matter how complex.

All EthicsPoint correspondence is held in the same strict confidence as the initial report, continuing under the umbrella of anonymity.

There is a section in the report for identifying yourself, if you wish.

You can file an EthicsPoint report from any computer that can access the Internet. You can file from home. Many public locations, including the public library, have Internet computers. If you don’t have access or are uncomfortable using a computer, you can call the EthicsPoint toll-free hotline 866-ETHICSP which is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Or you can call the phone number dedicated to Cranbrook reports (866 293 2395).

Yes. You will be asked to provide the same information that you would provide in an Internet-based report and an interviewer will type your responses into the EthicsPoint website. These reports have the same security and confidentiality measures applied to them during delivery.