The Pongo Fund is an award winning, volunteer driven non-profit public charity fueled by a passionate group of volunteers who have together donated more than 30,000 hours of dedicated service since November, 2009.

Board of Directors

(effective 7/1/2023)

A. Stan Bland
Animal advocate, Conservationist, Entrepreneur, Community Activist. Board Member, The Oregon Zoo; Board Member, Project Pooch; Board Member, the Bland Family Foundation; past Board Member, Camp Ukandu. (Independent Board Member)

Howard Hedinger (in memory of)
Industrialist and Philanthropist. Honorable defender of those less fortunate, both two legged and four.

Laurie Gruenberg
Psychiatric nurse and licensed clinical social worker with expertise in critical care areas including cancer rehabilitation, case management, and mental health. Deeply committed to feeding both people and their pets. (Independent Board Member)

Lesley Dodson
Technology strategist with a long career in international retail and technology operations for companies including Nike, L’Oreal and M Financial Group. Lesley is committed to animal welfare and participates in the efforts of local, national and international groups working on behalf of all animals everywhere. (Independent Board Member)

Marilynn Murray Jensen (Emeritus)
A lifetime dedicated to making the community a better place for people and their pets. (Independent Board Member)

Larry Chusid
Founder & Executive Director, The Pongo Fund. Advocate, Preservationist and Entrepreneur. Defender and champion of animals everywhere; Lifelong friend of Pongo.

Pongo Chusid & Scooby Chusid
Lifetime Trustees, The Pongo Fund

Professional Advisors:

The Pongo Fund maintains a core group of professional, scientific, economic and social service advisors experienced in a variety of strategic areas including animal welfare and human social service, with additional focus areas including strategy, innovation, finance, hunger, healthcare, homeless services and veterinary medicine. Among others, some of those advisors come from:

• Holland and Knight
• Stoel Rives
• Perkins and Company
• Multnomah County, Regional Leadership
• Multnomah County, Public Health
• Clackamas County, Regional Leadership
• Washington County, Regional Leadership
• Marion County, Regional Leadership
• City of Portland, Regional Leadership
• State of Oregon, Statewide Leadership
• Department of Human Services
• Department of Veterans Affairs
• Nike
• Intel
• VCA Animal Hospital
• Willamette Valley Animal Hospital
• Willamette Humane Society
• Marion County Dog Services
• Marion County Food Share
• Dove Lewis
• Oregon Food Bank
• Home Forward
• Northwest Housing Alternatives

Volunteer Staff

• Stefan Oswald: Manager, External Operations
• Andrea Fidel: Manager, Lobby Operations
• Christian Kerr: Manager, Lobby Operations
• Marty Leo: Manager, Inventory Fulfillment
• Angela Christiansen: Manager, Inventory Distribution
• Darla Murray: Manager, Inventory Distribution
• Becky Batke: Manager, Inventory Distribution
• Liz Irey: Manager, Manager, Guest Services

Donor and Client Privacy Policy

The Pongo Fund and www.thepongofund.org (“us”, “we”, “our”, the “Service”).

The Pongo Fund does not sell, trade, rent, or otherwise make available personal donor or client information, nor send mailings on behalf of other organizations. This policy applies to all information received by us, both online and offline, as well as any electronic, written, or oral communication. The Pongo Fund may acknowledge donors publicly. If donors prefer to remain anonymous they can inform us of their desire to have their name withheld from recognition. For credit card donors, we do not have access to or retain any credit card information. For donors using paper checks, such checks are physically deposited with our bank and handled according to their privacy policies. For donors who provide us with an email address, we may from time to time send you email updates about the work you have funded. You may opt out of these emails simply by clicking the appropriate link at the bottom of such email.

This page informs you of our additional policies regarding the collection, use, and disclosure of personal data when you donate to us or use our Services and the choices you have associated with that data. By using our Services, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy.

We collect several different types of information for various purposes to provide and improve our Service to you.

Types of Data Collected

Personal Data

While using our Service, we may ask you to provide us with certain personally identifiable information that can be used to contact or identify you (“Personal Data”). Personally identifiable information may include, but is not limited to:

Email address, First name and last name, Date of Birth, Phone number, Address, State, Province, ZIP/Postal code, City, Cookies and Usage Data.

Usage Data

We may also collect information how the Service is accessed and used (“Usage Data”). This Usage Data may include information such as your computer’s Internet Protocol address (e.g., IP address), browser type, browser version, the pages of our Service that you visit, the time and date of your visit, the time spent on those pages, unique device identifiers and other diagnostic data.

Tracking & Cookies Data

• We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to track the activity on our Service and hold certain information.
• Cookies are files with small amount of data which may include an anonymous unique identifier. Cookies are sent to your browser from a website and stored on your device. Tracking technologies also used are beacons, tags, and scripts to collect and track information and to improve and analyze our Service.
• You can instruct your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. However, if you do not accept cookies, you may not be able to use some portions of our Service.
• Examples of Cookies we use:
• Session Cookies. We use Session Cookies to operate our Service.
• Preference Cookies. We use Preference Cookies to remember your preferences and various settings.
• Security Cookies. We use Security Cookies for security purposes.

Use of Data

• The Pongo Fund uses the collected data for various purposes which may include:
• To provide and maintain the Service
• To notify you about changes to our Service
• To allow you to participate in interactive features of our Service when you choose to do so
• To provide customer care and support
• To provide analysis or valuable information so that we can improve the Service
• To monitor the usage of the Service
• To detect, prevent and address technical issues

Transfer Of Data

Your information, including Personal Data, may be transferred to and maintained on computers located outside of your state, province, country or other governmental jurisdiction where the data protection laws may differ than those from your jurisdiction.

Your consent to this Privacy Policy followed by your submission of such information represents your agreement to that transfer. The Pongo Fund will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that your data is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy and no transfer of your Personal Data will take place to an organization or a country unless there are adequate controls in place including the security of your data and other personal information.

Disclosure Of Data

Legal Requirements
The Pongo Fund does not sell your personal information or share with others for marketing or advertising purposes. We may disclose your Personal Data in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to:

• To provide the services you have requested
• To comply with a legal obligation
• To protect and defend the rights or property of The Pongo Fund
• To prevent or investigate possible wrongdoing in connection with the Service
• To protect the personal safety of users of the Service or the public
• To protect against legal liability
• Security Of Data

The security of your data is important to us, but remember that no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your Personal Data, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

Service Providers

We may employ third party companies and individuals to facilitate our Service (“Service Providers”), to provide the Service on our behalf, to perform Service-related services or to assist us in analyzing how our Service is used.

These third parties have access to your Personal Data only to perform these tasks on our behalf and are obligated not to disclose or use it for any other purpose.

Links To Other Sites

Our Service may contain links to other sites that are not operated by us. If you click on a third-party link, you will be directed to that third party’s site. We strongly advise you to review the Privacy Policy of every site you visit.
We have no control over and assume no responsibility for the content, privacy policies or practices of any third-party sites or services.

Children’s Privacy

Our Service does not address anyone under the age of 18 (“Children”).

We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from anyone under the age of 18. If you are a parent or guardian and you are aware that your Children has provided us with Personal Data, please contact us. If we become aware that we have collected Personal Data from children without verification of parental consent, we take steps to remove that information from our servers.

Changes To This Privacy Policy

We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page. You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes. Changes to this Privacy Policy are effective when they are posted on this page.

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact The Pongo Fund via email at info@thepongofund.org, by phone at 503-939-7555 or by mail at The Pongo Fund, PO Box 9000, Portland, OR 97207.

Whistleblower Policy

This policy, as it applies to The Pongo Fund, is intended to encourage Board members, paid staff, volunteers and others to report suspected or actual occurrence(s) of illegal, unethical or inappropriate events (behaviors or practices) without retribution. 1. The Whistleblower should promptly report the suspected or actual event to his/her supervisor. 2. If the Whistleblower would be uncomfortable or otherwise reluctant to report to his/her supervisor, then the Whistleblower could report the event to the next highest or another level of management, including to an appropriate Board committee or member. 3. The Whistleblower can report the event with his/her identity or anonymously. 4. The Whistleblower shall receive no retaliation or retribution for a report that was provided in good faith – that was not done primarily with malice to damage another or the organization. 5. A Whistleblower who makes a report that is not done in good faith is subject to discipline, including termination of the Board or employee relationship, or other legal means to protect the reputation of the organization and members of its Board and staff. 6. Anyone who retaliates against the Whistleblower (who reported an event in good faith) will be subject to discipline, including termination of Board or employee status. 7. Crimes against person or property, such as assault, rape, burglary, etc., should immediately be reported to local law enforcement personnel. 8. Supervisors, managers and/or Board members who receive the reports must promptly act to investigate and/or resolve the issue. 9. The Whistleblower shall receive a report within ten business days of the initial report, regarding the investigation, disposition or resolution of the issue. 10. If the investigation of a report, that was done in good faith and investigated by internal personnel, is not to the Whistleblower’s satisfaction, then he/she has the right to report the event to the appropriate legal or investigative agency. 11. The identity of the Whistleblower, if known, shall remain confidential to those persons directly involved in applying this policy, unless the issue requires investigation by law enforcement, in which case members of the organization are subject to subpoena.

If you have questions about this Whistleblower Policy, please contact The Pongo Fund via email at info@thepongofund.org, by phone at 503-939-7555 or by mail at The Pongo Fund, PO Box 9000, Portland, OR 97207.

Records Retention Policy

The Pongo Fund uses the following records retention policy as a basis to ensure transparency and accountability. The following policy establishes the guidelines, as recommended by standard and appropriate nonprofit accounting practices, for the proper treatment of records of The Pongo Fund.

Records should not be kept if they are no longer needed for the operation of the business or required by law. Unnecessary records should be eliminated from the files. The cost of maintaining records is an expense which can grow unreasonably if good housekeeping is not performed. A mass of records also makes it more difficult to find pertinent records. Records being stored should be labeled with the department name, a brief description of the contents and a destruction date.

From time to time, The Pongo Fund may revise or update these policies or schedules for specific categories of records. While minimum retention periods are established, the retention of the documents identified below and of documents not included in the identified categories should be determined primarily by the application of the general guidelines affecting document retention, as well as the exception for litigation relevant documents and any other pertinent factors.

With regard to Litigation Relevant Documents, The Pongo Fund expects all officers, directors, and employees to comply fully with any published records retention or destruction policies and schedules, provided that all officers, directors, and employees should note the following general exception to any stated destruction schedule: If you believe, or The Pongo Fund management or its Board informs you that specific records and/or categories of records are relevant to litigation, or potential litigation (i.e., a dispute that could result in litigation), then you must preserve those records until it is determined that the records are no longer needed. That exception supersedes any previously or subsequently established destruction schedule for those records.

Minimum Retention Periods for Specific Categories will vary based on such document and are subject to change. For example, the following retention periods are currently in place per the following: Accident reports/claims (settled cases) 7 years; Accounts payable ledgers and schedules 7 years; Accounts receivable ledgers and schedules 8 years; Bank statements and reconciliations 4 years; Checks (canceled checks for important payments, special contracts, purchase of assets, payment of taxes, etc. Permanently; Checks (canceled except those noted above) 7 years; Contracts and leases still in effect Permanently; Copyrights and patents Permanently; Corporate resolutions Permanently; Correspondence, general 2 years; Correspondence, legal and important matters Permanently; Correspondence, routine with customers/vendors 2 years; Deeds, mortgages and bills of sale Permanently; Depreciation schedules Permanently; Donation records of endowment funds and of significant restricted funds Permanently; Donor records 7 years; Email 1 year; Employment applications 3 years; Employee handbooks Permanently; Employee personnel records (after termination) 4 years; Employee orientation and training manuals (after ends) 7 years; Employee records relating to promotion, demotion or discharge (after termination) 7 years; Employment and termination agreements Permanently; Employment applications 3 years; Financial statements (year-end other months optional) Permanently; Fixed Assets supporting documents Permanently; General ledgers, year-end trial balances Permanently; Grant applications and contracts 7 years; Insurance records, current accident reports, claims, policies, etc. Permanently; Investment performance reports 7 years; Invoices to customers or from vendors 7 years; IRS exemption determination and related correspondence Permanently; Journal entries 7 years; Licenses and permits Permanently; Medical records (including DEA) 3 years; Merger records and related key documents Permanently; Minute books of directors, bylaws and charter Permanently; Notes Payables and Receivables and schedules (after completed) 7 years; Payroll records 7 years; Property records, including costs, depreciation reserves, depreciation schedules Permanently; Retirement plan contributions, rollovers, transfers and distributions Permanently; Software licenses and support agreements 7 years; Sponsorship agreements 5 years; State unemployment tax records Permanently; Tax returns, and other documents related to determination of income tax liability Permanently; Tax information documents including 1099s and W2s 7 years; Trademark registrations, patents, copyrights, other intellectual property marks Permanently; Volunteer records 3 years Vouchers for payments to vendors, employees, etc. (includes allowances and reimbursements of employees, officers, etc., for travel and entertainment) 7 years; Workers comp claims (after settlement) 7 years.

E-mail that needs to be saved should be either: (i) downloaded to a computer file and kept electronically or data storage device as a separate file; or (ii) if truly necessary, printed in hard copy and kept in the appropriate file The retention period depends upon the subject matter of the e-mail, as covered elsewhere in this policy.

If you have questions about this Records Retention Policy, please contact The Pongo Fund via email at info@thepongofund.org, by phone at 503-939-7555 or by mail at The Pongo Fund, PO Box 9000, Portland, OR 97207.

IRS Information

The Pongo Fund is a 501c3 non-profit public charity. To see our current IRS information, Letter of Determination and tax returns, please click here: https://bit.ly/3zSQeEK