SCORE is a Resource Partner with the U.S. Small Business Administration With sponsorship support from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

New Haven Chapter
Gateway Community College
60 Sargent Dr - Room 207A
New Haven, CT 06511
203-865-7645

Code of Conduct for SCORE Volunteers

To best serve SCORE clients, SCORE volunteers shall:

Always conduct their counseling and other SCORE activities in a manner that unequivocally places the interests of their clients first. Volunteers shall ensure that all available resources are offered to clients, including assistance by other counselors or chapters, or by outside organizations where appropriate.
Initiate follow-up contacts to ensure the potential success of their clients. Volunteers will continue counseling a client as long as the counseling is of value to the client. If the volunteer is unable to continue counseling for personal reasons, the case will be reassigned to another volunteer.
At all times protect the confidentiality of business information provided by the clients.
Not accept or participate in SCORE activities that create a conflict of interest between the volunteers, their families’, outside business or financial activities or interests.

Compensation

As unpaid volunteers, SCORE volunteers shall:

Neither charge nor accept fees, honoraria or things of value as payment for individual counseling services or for their participation in training activities on behalf of SCORE.
Not accept payment from a client for travel or other expenses incident to counseling or training or any other activity.
A SCORE volunteer assigned to counsel a client may not become a paid consultant for or accept other employment from a client being counseled. In the event that a volunteer does accept employment from his/her client, he or she must immediately resign from SCORE. The chapter chair will take the following actions:
Immediately remove the volunteer from the chapter roster.
Immediately write the client that has employed the counselor and inform him or her that the counselor is no longer a volunteer of the SCORE association or the chapter and that SCORE cannot be held accountable for the future actions or advice of the former counselor.

Third Parties

The following guidelines apply to interactions between SCORE volunteers and third parties:

SCORE volunteers shall not accept fees, commissions, kickbacks or things of value from third parties as a result of recommending any services, equipment or supplies, nor shall they recommend the purchase of goods or services in which they have a direct or indirect interest, financial or otherwise.

When volunteers perform SCORE services for another organization or agency (other than SBA or SCORE clients), the organization may reimburse SCORE for the expenses of the volunteers by providing an honorarium to SCORE or the chapter, which can then reimburse the volunteers for their expenses.
SCORE volunteers shall neither charge nor accept fees or things of value for assistance in the preparation of loan applications nor directly accept so-called finders fees for the location of lending sources
SCORE volunteers, when advising clients about obtaining professional or other services or goods, shall identify, whenever feasible, several sources from which the client may select.

Personal Interests

To safeguard the integrity of the SCORE mission, it is vital to avoid any actual or apparent conflict of interest. To that end, SCORE volunteers or their families shall not:

Seek, in any way, business from SCORE clients except that a SCORE volunteer who is actively employed or in private practice may, when giving a workshop or seminar, leave business cards or their equivalent in a place where attendees have access to them. In the event an attendee wishes to engage the speaker for assistance or advice, the speaker must advise this prospective client in writing that this is not a SCORE relationship and that
SCORE is in no way involved, such writing shall be forwarded to the chapter chair and district director. The attendee must also state in writing that they have not been counseled as a SCORE client by the speaker, that this is not a SCORE relationship and that SCORE is in no way involved, such writing shall be forwarded to the chapter chair and district director.
Directly or indirectly become officers, directors or shareholders, or provide funding (by way of investing, loans or otherwise) for a for-profit business organization that is seeking counseling assistance from SCORE or has received it within the past three years.

Referral of SCORE Volunteers to Clients

Where a SCORE client requests that SCORE refer the client to an adviser who is privately employed or in private practice and a SCORE volunteer is also a person privately employed or in private practice, the SCORE chapter may include such counselor on a list of no fewer than three persons where none of the others on the list are SCORE counselors. The chapter or other SCORE volunteers may not recommend anyone on the list other than to indicate that all are deemed to be highly qualified. Nor may it be noted in any way that a SCORE counselor’s name is on the list. If a SCORE counselor is selected from the list provided, that counselor must provide notice, in writing, to the client that the services are provided independently of SCORE and SCORE is no longer involved. A copy of this notification must be given to the chapter chair and district director.
The SCORE volunteer named on the list may not be someone who has previously counseled the client requesting the referral.

For more imformation, please Contact Us for more information about joining New Haven SCORE.

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Nationwide 11,500 men and women donate their time and expertise to assist America's entrepreneurs.

Call our chapter office at (203) 865-7645 to request a volunteer application.