Friends of the Domes is committed to transparency and ethical business practices. The following policies and documents are included below:

If you have any questions, please contact our Office Manager, Jenna Spangler.

Whistleblower Policy

Friends of the Domes Whistleblower Protection Policy
The Friends of the Domes, Inc. (the “Friends”) requires directors, officers and employees to observe high standards of business and personal ethics in the conduct of their duties and responsibilities. As employees and representatives of the Friends, we must practice honesty and integrity in fulfilling our responsibilities and comply with all applicable laws and regulations.

Reporting Responsibility
This Whistleblower Policy is intended to encourage and enable employees and others to raise serious concerns internally so that the Friends can address and correct inappropriate conduct and actions. It is the responsibility of all board directors, officers, employees and volunteers to report concerns about violations of the Friends code of ethics or suspected violations of law or regulations that govern the Friends operations.

No Retaliation
It is contrary to the values of the Friends for anyone to retaliate against any Director, officer, employee or volunteer who in good faith reports an ethics violation, or a suspected violation of law, such as a complaint of discrimination, or suspected fraud, or suspected violation of any regulation governing the operations of the Friends. An employee who retaliates against someone who has reported a violation in good faith is subject to discipline up to and including termination of employment.

Reporting Procedure
The Friends has an open-door policy and suggests that employees share their questions, concerns, suggestions or complaints with their supervisor. If you are not comfortable speaking with your supervisor or you are not satisfied with your supervisor’s response, you are encouraged to speak with the Executive Director or the Board of Directors’ Governance Chair, who has the responsibility to investigate all reported complaints or direct the complaint to the appropriate superior. Employees with concerns or complaints may also submit their concerns in writing directly to their supervisor or the Executive Director, or the Board’s Governance Chair.

Concerns or complaints involving the Governance Chair or Governance Committee may be directed to the Board’s President.

Compliance Officer
The Friends Board of Directors Governance Chair is responsible for ensuring that all complaints about unethical or illegal conduct are investigated and resolved. The Governance Committee Chair will advise the Executive Director and/or Board of Directors of all complaints and their resolution and will involve the Finance Chair on compliance activity related to accounting or alleged financial improprieties.

If any member of the Governance Committee is the subject of the complaint, the Board President shall appoint a special ad-hoc committee (herein the “special committee”) to investigate and advise the Executive Director and/or Board of Directors in place of the Governance Committee. This special committee may be comprised of one or more members of the Governance Committee, but may not be comprised of any party that is subject to the complaint under investigation.

Accounting and Auditing Matters
The Friends Board of Directors Governance Chair shall immediately notify the Finance Chair of any concerns or complaint regarding accounting practices, internal controls or auditing, and work with the Board’s Finance Chair until the matter is resolved.

Acting in Good Faith
Anyone filing a written complaint concerning a violation or suspected violation must be acting in good faith and have reasonable grounds for believing the information disclosed indicates a violation. Any allegations that prove not to be substantiated and which prove to have been made maliciously or knowingly to be false will be viewed as a serious disciplinary offense.

Confidentiality
Violations or suspected violations may be submitted on a confidential basis by the complainant. Reports of violations or suspected violations will be kept confidential to the extent possible, consistent with the need to conduct an adequate investigation.

Handling of Reported Violations
The Friends Board of Directors Governance Chair will notify the person who submitted a complaint and acknowledge receipt of the reported violation. All reports will be promptly investigated and appropriate corrective action will be taken if warranted by the investigation.

Annual Training and Communication Process
The Friends Board of Directors Governance Chair, or delegate, will ensure that all board directors, officers, employees or volunteers are trained and aware of this Whistleblower Policy by:

  • Distributing the policy to board directors annually and allowing time during a board meeting for questions, examples and discussion.
  • Distributing the policy to all staff annually and allowing time during a staff meeting for questions, example and discussion.
  • Including the policy in the new Director onboarding materials.
  • Including the policy in the new employee onboarding materials.
  • Including the policy in the volunteer training materials.
  • Including the policy in a reasonably prominent place on the Friends website.

Responsibility to Donors

The Friends of the Domes is committed to a relationship with its donors based on the highest ethical standard. This involves treating all transactions with donors in strict confidence. The Friends of the Domes has adopted the Donor Bill of Rights of the Association of Fundraising Professionals as official policy.

Privacy Commitment to Donors
The Friends of the Domes will not sell, share or trade our donors’ names or personal information with any other entity, nor send mailings to our donors on behalf of other organizations. This policy applies to all information received by the Friends, both online and offline, on any web-based platform as well as any electronic, written, or oral communications. To the extent any donations are processed through a third-party service provider, the donors’ information will only be used for purposes necessary to process the donation.

Privacy Policy

Last Updated 6/21/2022

The Friends of the Domes, “Friends”, places a high priority on protecting your privacy. This privacy policy was created in order to demonstrate the Friends of the Domes’ commitment to the privacy of our members, donors and website users. This policy explains what types of information is collected by the Friends of the Domes website, www.milwaukeedomes.org, and how this information is used.

What Personally Identifiable Information Is Collected
Friends of the Domes members and individuals who sign up to receive Friends of the Domes e-communications voluntarily provide us with contact information (such as name and email address). We may use this information for specific, limited purposes. You may always “opt out,” either now or at any time in the future, if you do not wish to receive our messages.

IP Addresses
The Friends of the Domes uses your IP address to help diagnose problems with our server, administer www.milwaukeedomes.org, personalize content and provide relevant information, and track statistical metrics.

Cookies
The Friends of the Domes website, www.milwaukeedomes.org, uses “cookie” messages to automatically help provide better services. They remind us who you are and your preferences for our website based on what you’ve done and told us before. The “cookie” is placed in your computer and is read when you come back to our website. Cookies let us take you to the information and features you’re particularly interested in. They also let us track your usage of www.milwaukeedomes.org, so we know which parts of our sites are most popular. You can reject cookies or cancel them by instructing your web browser accordingly.

How Your Information May Be Used
We use your personal information to provide you with personalized service; to send email alerts to you; to answer your requests; to process your membership; etc. You may choose to opt out at any time, which will cease all communications from us. We may also use your information to track visitors to our website. This enables us to determine which of our features are the most popular so we can better serve our users’ needs. It also lets us provide aggregate data about our traffic (not identifying you personally, but showing how many visitors used which features, for example) to outside parties.

Email Privacy
The Friends of the Domes does not provide, sell, or rent email addresses to anyone outside the organization.

External Links
The Friends of the Domes website, www.milwaukeedomes.org, includes links to external websites. These links do not fall under the www.milwaukeedomes.org domain, and the Friends of the Domes is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of external websites. Your use of any linked website is solely at your own risk.

Modifications
We may amend this privacy policy from time to time; please review it periodically. We maintain the option to modify this privacy at any time by electronic notice posted on our website. Your continued use of our website after the date that such notices are posted will be deemed to be your agreement to the changed terms.

Non-Discrimination Policy

Procedures Involving a Potential Violation of FOD’s Non-Discrimination Policy

Friends of the Domes does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability in its program or activities. The non-discrimination policy and contact information for the Civil Rights Coordinator are to be posted to the FOD’s website at all times.
Any person who believes that a FOD employee, volunteer, board member, or other person engaging in an official capacity with the organization, has acted in a way that is not in compliance with Code of Federal Regulations, 40 C.F.R. Parts 5 and 7, is eligible for a fair and confidential review.
To start the process, the complainant should submit the grievance in writing (digital or print is acceptable).
1) Name and details about the alleged violation including date, time, involved parties, observers.
2) Specific actions considered discriminatory, and the relevant sections of the Code of Federal Regulations, 40 C.F.R. Parts 5 and 7, allegedly violated.
2) Evidence that may exist including names and contact information of observers.
Send the written notification to FOD’s Civil Rights Coordinator:
Samantha Bronson, Operations Director, Friends of the Domes
Civil Rights Coordinator
524 S. Layton Blvd., Milwaukee, WI 53215
Email: Samantha.FOD@MilwaukeeDomes.org
Telephone: 414-257-5608
All grievances will be kept confidential and the complainant will be notified within 3 business days that the grievance was received. An investigation will be launched within 3 business days and a written response with findings and potential remedies will be provided no later than 20 business days following receipt of the grievance.
If the complainant disagrees with the results, an appeal can be submitted to the Executive Director of Friends of the Domes. If the grievance involves the Executive Director, the Board President should be notified at President@MilwaukeeDomes.org.
If the grievance involves the Civil Rights Coordinator, the notification should be sent to the Executive Director of FOD.
Christa Beall Diefenbach, Executive Director, Friends of the Domes
524 S. Layton Blvd., Milwaukee, WI 53215
Email: Christa.FOD@MilwaukeeDomes.org
Telephone: 414-257-5608

AT THE DOMES

Holiday Show: The Domes Holiday Parade, Nov 23 – Jan 5

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A Night in Bloom: February 22, 2025 

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A small, labeled jar candle sits on a wooden surface, partially concealed by lush, colorful foliage with green, yellow, and red speckled leaves. The candle's label features a minimalist design with text and simple graphics.

Handcrafted Domes-themed goods from local artists!

Shop our online store

Our Beloved Mitchell Park Domes Video

Watch here