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Standards for Excellence® Institute Newsletter Table of Contents
Tish Mogan, Standards for Excellence Officer at PANO confirmed "Catholic Charities of Greensburg (CCDG) had exemplary programs, policies, and practices already in place in most areas of the Standards for Excellence criteria. CCDG is to be commended for their faithfulness in ensuring that all areas of the Standards were in place. This is an exemplary Catholic Institution with which we were honored to work."
Most of us are delighted to learn that a volunteer, youth group or other community organization would like to fundraise on our behalf. Their willingness to put in the work without your involvement could save you time and money. If the group is particularly dedicated to your mission and is good at fundraising, that could be a reliable funding stream for years to come. This typically only becomes a problem with an organization cannot or does not control the people who are raising money on your behalf. Consider the embarrassment that could arise if someone soliciting on your behalf promises to designate the money to a program that no longer exists; or the potential bad feelings that could occur if a group mistakenly promises tax deductibility to a donor. Worst yet, the solicitor could use a controversial means to acquire the money or be affiliated with an organization that is in counter to your organization's mission or in opposition to your gift acceptance policy. The Standards for Excellence® provide clear guidelines on this topic: "Organizations should exercise control over any staff, volunteers, consultants, contractors, other organizations, or businesses who are known to be soliciting contributions on behalf of the organization." There are a variety of ways to exercise control over those soliciting contributions on your behalf: Orient volunteers who wish to fundraise on your behalf to the organization. Ask them to visit your organization and take a tour. This would give them a chance to ask questions. You can also use that time to explain to the policies and procedures regarding use of logo, slogans, etc. Develop a formal contract to use with businesses or consultants who fundraise on your behalf. A contract can go a long way to ensure that everyone is clear about the purpose of the fundraiser or solicitation, the obligations of the consultant or business vs. the organization, the start and end dates for the solicitation, fees, and conditions of cancellation. Designate an employee to work closely with the group. This employee could be minimally involved (i.e., limited to approving the content of solicitations and answering questions) or heavily involved (i.e., occupy a space on the group's event planning committee). Implement a process to review and approve which solicitations before they are made. Since staff are often in charge of grantwriting, prospecting, and organizing special events, oversight is key to ensure that solicitations are aligned with the organization's goals. Your question at this point is probably, "What should we do if we discover they've been soliciting on our behalf after the fundraiser is over and we've received the check?" You have a few options in this case. If your gift acceptance policy allows you to accept this unexpected gift, you might approach them about partnering in the future. This may be an opportunity to tap donors that you have yet to capture. If partnering is not practical, let them know about your fundraising procedures so that they can be followed in the future. And, of course, if your gift acceptance policy prohibits accepting the gift, you must politely decline and ask them to refrain from fundraising on your behalf in the future. The Standards for Excellence Institute has just released a revised Standards for Excellence® Educational Resource Packet entitled, Employment of Fundraising Personnel and Engagement of Fundraising Consultants. This packet includes a sample agreement for use when working with outside organizations to raise money on your organization's behalf. This and all Standards for Excellence® Educational Resource Packets are a free member benefit for all Standards for Excellence Institute members. Now Available: New Version of Disclose It: A Charitable Nonprofit's Guide to Public Disclosure Requirements The Standards for Excellence®: An Ethics and Accountability Code for the Nonprofit Sector states that all nonprofits "must be aware of and comply with all applicable federal, state, and local laws." Of course, disclosure laws are among the important laws with which all nonprofits should comply. Each year, we update Disclose It: A Charitable Nonprofit's Guide to Public Disclosure Requirements to keep you up-to-date on this important area in nonprofit management. Some of the topics covered in the publication include:
These are just a few of the topics covered in the latest Disclose It: A Charitable Nonprofit's Guide to Public Disclosure Requirements. We hope you find this publication helpful. This is a publication of the Standards for Excellence® Institute and available free of charge to members. It is available on the member’s only section of the Institute website. . Nobody's Perfect... But we sure like to try! If you are like many nonprofit executives, you often find yourself in the process of writing documents, reports, articles, or letters that will be released to some audience outside of your internal staff. Of course, you want this information to be as true, accurate, and error-free as practically possible. If there is any place where we seek PERFECTION from ourselves and from our employees, it is in our written communications to the public. In fact, the Standards for Excellence: An Ethics and Accountability Code for the Nonprofit Sector® states, " Nonprofits should assure that any educational information provided to the media or distributed to the public is factually accurate and provides sufficient contextual information to be understood." The Standards for Excellence Institute® has just released a revised Standards for Excellence® Educational Resource Packet entitled, Nonprofits Efforts to Educate the Public. This packet includes a checklist for any nonprofit to use when completing a final proof read on documents that it is releasing to the public. This packet also includes a new copyright policy and a new logo use policy. For a copy of the Standards for Excellence® Educational Resource Packet on Nonprofits Efforts to Educate the Public, please visit the Member's Only section of the Standards for Excellence Institute® website, or call 877-277-4177 ext 13. This and all Standards for Excellence® Educational Resource Packets are a free member benefit for all members of the Standards for Excellence Institute®.
The Standards for Excellence Institute® continues to build a national network of qualified consultants licensed to provide training, consulting, and support on the Standards for Excellence: An Ethics and Accountability Code for the Nonprofit Sector®. The Licensed Consultant Training is an exclusive, professional development initiative that gives independent consultants the knowledge, skills, and tools necessary to work with nonprofit organizations across the country interested in learning about, conducting self assessments, implementing change, and becoming certified in the Standards for Excellence® Program. Complete the application for the 2008 Licensed Consultant Training no later than July 15, 2008. This year's training will take place September 15-17 in Baltimore, Maryland. To learn more about our Licensed Consult program and our upcoming licensing seminar in September, click here>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Celebrating 10 Years of Excellence It's been 10 years since the first iteration of the Standards for Excellence®: An Ethics and Accountability Code for the Nonprofit Sector was released in Maryland by the Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations. Ten years and nearly 200 certified organizations later, we still understand that a word such as "excellent" can easily become jargon unless we are deliberate in articulating what it really means for each of us. It requires all of us to constantly consider our notions of what it means to strive above and beyond just "good." What is it that makes our organizations and our community of nonprofits shine in how we carry out our missions and how the public perceives us. This year Maryland Nonprofits poses this question as the theme of its 16th Annual conference, "Excellence in Doing Good." We encourage you to think about how the Standards for Excellence® shape your thinking and impact your organization as you consider how to be "Excellence in Doing Good" and share with us and your colleagues. If you are interested in participating in Maryland Nonprofits Conference as an attendee or presenter, find out more here>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On the Road with Standards for Excellence® 5/5/08 - Peter V. Berns, CEO of the Standards for Excellence® Institute participated on a panel at the Council on Foundations conference. The panel focused on sharing results from the recent report, Drowning in Paperwork, Distracted from Purpose, a report by the group, Project Streamline. Project Streamline is a collaborative initiative of the Grant Managers Network and produced in partnership with the Association of Fundraising Professionals, the Association of Small Foundations, the Council on Foundations, the Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers, the Foundation Center, Grantmakers for Effective Organizations and the National Council of Nonprofit Associations. Peter has served as a member of the Project Streamline initiative (representing NCNA) since its inception. If you would like more information on how you can engage the Standards for Excellence® Institute to facilitate Standards for Excellence® educational programming in your area, contact Justin Pollock at jpollock@standardsforexcellenceinstitute.org or 301-565-0505 ext. 30. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2008 Standards for Excellence® Certification Application Deadlines Is earning the Seal of Excellence one of your goals for 2008? Mark the 2008 Standards for Excellence® certification application deadlines on your calendar today. July 25, 2008 October 31, 2008
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