History of the Institute

In 1998, after two and a half years in development and generous support for the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations (Maryland Nonprofits), launched the Standards for Excellence® program.   Maryland Nonprofits has achieved national recognition for the Standards for Excellence® program and has distributed the Standards for Excellence® code and related materials nationwide. Since that time, other nonprofit capacity building organizations have approached Maryland Nonprofits to learn how they could use the Standards for Excllence® program to strengthen nonprofits in their own jurisdictions.   In an effort to address the demand for the program, Maryland Nonprofits sought support for a national replication effort. The replication effort received initial support from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and from the Surdna Foundation.   

In 2001, the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Atlantic Philanthropies joined the replication effort by awarding major two-year grants. These grants supported the launch of a pilot program to replicate the Standards for Excellence® in five state associations of nonprofits. Through this funding the state associations of nonprofits in Louisiana, Georgia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania became the first Standards for Excellence® replication partners. 

As interest in the Standards for Excellence® program rapidly developed, Maryland Nonprofits launched the Standards for Excellence® Institute to lead the replication process, nationwide. The success of Standards for Excellence replication partners is evidence that the Standards for Excellence® program model is an attractive one that also is able to be replicated in a variety of environments. This evidence is very encouraging and holds tremendous promise for the further adoption of the Standards for Excellence® program across the country through the Institute.

In 2006, the Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits, and the Community Development Partnership of West Virginia  (now the West Virginia Community Development Hub) became replication partners.  In 2007, the Institute welcomed its first national replication partner, the National Leadership Roundtable on Church Management, a partner which has customized the resources of the program for Catholic parishes, Catholic diocese, and Catholic nonprofits.  The Center for Nonprofit Excellence in Colorado Springs also joined the Institute as a replication and serves nonprofits in the Pikes Peak region at this time.  In 2008, the Institute welcomed The Arc of the United States and the Delaware Association of Nonprofit Agencies as new licensed partners.

For a list of current Standards for Excellence Institute replication partners, click here. 

For nonprofits, consultants, and students that wish to access the resources of the Standards for Excellence® program but are not served by one of our licensed replication partners, the Standards for Excellence Institute offers a membership program.  For more information about the membership program, click here.

The Standards for Excellence Institute® also works 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®. 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. For more information about the Standards for Excellence Institute Licensed Consultant program, click here.

Please click here with your questions concerning the Standards for Excellence® Institute, or call 410-727-1726.  

Home