Standards Program Overview Mission and Goals 5 Content Areas; 3 Levels

1. Strengthening Public Confidence in Canada’s Charitable Sector: Imagine Canada’s New Standards Program

2. Topics Covered • Standards Program Overview • Mission and Goals • 5 Content Areas; 3 Levels • Public Launch and 2011-2012 Pilot • Accreditation Process • Support Provided by Social Prosperity Wood Buffalo

3. Mission & Goals Mission: To build excellence within Canada’s charities &nonprofits through common standards of practice and to strengthen confidence in the sector. Goals • Help Canadian charities and nonprofits improve their practices in five foundational areas: board governance, financial accountability, ethical fundraising, staff management, and volunteer involvement. • Increase the transparency of charities and nonprofits in these foundational areas. • Recognize organizations that meet the standards. • Strengthen public confidence in individual charitable and nonprofit organizations and the sector as a whole.

4. Five Content Areas 73 standards in 5 areas: • Board Governance (24) • Financial Accountability (13) • Ethical Fundraising (14) • Staff Management (13) • Volunteer Involvement (9)

5. Three Levels

6. Launch of Imagine Canada’s Standards Program • On May 8, 2012, Imagine Canada publicly launched the Standards Program with the announcement of 17 organizations accredited during the pilot process. • Launch included a media release and a full-page ad in the Globe and Mail. • Program is one of the first of its kind globally. • Designed to strengthen practices through capacity-building activities and public confidence through a peer-review-based accreditation process.

7. 2011-2012 Program Pilot: Outcomes • 28 organizations, including Imagine Canada, participated in the pilot. • To date: • 17 have been accredited • 6 are revising their applications based on the feedback provided by the peer review panel • 4did not submit their applications in time to be reviewed in this round (they may do so this fall without incurring an additional application fee) • The peer reviewers deemed Imagine Canada to be in compliance but we decided we could not accredit ourselves.

9. Program Pilot: Feedback • A highly skilled volunteer conducted a detailed, independent evaluation of the pilot. • Key feedback from pilot participants: • the process was demanding, but they felt pride and satisfaction in producing a comprehensive collection of policies, procedures, and practices that demonstrate their compliance with Program standards • some organizations found they were in better shape than they thought they were; others had more challenges than they anticipated

10. Benefits of Accreditation (1) • Demonstrates to stakeholders that your organization has met externally-established standards in key areas and is operating in a transparent and accountable manner. “Felt that we were a better organization for having gone through this process” • Increases your credibility in the eyes of funders, the public and other stakeholders. “Our organization now has governance policies second to none among our …colleagues” • Strengthens staff and board knowledge and morale. “Created pride in our organization”

11. Benefits of Accreditation (2) • Provides a framework to mitigate the risk of inappropriate or unethical behaviour. “At the end of the process, we filled gaps that the process identified” • Helps organizations identify areas of concern so they don’t become big problems. “Process showed our strengths and weaknesses” • Fosters a culture of openness. “Clarified…what the expectations of charities will be moving forward in this much more transparent sector”

12. Benefits of Accreditation (3) • Helps ensure board members and staff understand and follow legal and financial requirements. “Awareness of staff and board of policies in place” • Helps ensure board members understand and are meeting their fiduciary responsibilities. “Opened dialogue with the board” • Requires the development of policies and procedures that promote the sustainability of your organization. “We are up to date on the review of all of our policies and procedures and those items on our ‘Get around to it’ list have now been checked off”

13. Accreditation Process: Phase 1 Application Preparation & Submission (4-6 months) • June: Submit Participation Agreement and receive access to online Application. • June-Jul: Identify your point people. Develop your plan of action - determine what you have, what you need to develop, and what you need to find/refine. • Jul-Aug: Populate first draft of your online application with responses and accompanying materials. Access resources and samples from staff and other program participants. • Sept-Oct: Board approval of policies as needed; staff teleconferences for feedback on draft application. • Nov. 30: Deadline to submit final application and materials.

14. Time Involved in Phase 1 We asked pilot participants how many person days they spent preparing to be accredited, including time spent revising and/or creating policies and procedures, attending webinars and teleconferences, and completing the application itself. • 37% said they spent 10 – 30 person days • 47% said they spent 31 – 60 person days • 16% said they spent 61 – 90 person days

15. Accreditation Process: Phase 2 Application Review & Approval (3-6 months) • Dec-Jan: Staff reviews final applications for completeness and assigns them to Peer Reviewers. • Jan-Feb: Individual Peer Reviewers review the Applications assigned to them (each Application has 3 reviewers). • End of Feb: Peer Review Panel meets in person to make final decisions on accreditation. • March: Accreditation decisions - staff provides detailed feedback to applicants on any areas in which they are found to be non-compliant and works with them to achieve compliance.

16. Accreditation Process: Phase 3 Compliance & Renewal (5 Years) • Sign License Agreement and begin using Trustmark on website, social media sites, annual reports, fundraising materials etc.. • Submit annual Compliance Form. • Participate in audit/spot check if selected for one. • Participate in investigation of complaints if necessary. • In the final year of accreditation, begin preparing to renew your accreditation.

17. Branding and Marketing • Accredited organizations are given access to the Program trustmark by signing a licence agreement. • Success of the initiative depends on uptake in the sector and on public awareness of and trust in the Program. • Sector uptake: series in Charity Village, information on website, in e-newsletters, identification of participants on Charity Focus and CanadaHelps planned for near future. • Public awareness: Globe and Mail ad, media coverage, public listings of participants.

18. Fees *Use your average expenses over the last 3 years. Charities should use the amount on line 5100 of their Registered Charity Information Returns (T3010).

19. Timeline

20. Support provided by social prosperity wood buffalo for organizations aiming to Strengthen Practice through accreditation________________________________

21. For more Information Website: www.imaginecanada.ca/standards Email: lchambers@imaginecanada.ca Phone: 416-597-2293; 1-800-263-1178 x 228