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As we begin to accept applications for this year’s Standards for Excellence Licensed Consultant Class of 2014, I am excited to hear more and more about how individuals who become Licensed Consultants are engaged in the program.

 

This blog provides a bit of a “catalogue” of different ways that Standards for Excellence Licensed Consultants use their Standards for Excellence designation to work with clients across the country.

 

Current Licensed Consultants use their Standards for Excellence designation in many ways, including, just to name a few:

 

• Offering Standards for Excellence training programs for individual nonprofits, groups of nonprofits, colleges/universities, and for replication partners

 

• Using materials frequently for consulting engagements involving:
• nonprofit boards,
• fundraising,
• capacity building
• nonprofit start ups
• Strategic planning work (especially uses the board and volunteer management materials)

 

• Utilizing Standards for Excellence self-assessment and Organizational Assessment and Planning Tool, especially to help uncover what individual boards need

 

• Providing training for grantees of the specific foundations and utilize Standards for Excellence resources in follow up engagements

 

• Serving as a lead consultant for a cohort of organizations all working toward implementing the Standards for Excellence together

 

• Aligning board training programs with the Standards for Excellence program

 

• Using the materials in fee based programming with grantmakers, healthcare, education, arts organizations and more

 

• Integrating whole consulting practice around Standards for Excellence

 

• Helping groups apply to become recognized under the Standards for Excellence tiered recognition program and full certification program

 

• Helping groups apply to become licensed Standards for Excellence replication partners

 

• Using the materials as the basis for presentations at national conferences/conventions

 

To learn more about the Standards for Excellence Licensed Consultant program, click here.

http://standardsforexcellenceinstitute.org/dnn/PartnersInExcellence/LicensedConsultants.aspx

 

To apply to become a member of the Licensed Consultant Class of 2014, click here: http://standardsforexcellenceinstitute.org/dnn/PartnersInExcellence/LCTApplicationRequest.aspx

Volunteering as a Standards for Excellence peer reviewer is a truly special type of volunteer experience. Unlike more traditional volunteer roles, peer reviewers are trained individuals responsible for evaluating an organization’s application for compliance with the Standards for Excellence: An Ethics and Accountability Code for the Nonprofit Sector®. Using a peer review process ensures that individuals with diverse opinions and expertise in the nonprofit sector review application packages and that the outcomes will be fair and unbiased.

This volunteer opportunity offers many benefits:
– Contribute to strengthening ethics and accountability in the nonprofit sector
– Network with other nonprofit management professionals
– Access professional development for your analytical and assessment skills
– Receive complimentary registration to Standards for Excellence-related training programs

This post’s purpose is to highlight one of our most experienced peer reviewers and hear his thoughts and opinions on why peer reviewing can be such a rewarding experience.

Roderick Clark has over 45 years experience working in the nonprofit sector. Working at organizations like the American Cancer Society, Arts Organizations and Catholic Charities allowed Roderick to develop an understanding of what makes a successful nonprofit organization.

What originally motivated you to become a peer reviewer for the Standards of Excellence program?

Selfish reasons really. I wanted to improve my knowledge of good nonprofit organizational practices. It also helped me gain ideas on how I could incorporate new practices in my organization that organizations already had success with. Basically, I saw it as a “win-win” situation where I could improve myself and help improve another organization.

Why do you think the Standards for Excellence program is important to nonprofits?

While all organizations claim they are acting efficiently and appropriately when they compete for resources and funding. It’s important for the funders to selecting organizations who are acting on that claim. Funders want to donate to an organization where more of their money is going towards fulfilling the organization’s mission and not to an organization where the majority of the money goes to outrageous salaries and activities for the CEO and other leadership executives. The Standards for Excellence Seal provides the funder with the information to know which organization will use their money the right way.

How have you been able to apply some of these benefits to your own personal career development?

Peer reviewing has given me a lot of different ideas on how to improve my organizations. Whether that is creating a successful website, what constitutes as proper board relations, and how to be more transparent to the public. I have been able to apply what I have gained from Peer Reviewing to projects that I am working on currently.

Any advice to people who are on the fence about becoming a Standard for Excellence Peer Reviewer

Give it a shot. Try it. It will improve you as a professional and improve another organization.

Volunteers are encouraged to promote their peer review experience on their resumes and professional networks as a compliment to their professional experience in the nonprofit sector. If you are interested in this opportunity, please complete the online application by November 29, 2013. If you have any questions, please contact Susan Larsen at 443-438-2323.

As one of this summer’s Standards for Excellence interns, I’ve been learning quite a bit about nonprofit management and governance. I have been continually impressed by the Standards for Excellence and the more I get to know them, the more I find myself thinking, “Of course!”  You see, after interning for a couple other nonprofits, I have seen some of the trends and challenges within the sector, and I came to Maryland Nonprofits armed with a zillion questions. I’ve realized that the Standards for Excellence program may be the source of some of the answers to my questions…

How do we address issues of accountability, effectiveness and sustainability in the face of the recent explosion of nonprofits over the past few decades? It is increasingly challenging to keep track of the multitude of organizations popping up, and although the trend towards philanthropy is inspiring, it seems as though few organizations are collaborating, instead opting to compete for funds with other potentially similar organizations. Further still, some nonprofits are poorly run or simply dishonest. This problem was highlighted earlier this summer in an article from the Bradenton Herald entitled “A Strong Case for Vetting Charities before Donating.” The story featured is one we’ve heard before: a seemingly well-intended organization raises millions of dollars from generous donors before investigations uncover fraud. To avoid potential hazards, the article essentially urges donors to do their homework before writing a check.

So, as responsible consumers and donors, how do we find out whether our dollar supports honest and effective nonprofit organizations? It is apparent that we need to ensure the causes and organizations we support are efficient and achieving results.

One way we can we make sure our dollars make a meaningful difference is smarter giving.

There has been a shift in thinking recently regarding charitable spending, as evidenced by the recent letter from the President & CEOs of Charity Navigator, BBB Wise Giving Alliance and Guidestar, some of the leading sources of information about the nonprofit sector. In an attempt to dispel the so-called ‘overhead myth’, these leaders begin the letter as follows:

To the Donors of America: We write to correct a misconception about what matters when deciding which charity to support. The percent of charity expenses that go to administrative and fundraising costs—commonly referred to as “overhead”—is a poor measure of a charity’s performance. We ask you to pay attention to other factors of nonprofit performance: transparency, governance, leadership, and results.

The letter has received mixed feedback, but much of the nonprofit sector has reacted positively. According to the author of a Nonprofit Quarterly article entitled ‘Using Outcomes to Measure Nonprofit Success’ the letter is correct in saying that “the people and communities served by charities don’t need low overhead, they need high performance.” Some have been hesitant to drop overhead ratio as a metric altogether, suggesting that other evaluation methods may not be reliable. It is important to note that evaluating and measuring the success of nonprofits is a highly nuanced process, as Sara Schilling recently wrote in an article entitled ‘Doing the Math: Measuring Charitable Services is Not Always Straightforward’ featured in the Tri-City Herald.

In an excellent follow-up commentary the editors of Nonprofit Quarterly further explain why overhead cost is not always the best metric for vetting a non-profit, and further emphasize the importance of transparency, effectiveness and management. These measurements echo the Standards for Excellence program, an initiative designed to strengthen nonprofits by building capacity, accountability and sustainability.

Here at the Standards for Excellence Institute, we applaud leaders at BBB Wise Giving, GuideStar, and Charity Navigator for their letter and call to action. As Standards for Excellence Institute Program Director Amy Coates Madsen points out, “we, at the Standards for Excellence Institute, have been have been advocating this point that overhead is one small piece in the long list of considerations that individuals should consider when deciding which nonprofits to fund since the advent of our program fifteen years ago.”

The Standards for Excellence Institute has since become nationally recognized for strengthening nonprofits and holding them to a high level of accountability. In fact, the National Council of Nonprofits recently highlighted the Standards for Excellence in their newsletter as a program that truly understands and emphasizes accountability. Program Director Amy Coates Madsen further explains how the Standards for Excellence program calls for higher standards of accountability and transparency:

In our program, rather than provide a suggested threshold for what constitutes too little or too much overhead, we have always stated that each nonprofit board of directors should annually review the percentages spent on program, administration and fundraising. The Standards for Excellence: An Ethics and Accountability Code for the Nonprofit Sector also outlines a ratio for nonprofits to strive for regarding how efficient their fundraising activities should be. We also encourage donors to focus on “factors of nonprofit performance: transparency, governance, leadership, and results.” What we provide is the education and resources to help nonprofits demonstrate those qualities. The Standards for Excellence initiative focuses on encouraging nonprofits to embrace and carry out best practices in their leadership, management, governance, evaluation, transparency, financial, fundraising efforts. The effort outlines a set of standards nonprofits can and should follow, offers a comprehensive educational program, and provides a comprehensive tiered accreditation program as well. The Standards for Excellence program, which began as an initiative of Maryland Nonprofits, is now offered by nine licensed partners and promulgated by a cadre of licensed consultants across the country.

The Standards for Excellence Institute improves organizations by guiding them through a rigorous accreditation process to earn the Seal of Excellence, which can then act as a tool for donors to ensure that the organization they support will use their funds wisely.

So, in order to ensure that organizations are good stewards of the public’s trust and resources, it appears to be necessary to hold organizations to standards beyond overhead ratio. Looks like the Standards for Excellence Institute was ahead of the game on this one when the Standards were first published in 1998!

Click here for more information about the Standards for Excellence code.

 

Kate Nelson is a recent graduate from Dickinson College with a degree in International Studies and has held internships with several nonprofits before joining Maryland Nonprofits. As an intern for the Standards for Excellence Institute for the summer of 2013, Kate is learning more about nonprofit management and governance in hopes of starting a career path of utilizing innovative approaches to strengthening nonprofits and solving social issues.

 

 

 

“We love our Form 990!” Would any nonprofit organization ever make that statement? Loving it might be a lot to ask. We at least need to get to the point where we can say, “Our Form 990 represents our nonprofit very well and we are proud of its contents.”

Why such a “to do” about Form 990s? Taking a step back to the “pre-GuideStar era (founded in 1994),” most folks didn’t even know what a Form 990 was. As GuideStar grew to be more of household name among nonprofit organizations, the treasure trove of data made available to the public spurned a whole new industry, “charity watchdogs.” This phenomenon brought a much greater focus on the Form 990. Unfortunately, the nonprofit sector was not catching up as fast in assuring the accuracy of the information in the Form 990. And what we have seen, we still haven’t caught up.

In PA, the Pennsylvania Association of Nonprofit Organizations (PANO) works with thousands of nonprofit administrators and board members to promote legal and best practices for nonprofits. Our Form 990 trainings point out the “public relations sensitive” areas and assist organizations in analyzing and reviewing the contents. We stress that the auditor is not in a position to know everything that the organization thinks is important to report. It is the organization’s responsibility to tell the auditors what needs to be reported.

Providing trainings and working one-on-one with organizations is yielding results. We see great improvements in the Form 990s for organizations going through their Standards for Excellence®recertification process. Yet for the thousands of nonprofits the reporting is not getting any better.

Misreporting the fundraising expenses is the most serious error. In addition to the error statistics cited in “The Overhead Myth,” Scripps Howard News Service 2012 study showed that 41% of US charities raising over $1 million show “$0” fundraising expenses. PANO frequently sees these errors even in organizations with excellent staff and board leadership. What are we missing here? Education!

To address this, PANO has partnered with at least 10 CPA firms throughout PA to provide training with nonprofits on what constitutes an administrative, program and fundraising cost.

We see areas in which nonprofits either miss an opportunity to tell a good story or they have information that tells a poor story. E.g., Part III, line 4 clearly states, “Describe the program service accomplishments.”  In many cases we see a program description and, at times even less, with something like “food pantry” as the only words listed. We encourage organizations to use this to tell the public their outputs, outcomes, impact, etc.

Part VI contains the list of board members and the hours per week that they work. Many times, we see “0” straight down the page. Do we really want to tell the public that our board does absolutely nothing? Almost as bad is when we see 1’s or 2’s all the way down the page. As a savvy donor, I think it is unlikely that every board member gives the exact same amount of time every week. This leads me, the savvy donor to ask “Did the administrators and board members do their job in reviewing the form?”

Then there are those special events in Part VIII where it seems that no portion of the revenues collected would be considered charitable contributions. When the ticket price for an event is $100, one would think that some portion of that was a charitable contribution (amount above the fair market value of goods received). Granted it isn’t the everyday donor that would notice that nothing was reported on line 1-c (fundraising events). Still the charity should be the one who cares about reporting this correctly.

To address these and the other “hot spots,” PANO decided to create a user-friendly tool that assists nonprofits in looking at the “public relations sensitive” lines of their Form 990. Thanks to the PANO Form 990 task force consisting of PANO staff, six CPA firms and two attorneys, we now have a checklist that will promote Form 990s that tell a better and truer story. Download the Form 990 Public Relations Checklist. We welcome all to make use of this and be able to say, “Our Form 990 represents our nonprofit very well and we are proud of its contents.”

By Tish Mogan, Standards for Excellence Officer, Pennsylvania Association of Nonprofit Organizations 

“We love our Form 990!” Would any nonprofit organization ever make that statement? Loving it might be a lot to ask. We at least need to get to the point where we can say, “Our Form 990 represents our nonprofit very well and we are proud of its contents.”

Why such a “to do” about Form 990s? Taking a step back to the “pre-GuideStar era (founded in 1994),” most folks didn’t even know what a Form 990 was. As GuideStar grew to be more of household name among nonprofit organizations, the treasure trove of data made available to the public spurned a whole new industry, “charity watchdogs.” This phenomenon brought a much greater focus on the Form 990. Unfortunately, the nonprofit sector was not catching up as fast in assuring the accuracy of the information in the Form 990. And what we have seen, we still haven’t caught up.

In PA, the Pennsylvania Association of Nonprofit Organizations (PANO) works with thousands of nonprofit administrators and board members to promote legal and best practices for nonprofits. Our Form 990 trainings point out the “public relations sensitive” areas and assist organizations in analyzing and reviewing the contents. We stress that the auditor is not in a position to know everything that the organization thinks is important to report. It is the organization’s responsibility to tell the auditors what needs to be reported.

Providing trainings and working one-on-one with organizations is yielding results. We see great improvements in the Form 990s for organizations going through their Standards for Excellence®recertification process. Yet for the thousands of nonprofits the reporting is not getting any better.

Misreporting the fundraising expenses is the most serious error. In addition to the error statistics cited in “The Overhead Myth,” Scripps Howard News Service 2012 study showed that 41% of US charities raising over $1 million show “$0” fundraising expenses. PANO frequently sees these errors even in organizations with excellent staff and board leadership. What are we missing here? Education!

To address this, PANO has partnered with at least 10 CPA firms throughout PA to provide training with nonprofits on what constitutes an administrative, program and fundraising cost.

We see areas in which nonprofits either miss an opportunity to tell a good story or they have information that tells a poor story. E.g., Part III, line 4 clearly states, “Describe the program service accomplishments.”  In many cases we see a program description and, at times even less, with something like “food pantry” as the only words listed. We encourage organizations to use this to tell the public their outputs, outcomes, impact, etc.

Part VI contains the list of board members and the hours per week that they work. Many times, we see “0” straight down the page. Do we really want to tell the public that our board does absolutely nothing? Almost as bad is when we see 1’s or 2’s all the way down the page. As a savvy donor, I think it is unlikely that every board member gives the exact same amount of time every week. This leads me, the savvy donor to ask “Did the administrators and board members do their job in reviewing the form?”

Then there are those special events in Part VIII where it seems that no portion of the revenues collected would be considered charitable contributions. When the ticket price for an event is $100, one would think that some portion of that was a charitable contribution (amount above the fair market value of goods received). Granted it isn’t the everyday donor that would notice that nothing was reported on line 1-c (fundraising events). Still the charity should be the one who cares about reporting this correctly.

To address these and the other “hot spots,” PANO decided to create a user-friendly tool that assists nonprofits in looking at the “public relations sensitive” lines of their Form 990. Thanks to the PANO Form 990 task force consisting of PANO staff, six CPA firms and two attorneys, we now have a checklist that will promote Form 990s that tell a better and truer story. Download the Form 990 Public Relations Checklist. We welcome all to make use of this and be able to say, “Our Form 990 represents our nonprofit very well and we are proud of its contents.”

This  blog post was first published at GuideStar.org.

I am so grateful to have the opportunity to work in the nonprofit sector.  I am even more thankful to have this chance to work with so many people from different fields and with diverse passions working as hard as they can to fight the toughest problems.  With the Standards for Excellence Institute, we work with all different types of organizations, addressing all different types of ills and problems in our communities and world.

I spent most of this spring moving quickly from one training or speaking engagement to the next—it has been a busy few months with very little time at my desk.  One of ways I like to start such a talk is to cite one of my very favorite quotes, “You can’t wring your hands and roll up your sleeves at the same time,” from former US Congresswoman Pat Schroeder of Colorado.  I just love the sentiment that there is a real difference between the people who see the problems and fret about them versus the people who see problems and envision a solution and are willing to jump right in to solve the problems or address the situation in some (hopefully positive!) way. Perhaps you, like me, have little patience for those in the “wring your hands” camp! 

Nonprofit leaders just have to exhibit this quality for rolling up their sleeves and getting the work done.  The people who lead our nonprofits work tirelessly help to feed the hungry, fight to protect the environment and animals, bring peaceful solutions to our world, and bring arts to our lives…..We know that nonprofits leaders are fiercely committed to their missions and the people and communities they serve.  But, what makes an organization able to handle the challenges that face them at every turn?  Having a well run, responsibly governed organization that has taken the time to build a strong infrastructure is one important precursor to being able to handle the challenges of the times.

Our Standards for Excellence: An Ethics and Accountability Code for the Nonprofit Sector strives to help nonprofit leaders with issues of nonprofit management and governance so that they do not have to re-invent the wheel with regard to nonprofit infrastructure issues.  For years, we’ve been providing resources to nonprofits so that they can live by best practices while they are addressing the toughest of problems. 

The Standards for Excellence Institute is now engaged in an important project to ensure that the program and all of its resources stays in step with the times so that we can continue to provide the best possible resources to help build the capacity of nonprofits to effectively and efficiently meet the needs of their communities.  We have recruited a National Taskforce of over 30 thought leaders in the nonprofit sector. Through our Taskforce’s tireless efforts, we have completed an environmental scan, reviewed all programmatic aspects of the Standards for Excellence offerings, and are now in the midst of a careful review of the content addressed in the Standards for Excellence code.  We have collected ideas and input from Standards for Excellence stakeholders along the way and through a survey that we carried out last summer.  If you are interested in offering additional input as to how the Standards for Excellence: An Ethics and Accountability Code for the Nonprofit Sector can be an even stronger resource for nonprofits, I would encourage you to forward your suggestions to me this month by emailing me at acmadsen@standardsforexcellenceinstitute.org. Thanks for rolling up your sleeves and getting involved!

 Recent news about the bankruptcy filing at Baltimore Behavioral Health Center is a startling and disturbing example of what can go wrong when nonprofits don’t do all that they can to keep their work ethical, accountable, and above board.

The story reads like a “how to get your name in the paper” manual: allegations like blatant instances of conflicts of interest, related individuals that were both board members and staff members, hiring practices that did not screen for individuals on federal no-hire listings, compensation to nonprofit board members, an organization that was misappropriating staff retirement funds, and more.

Unfortunately, Baltimore Behavioral Health, located just a few miles from the office of one of the leading nonprofit ethics initiatives, the Standards for Excellence Institute at Maryland Nonprofits, could have avoided its missteps, and bankruptcy, if it had employed best practices for nonprofit governance as promoted by the Standards.  The Institute encourages best practices in nonprofit governance and management through the Standards for Excellence: An Ethics and Accountability Code for the Nonprofit Sector. Assistance for nonprofit organizations and their leaders includes training classes, written instructions on how to live by best practices, as well as model policies that can be incorporated into nonprofits of any type or size.  Organizations that implement all fifty-five of the Standards described as part of the program can earn a Seal of Excellence showing donors and the public at large that their trust is well warranted.

Baltimore Behavioral Health Center could have benefited from the following Standards:

• Avoidance of Conflicts of Interest:  “Nonprofit board and staff members should act in the best interest of the organization, rather than in furtherance of personal interests or the interests of third parties. A nonprofit should have policies in place, and should routinely and systematically implement those policies, to prevent actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest.”
• Not compensating board members:  “Board members should serve without compensation for their service as board members. Board members may be only reimbursed for expenses directly related to carrying out their board service.”
• Unrelated board members: “The board should have no fewer than five (5) unrelated directors. Seven (7) or more directors are preferable.”
• Independent Audit:  “For nonprofits with annual revenue in excess of $500,000, the financial reports should be subject to audit by a Certified Public Accountant.”

Additionally, certified organizations are required to have a confidential means for staff, board members and volunteers to report suspected improprieties.  Grievance procedures are also promoted as a “must-have” for all nonprofit organizations.

Certainly, from all accounts, it appears that this organization is on the road to restructuring and cleaning up with new managers in place and related parties no longer in important leadership positions. It is our hope that all nonprofits take steps to implement best practices which can help them avoid situations like these. Even more, it is important to build the capacity of an organization to deliberately and confidently achieve its mission for those it serves.

With super storms crashing through the region, hurricane season just behind us, and winter looming ahead, it occurred to me how much productivity an organization could gain if their staff worked from home. What if employees were already telecommuting when a physical office closed due to snow or power outage? What if the groundwork was laid so that, in case of emergency, an employee could telecommute from any location? If this were the case, work could continue despite issues that may be location-specific.

How can an organization legally, and with an eye toward best practices, implement a work-from-home policy? The Standards for Excellence program has an answer. From A Charitable Nonprofit’s Guide to Telecommuting, which was rolled out in September 2012:

According to the Telework Research Network (TRN), an independent research and advisory firm specializing in teleworking, almost 65% of nonprofit organizations in the United States offer a telecommute arrangement for at least one day per week and about 45% offer full-time telecommute opportunities.… A study conducted by the TRN illustrates that between 2005 and 2009, the population of telecommuters who work at home grew more than 70% in the nonprofit sector alone.

There are four dimensions to [the] definition [of telecommuting]:

• Work location—any location outside of the central workplace used for working;
• Usage of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)—the use of technical assistance for telecommuting;
• Time Distribution—the number of working hours or days spent at the central workplaces and/or at the telecommute locations; and
• Contractual Relationship between employer and employee—the employment status of the employee (e.g., contractual, part-time, or full-time). Some employees are paid on a contractual basis (i.e., compensated based on the assignment or project rather than on an hourly wage or salary).

The Guide also addresses telecommuting benefits, concerns, and drawbacks, potential criteria for eligibility, health and safety requirements, and legal implications including laws, tax considerations, and employee overtime. As exhibits to the Guide, a sample policy, contract, worksheets, and a home office checklist are provided.

Whether it’s a time or money saver (or both!), a productivity aid during office closures, or an employee benefit, telecommuting is something many nonprofits should at least consider.