The Standards for Excellence program is:
- a structured approach for nonprofits to use to build capacity, accountability, and sustainability in their organizations
- a list of nonprofit best practices, divided into these categories:
Mission, Strategy, and Evaluation
Leadership: Board, Staff, and Volunteers
Legal Compliance and Ethics
Finance and Operations
Resource Development
Public Awareness, Engagement, and Advocacy
These best practices are documented in a code of conduct for nonprofits called the Standards for Excellence: An Ethics and Accountability Code for the Nonprofit Sector (the Standards for Excellence code).

The Standards for Excellence code, introduced originally in 1998, was developed by the Standards for Excellence Institute. The Institute continuously reviews and makes updates to the code, including recently incorporating justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion concepts.
The Standards for Excellence Institute is:
- an initiative dedicated to promoting the highest standards of ethics and accountability in nonprofit governance, management, and operations.
- an initiative that provides individual nonprofits with an approach to use to achieve the highest standards in governance and management within their organization.
- a nation-wide membership organization.
- an operating division of Maryland Nonprofits that serves nonprofits throughout the nation.

Nonprofits across the United States use the Standards for Excellence program to build capacity, accountability, and sustainability in their organizations.

Nonprofits work to “meet the standards” by evaluating their organization against each one of the best practices listed in the Standards for Excellence code. They can do a self-assessment to determine if their nonprofit has areas where it is lacking. Standards for Excellence educational resource packets are an extensive library of detailed, comprehensive resources that help nonprofits implement each standard. Packets were prepared by conducting an exhaustive review of the literature on each topic, they contain best practice information, in an easy-to-use format, including practical documents like model procedures and sample policies.

Nonprofits can prove publicly their commitment to the Standards by becoming accredited (earn the “Seal of Excellence”) or recognized (as having achieved the “Standards basics” or “Standards basics enhanced”).

Being accredited by the Standards for Excellence Institute demonstrates that a nonprofit has met the rigorous requirements that are included in the standards. Being an accredited nonprofit sets the organization apart as a top performer in the nonprofit field and lets all its stakeholders (funders, community members, board, staff, volunteers) know that they can have confidence in the quality of its programs, its accountability and openness, and its commitment to best practices.

The three levels of recognition include:
- Standards Basics recognition (requires strong policies in place for good governance and legal compliance, and calls for a well-defined mission with impactful programs)

- Standards Basics Enhanced recognition (requires all the Basics requirements, plus the nonprofit must be inclusive of the community served, must hold strategic and effective board meetings, and must have programs that are attentive to strategic issues and trends in the community)

- Accreditation (Seal of Excellence) (requires all the Basics and Basics Enhanced requirements, plus the nonprofit must create long-range strategic and sustainability plans, build strong board performance, and outline steps to strengthen justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion. Accreditation requires meeting all the requirements in the Standards for Excellence code.)

Nonprofits of all sizes and service areas can find a level that fits their needs.

Accreditation and recognition require submitting a detailed application that will receive a peer review and also be evaluated by Standards of Excellence professionals with expertise in nonprofit management and accountability. There is an application fee and a licensing fee, which are based on a variety of factors including size of the nonprofit’s budget.

Going through the process has many benefits for the nonprofit.
The nonprofit will:
- Gain a deeper understanding of its effectiveness,
- Improve its decision-making,
- Maximize its board performance,
- Raise more money,
- Increase equity and inclusion,
- Earn public trust,
- Become a sustainable organization, and
- Minimize risks.

Also, working to achieve accreditation or recognition:
- sets the nonprofit apart as one that goes above and beyond minimal legal requirements,
- demonstrates that the organization is committing the needed resources to leadership, capacity, and infrastructure,
- lets donors and community members know that organizational assets are being stewarded wisely.

Note that the accreditation or recognition designation will automatically be noted in the nonprofit’s GuideStar profile.

The self-assessment is an online tool for nonprofit leaders who want to measure their organization’s adherence to the benchmarks in the Standards for Excellence code.

The Standards for Excellence code, also known as the Standards for Excellence: An Ethics and Accountability Code for the Nonprofit Sector, is a set of best practices that provides a structured approach to building capacity, accountability, and sustainability in a nonprofit organization.

Mission, Strategy, and Evaluation
Leadership: Board, Staff, and Volunteers
Legal Compliance and Ethics
Finance and Operations
Resource Development
Public Awareness, Engagement, and Advocacy

No. It is free.

A nonprofit will need 20 to 30 minutes at a minimum to complete the self-assessment.

Nonprofit leaders often find that they may need to check with colleagues in their organization to complete the self-assessment. As a result, the self-assessment sometimes cannot be completed in one sitting. Nonprofit leaders can save their work and return to the self-assessment at any time.

When a nonprofit completes the self- assessment, it will receive a report that documents how their organization currently measures up with respect to meeting all the benchmarks.

Many nonprofits share the report with their staff or board leadership and use it to define and prioritize action areas.
Nonprofits often use the report as a first step towards Standards for Excellence accreditation since it clearly lays out areas that need attention from the organization.

An organization's results will be shared with the Standards for Excellence Institute but will not be released unless it provides permission to do so. Results may be reported in the aggregate without identifying the organizations participating.