The Standards for Excellence Institute offers a set of resources for strengthening nonprofits across the United States. The resources address nonprofit organizational governance, management, policies and procedures, and legal compliance at any stage of a nonprofit’s lifecycle.
The Standards for Excellence program consists of a list of nonprofit best practices, divided into these categories:
These best practices are documented in the Standards for Excellence: An Ethics and Accountability Code for the Nonprofit Sector (the Standards for Excellence code).
Nonprofits work to “meet the standards” or “implement the code” by evaluating their organization against each one of the best practices listed in the Standards for Excellence code. Some nonprofits go “above and beyond” by working towards Standards for Excellence Accreditation or Recognition.
The Standards for Excellence code, also known as the Standards for Excellence: An Ethics and Accountability Code for the Nonprofit Sector, is an exclusive set of best practices that provides a structured approach to building capacity, accountability, and sustainability in a nonprofit organization.
The 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 code is available free for all nonprofits.
Nonprofits can do a free online self-assessment to learn if their nonprofit meets the benchmarks in the Standards for Excellence code. Once a nonprofit leader completes the assessment questionnaire, a professional report is generated that helps the organization to identify possible areas of improvement. The report is provided at no charge to participating nonprofits.
Nonprofit leaders work to strengthen their organization and set it apart as one that goes above and beyond minimal legal requirements through the Standards accreditation process. Besides Standards for Excellence accreditation, there are two Standards for Excellence recognition levels. Working for accreditation and recognition benefits nonprofits by increasing revenue, strengthening their boards, and improving the effectiveness of their operations.
The Standards for Excellence Institute maintains a library of educational resources for nonprofits interested in implementing the Standards for Excellence code. Our resource packets include extensive information on implementing specific standards, best practices associated with each standard, model procedures and sample policies. The topics covered include: Strategic Partnerships, Board Responsibilities; Strategic Planning; Program Evaluation; Justice, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; Legal Compliance; Budget Preparation; Crisis and Disaster Management; and many more.
The resource packets are available free to members of the Standards for Excellence Institute and through partnering organizations and individuals licensed through the Institute.
A national network of Standards for Excellence Institute Licensed Consultants who have received extensive training to help nonprofit organizations implement the Standards for Excellence code are available to support nonprofits as they work to meet the Standards or to earn Standards for Excellence accreditation.