Standards for Excellence
An Ethics and Accountability Code for the Nonprofit Sector
The Standards for Excellence® program is a structured approach for nonprofits to use to build capacity, accountability, and sustainability in their organizations.
Tennessee Nonprofit Network helps the nonprofit sector in Tennessee operate in accordance with the Standards for Excellence® code by providing educational resources, assistance, and support.
Tennessee’s nonprofit sector serves the public interest and plays an essential role in our society and economy. Hard at work strengthening communities, nonprofits enrich our lives in a variety of ways by creating a broad array of benefits to society in fields such as charitable, religious, scientific, economic, health, cultural, civil rights, environment, and education.
The Standards for Excellence® aims to raise the level of accountability, transparency, and effectiveness of all nonprofit organizations to foster excellence and inspire trust. The Standards for Excellence® code provides a framework and step-by-step guidelines to achieve a well-managed and responsibly governed organization. The code builds upon the legal foundations of nonprofit management, governance, and operations to embrace fundamental values such as honesty, integrity, fairness, respect, trust, compassion, responsibility, and transparency.
Tennessee Nonprofit Network encourages all nonprofit organizations in Tennessee to adopt the Guiding Principles of the Standards for Excellence® code. By implementing the performance benchmarks in the code, nonprofit organizations will meet the highest ethical standards for effective service in the public interest.
The Standards for Excellence®: An Ethics and Accountability Code for the Nonprofit Sector offers a roadmap of best practices across six critical categories. Each category provides clear, actionable guidelines to help nonprofits align their operations with sector-wide best practices.
Nonprofits are created to achieve a specific goal for the public. A nonprofit has a clear mission statement that describes its purpose. A nonprofit’s programs help it achieve that mission. The organization’s leaders focus their efforts on achieving the mission using a shared vision. These leaders try to make a positive impact in a fair, equitable, and ethical way, considering the needs of the community and those impacted by the organization’s work. The organization’s leaders make sure that the organization’s resources are used to achieve its stated purpose.
Nonprofits need good leadership to achieve their goals. Nonprofits often rely on their employees and volunteers to achieve their mission. Strong leadership is a team effort between the board and management (whether paid or volunteer). The organization decides the best leadership approach for its work. Understanding and figuring out these shared and complicated parts of leadership are important for the organization to succeed.
Board members are trusted to make sure the organization’s resources are used for its mission. Board members care about the mission and represent and understand the community they serve. The board decides the organization’s mission; creates a culture of fairness, equity, and inclusion; adopts policies and procedures for management; makes sure there are enough people and money to operate effectively; and evaluates how the organization uses its resources to achieve its mission and support the community.
Nonprofits have leaders who do the everyday work of the organization, ensure the organization is sustainable, and give information to the board. The organization’s human resource policies consider both paid workers and volunteers. The human resource policies are fair and clear, include helpful performance evaluations, and create a thriving and inclusive culture for everyone.
Nonprofits depend upon public support and confidence and must follow laws and regulations. Leaders make sure their organizations understand and follow the laws, including special types of laws (such as regulatory and fiduciary). Nonprofits also have a responsibility to do more than just follow the laws; they need to work in ethical and equitable ways. Acting legally and ethically helps nonprofits build trust and reduces misconduct. When laws are unjust, nonprofits can work to change them. Nonprofits have policies in place to make sure people taking actions are doing so in the nonprofit’s best interest and avoid actions that might cause a conflict of interest.
Nonprofits have sound financial and business systems and make sure their recordkeeping is correct. They use their financial and other resources to help achieve their mission, uphold their values, and serve the community. They also check their accounting systems regularly to make sure they are accurate and transparent and to protect the integrity of the reporting systems. They also engage in risk management to protect the nonprofit’s mission and operations.
Nonprofits need resources to do their important work in the community. Both the board and staff are responsible for securing these resources. Most nonprofits get financial support from many different sources. The way a nonprofit raises money is truthful, transparent, and responsible. The organization’s resource development policies support its mission, fit with its capabilities, and respect the people it serves, while also involving donors, prospective donors, and others in the community.
Nonprofits understand and represent the diverse needs of the people they serve by educating the public and advocating for public policies and by encouraging the board, staff, volunteers, and partners including other nonprofits and supporters, to be involved in the community’s public affairs. Being active in community affairs and elections can help an organization further its mission. Public policies are better when the interests of communities and the nonprofits that serve them are shared and considered. To do this, nonprofits communicate effectively to educate, inform, and involve the public.