Developed in the spirit of accountability, transparency and continuous self-improvement, the National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations are evidence that as community foundations, we seek excellence for our communities and our donors.

Hundreds of community foundations have been confirmed in compliance and are displaying the official National Standards Seal that denotes the achievement. Intended both as a blueprint for internal organizational development and as a tangible set of benchmarks for external assessment of performance, the 41 National Standards address six key areas of community foundation operations:

• Mission, structure and governance, including National Standards defining board accountability, compensation, independence, fiduciary responsibility and representation of the community.
• Resource development, including parameters for administration of funds, disclosures to donors and commitment to building long term resources for varied community issues and causes.
• Stewardship and accountability, covering investment and management of funds, transparent record-keeping, use of funds for their intended purpose, annual audits, and public availability of financial information, including National Standards related to due diligence and community responsiveness.
• Grantmaking and community leadership, including National Standards related to broad and open grantmaking programs, due diligence, and responsiveness to changing community needs.
• Donor relations, encompassing guidelines for informing, educating and involving donors in responding to community needs.
• Communications, including openness to public scrutiny and frequent communications about activities and finances.

 

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• About National Standards

  They guide sound policies and accountable
  practices. They build capacity to carry
  out our missions. They make
  community foundations distinctive.
  

  

  Learn more about National Standards