SFX Certified
Press Release for SFX
For more press information, contact Shannon Drake, Leadership Greater Huntsville, sdrake@leadershiphsv.org.
Leadership Greater Huntsville Accredited by the Standards for Excellence Institute®
Earns Seal of Excellence
Leadership Greater Huntsville is a recipient of the Standards for Excellence Institute’s Seal of Excellence for successfully completing their rigorous accreditation program. Leadership Greater Huntsville voluntarily opened itself up to analysis by a “jury of its peers.” The peer review team examined Leadership Greater Huntsville for compliance with the Standards for Excellence®: An Ethics and Accountability Code for the Nonprofit Sector, in areas including: Mission, Strategy and Evaluation; Leadership: Board, Staff, and Volunteers; Legal Compliance and Ethics; Finance and Operations; Resource Development; and Public Awareness, Engagement, and Advocacy.
The Standards for Excellence Institute evaluates fundamental values such as honesty, integrity, fairness, respect, trust, responsibility, and accountability, all of which are inherently important in the nonprofit world. Leadership Greater Huntsville’s programs and services, management, fundraising and financial practices were subjected to in-depth examination prior to earning accreditation.
Shannon Drake, President/CEO of Leadership Greater Huntsville comments, “Leadership Greater Huntsville prides itself on excellence in leadership training. The Standards for Excellence exercise encouraged our organization to dig deep and make sure that our processes and procedures were up-to-date and aligned with the mission.”
“At Leadership Greater Huntsville, we had many policies and procedures in place that help guide the discipline required for a non-profit organization but they were created as the need arose. The Standards for Excellence quest and approval process enlightened our organization and provides us a solid structure for discipline in all of the important areas and results in us having a systematic approach that is repeatable and not dependent on the people, but the documented process approach. We are a better organization because we went through the Standards For Excellence Program process!”, says Charlie Blass, 2021-2022 Board Chair for Leadership Greater Huntsville.
The Standards for Excellence Institute is committed to raising the level of principled and responsible practices within the nonprofit sector. The Institute offers a model for organizations to implement in their operating plans so they can gain a deeper understanding of their effectiveness, improve their decision-making and minimize risks. Nonprofits that adhere to the principles and practices of strong nonprofit management and governance can become formally accredited under the Standards for Excellence® program.
A recent university study of 102 nonprofit organizations that have received the Standards for Excellence accreditation compared with peer organizations of similar size and industry examined the impact of becoming accredited. Significant findings found that the process is associated with an increase direct public support.
Researchers found that nonprofit organizations’ stakeholders will react positively to organizations earning the Standards for Excellence accreditation by allocating more resources to the nonprofit. The Standards for Excellence program provides a structured approach to improved operations and quality management, delivering years of benchmarking and best practices to organizations’ leadership, and a “Good Housekeeping”-type seal of approval to outside stakeholders, indicating that the organization is performing as promised after comprehensive evaluation by practitioners and industry experts.
About ABC Nonprofit
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About the Standards for Excellence Institute
The Standards for Excellence originated as a special initiative of Maryland Nonprofits in 1998 and has since expanded into a national program to help nonprofit organizations achieve the highest benchmarks of ethics and accountability in nonprofit governance, management and operations. The program has been formally adopted by ten state, regional and national affiliate organizations, and is supported by nearly 80 Licensed Consultants and over 100 volunteers with professional experience in nonprofit governance and administration. Since its inception, the program has accredited or recognized over 200 individual nonprofit organizations that completed a rigorous application and review process to demonstrate adherence to the Standards for Excellence: An Ethics and Accountability Code for the Nonprofit Sector. www.standardsforexcellenceinstitute.org.