As a sector, we must
voluntarily seek to meet standards that are over and above those set by
government if we are to earn and keep public and donor confidence. We owe this
to our beneficiaries if we are to meet their needs.
Imagine Canada’s Standards Program is a Canada-wide set of 72 externally
established standards for charities and non-profits designed to demonstrate
their compliance in five fundamental areas: board governance; financial
accountability and transparency; fundraising; staff management; and volunteer
involvement.
London Health Sciences
Foundation is proud to be an early adopter of this national program, which is one of the first of its kind in the world. When Imagine
Canada announced on June 19, the first group to meet all 72
standards since the program’s initial pilot, we were one of only 45 charities nationwide (and one of just four hospital
foundations) to earn the right to display the Imagine Canada Trustmark.
The formal accreditation
process truly helped us become better. We were already doing most or all of the
things that were set as standards. However, formalizing those standards reinforced
our Foundation’s already positive and effective fundraising and reporting procedures,
ensuring that we continue to be accountable
to our donors in a transparent manner.
Like the Better Business Bureau Accredited Charity seal, which
we also proudly display, the Imagine Canada Trustmark is an easy way to
visually identify a trusted charity. The numerous standards, reviews and complaints
reporting procedures established by these organizations far outweigh the overhead
cost ratio that is so popular with less comprehensive charity evaluators who
use it as a single or main evaluation point.
Evaluations are
important, but they must be detailed, accurate - and most importantly - a true reflection
of the performance of a charitable organization.
We recommend that donors
take advantage of Imagine Canada’s Charity Focus reports as a source of information
when making their donation decisions. This service is endorsed by the Canada Revenue Agency’s Charities Directorate (the
government agency responsible for registering and monitoring charities). Finally,
the CRA itself maintains a public file on its website of the annual financial
reports filed by charities.
Donors strengthen our
communities and make the world a better place. Informed donors do that most
effectively.
Dan Ross
