Become Accredited | Standards
Benefits of Accreditation
Accreditation strengthens governance structures, policies, and oversight mechanisms, ensuring responsible leadership and decision-making.
Accreditation attracts funders, volunteers, and talent interested in transparent and accountable organizations, expanding opportunities for impactful initiatives.
Accreditation elevates an organization's standing, setting an example for industry best practices, and inspiring positive change within the nonprofit sector.
Accreditation promotes comprehensive risk assessment and mitigation strategies, safeguarding the organization's reputation, assets, and sustainability.
Accreditation brings together staff, volunteers, and board members in a shared effort to create a more transparent, accountable, and effective organization.
Accreditation fosters ongoing learning and adaptation, empowering nonprofits to evolve and remain relevant to meet the shifting needs of their communities.
Donations may begin as dollars, but they grow into life-saving support for children all around the world. Having the Imagine Canada Standards Trustmark allows our board, volunteers, staff and donors to feel confident that we will have the greatest impact possible.
– David Spedding, former Chief Operations Officer, UNICEF Canada
How To Become Accredited
Standards Community Resources
To help your organization on its accreditation journey, these are some of the resources you will have access to when joining the Standards Community:
Access sample policies and how-to guides, making it easy to ensure good governance and adherence to all standards.
Access peer advisors from accredited organizations for guidance as you start your journey and prepare your application.
Receive ongoing support from the Imagine Canada team, beginning with an initial onboarding call for your leadership team.
Access and fill in your online application, collaborating with your team to progress toward accreditation.
Fees
Pricing is determined by your organization's gross annual revenues as a 3 year-average.
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$53Standards Community FeeMonthly fee to access your accreditation application and support. No longer payable once an application has been submitted.$500Application Processing FeeA one-time fee payable when your application is submitted for peer review.$500Annual License FeePayable upon accreditation and on your anniversary date each year thereafter.
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$79Standards Community FeeMonthly fee to access your accreditation application and support. No longer payable once an application has been submitted.$1,000Application Processing FeeA one-time fee payable when your application is submitted for peer review.$1,000Annual License FeePayable upon accreditation and on your anniversary date each year thereafter.
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$109Standards Community FeeMonthly fee to access your accreditation application and support. No longer payable once an application has been submitted.$1,560Application Processing FeeA one-time fee payable when your application is submitted for peer review.$1,560Annual License FeePayable upon accreditation and on your anniversary date each year thereafter.
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$136Standards Community FeeMonthly fee to access your accreditation application and support. No longer payable once an application has been submitted.$3,120Application Processing FeeA one-time fee payable when your application is submitted for peer review.$3,120Annual License FeePayable upon accreditation and on your anniversary date each year thereafter.
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$164Standards Community FeeMonthly fee to access your accreditation application and support. No longer payable once an application has been submitted.$4,680Application Processing FeeA one-time fee payable when your application is submitted for peer review.$4,680Annual License FeePayable upon accreditation and on your anniversary date each year thereafter.
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$191Standards Community FeeMonthly fee to access your accreditation application and support. No longer payable once an application has been submitted.$6,240Application Processing FeeA one-time fee payable when your application is submitted for peer review.$6,240Annual License FeePayable upon accreditation and on your anniversary date each year thereafter.
Accreditation FAQs
There are three levels of the standards determined by the annual expenses and number of employees at your organization. Fewer standards apply to smaller organizations, and some of the standards that do apply to smaller organizations have fewer requirements.
- Level 1 - Organizations with up to 10 Full-time equivalent (FTE) employees and up to $3 million in annual expenses.
- Level 2 - Organizations with up to 50 Full-time equivalent (FTE) employees and up to $10 million in annual expenses.
- Level 3 - Organizations with more than 50 Full-time equivalent (FTE) employees or over $10 million in annual expenses.
Furthermore, some standards are not applicable to some organizations based on their organizational structure. For instance, an entirely volunteer-run organization would automatically be exempted from the Staff Management standards.
In certain special cases organizations are able to apply for special considerations. This is for cases where an organization may not technically meet the letter of the standard but may reflect the spirit of the standard. Please contact our team to discuss how the standards apply to your organization.
We expect accreditation to take somewhere between 6-18 months. The length of time depends greatly on the organization’s existing policies and practices when they begin their accreditation journey. For example, an organization that already has a strategic plan would not have to go through the process of creating one to meet the standard on strategic planning.
The Standards Trustmark signals that an organization has demonstrated compliance with each of the Imagine Canada Standards. The accredited organization is permitted to use the Trustmark annually for a period of five years, contingent on the payment of an annual license fee and the submission of a compliance report every two years.
Get started
Use the form below to get in touch, we will contact you within 2 business days to discuss your organization’s context and next steps.
You can also write to us at standards@imaginecanada.ca or call 1-800-263-1178.
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