Standards Program
Imagine Canada is launching a Standards Program in 2011 that offers a Canada‐wide set of shared standards for charities and nonprofits wishing to enhance their effectiveness in the fundamentals of governance, paid-staff management, financial accountability, fundraising, and volunteer involvement.
The Program includes a voluntary accreditation program for organizations wishing to publicly demonstrate they have successfully met the standards through a third-party peer review process. A variety of resources will be publicly available to give all organizations the opportunity to strengthen their capacity in each area of the standards regardless of their intention to participate in the accreditation process.
Goals of the Standards Program
- To help charities and nonprofits improve their practices by providing educational tools and capacity-building initiatives.
- To foster public trust, promote confidence in the sector and protect both the credibility of the sector and the interests of the public.
- To create a community of practice in the charitable and nonprofit sector.
- To unite the charitable and nonprofit sector through shared standards that demonstrate good governance of the community organizations that the public entrusts us to lead.
2011 PILOT OPEN TO FOUNDING MEMBERS OF THE STANDARDS PROGRAM
Application Deadline: November 30, 2011
Founding Members of the Standards Program are invited to participate in the Program Pilot in 2011. The Program will be open to all charities and public-benefit nonprofits in 2012.
For further information please contact Lynn Chambers, Manager, Standards Program (standards@imaginecanada.ca / 1-800-263-1178; 416-597-2293 ext. 228).
Founding and Presenting Sponsor:
Friends:
Did you know that there are 161,000 nonprofilts and charities in Canada?
Did you know that Canada’s nonprofit and voluntary sector is the 2nd largest in the world?
The sector represents $79.1 billion or 7.8% of the gross domestic product
The sector is larger than automotive and manufacturing. It generates $112 billion in revenues and employs 2 million people
Canadians donated $10 billion in 2007
Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick have the highest donor rates.
Canadians volunteered 2.1 billion hours in 2007
Young Canadians aged 15 to 24 are more likely to volunteer than Canadians in any other age group
One percent of nonprofits command 60% of all revenues flowing to the sector
Canadians with the lowest household incomes give a greater percentage of their income than others
Saskatchewan has the highest volunteer rate in the country, followed by the Northwest Territories and the Yukon
Those exposed to giving and volunteering activities early in life are more likely to continue those behaviours as adults
Upcoming Events
The New CRA Fundraising Guidance - What Practitioners and Boards need to Know
February 14th, 2012
Be among the first to learn details of CRA's new Fundraising Guidance and the (more...)
Nouvelles lignes directrices de l'ARC sur les activités de financement - ce que les OSBL et les CA doivent savoir (en Anglais)
February 14th, 2012
Soyez parmi les premiers à connaître les détails sur les nouvelles lignes (more...)