BUCYRUS—The Community Foundation for Crawford County recently received accreditation with the nation’s highest standard for philanthropic excellence. National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations® establish legal, ethical, and effective practices for community foundations everywhere.
“Meeting the National Standards benchmarks is a rigorous, comprehensive process,” said Randy Royster, board member of the Council on Foundations. “This accreditation is a significant accomplishment that indicates The Community Foundation for Crawford County demonstrates a commitment to transparency, quality, integrity and accountability as it carries out its mission.”
The National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations® program requires community foundations to document their policies for donor services, investments, grantmaking and administration. With over 500 community foundations already accredited nationwide, the program is designed to provide quality assurance to donors, as well as to their legal and financial advisors.
“When people make a charitable bequest or establish a fund, they are putting their trust in us,” said Lisa Workman, Foundation President. “They are counting on us to manage the investment wisely, honor their charitable wishes and ensure that the charitable act will continue forever. The National Standards accreditation says our house is in order.”
The Foundation works to meet critical community needs and support local causes, including feeding children, supporting the arts, promoting health, assisting in economic development and celebrating local history.
The Foundation offers a range of charitable funds, allowing donors to advance a cause, support an individual organization, provide flexible support for community needs or recommend individual grants. In addition to affirming the organization’s philanthropic services, the accreditation validates the Foundation’s grantmaking practices for the nonprofit community.
“Grantmaking is a lot like investing,” said Dr. Joe Shadeed, Board Chair. “We need to assess risks, weigh potential gains, diversify assets, monitor performance and operate fairly. With our National Standards accreditation, you can be assured that we’re doing just that.”
National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations® is the first program of its kind for charitable foundations in the United States.
Through philanthropic services, strategic investments and community leadership, The Community Foundation for Crawford County helps people support the causes they care about, now and for generations to come.
The Community Foundations National Standards Board is a supporting organization of the Council on Foundations and is responsible for the quality, value and integrity of compliance with National Standards.
