We are excited to announce that Seva Canada is now accredited through Imagine Canada’s Standards Program in 5 key areas of operations: fundraising, board, staff, volunteers, and transparency.
The following is a press release from Imagine Canada on May 29th, 2018. The original release can be found here.
Standards Program strengthens confidence in charitable sector: Trust top consideration for Canadians when deciding to support cause
Imagine Canada, the umbrella for Canada’s charitable sector, today welcomes the most recent group of 17 organizations to join the growing number of charities and nonprofits accredited under its national Standards Program, including Fanshawe College Foundationand Fondation de l’Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, the first post-secondary foundations to be successfully accredited. We also congratulate the seven organizations that have completed their reaccreditation process.
“It’s no small feat for an organization to earn Standards Program accreditation. It’s a rigorous, peer-reviewed process that is meant to build Canadians’ trust and confidence in the charitable sector,” says Bruce MacDonald, president and CEO of Imagine Canada. “The organizations accredited to date reflect a broad spectrum in size, scope and geography. Each one takes governance, accountability, and transparency very seriously. We’re proud to have them on board.”
Newly Accredited Organizations
- Calgary Women’s Emergency Shelter
- Canadian Hemophilia Society
- Fanshawe College Foundation
- Fondation de l’Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières
- Fred Victor
- Graceland Africa Mission
- Habitat for Humanity Camrose
- Habitat for Humanity Niagara
- Habitat for Humanity Ontario Gateway North
- Jane Goodall Institute of Canada
- Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation
- Seva Canada
- United Way Thompson Nicola Cariboo
- University Hospital Foundation
- WaterAid Canada
- YMCA Calgary
- YMCA of Central East Ontario
Reaccredited Organizations
- Cridge Centre for the Family
- Food Banks Canada
- London Health Sciences Foundation
- Pathways to Education
- Plan Canada
- St. Joseph’s Healthcare Foundation Hamilton
- World Vision Canada
See the full list of accredited organizations.
Donor Trustmark Awareness
In support of the Standards Program, Imagine Canada is conducting a marketing campaign aimed at donors to increase awareness of the Trustmark and accredited organizations. It advises donors to Invest in Trust™ and to look for the Trustmark when giving.
This will include the list of all accredited organizations in an advertisement in The Globe and Mail AFP Philanthropy supplement, appearing in print and online June 1st, 2018. There will also be digital ads running on The Globe and Mail website throughout June 2018. We will be sharing these ads across our social media channels. Accredited organizations will take advantage of this campaign to highlight their accreditation.
About the Standards Program
The Standards Program awards accreditation to charities and nonprofits that demonstrate compliance in five fundamental areas: board governance; financial accountability and transparency; fundraising; staff management; and volunteer involvement. The goals of the Program are to increase organizational transparency in these areas and to strengthen public confidence in individual organizations and the sector as a whole.
Term of Accreditation and Compliance
Accredited organizations are required to complete full reaccreditation on a five-year basis. Compliance during the accreditation period is monitored through an annual process that requires organizations to submit evidence demonstrating selected standards are being met. Compliance is also monitored through investigation of complaints.
The Standards Program is made possible with the financial contributions from founding and presenting sponsor Great-West Life, London Life and Canada Life; funded by the Lawson Foundation; Supporters and Friends EY.
Additional information about the Standards Program is available at imaginecanada.ca/standards.
Imagine Canada is a national charitable organization whose cause is Canada’s charities. Our three broad goals are to strengthen the sector’s collective voice, create opportunities to connect and learn from each other, and build the sector’s capacity to succeed.
imaginecanada.ca | Twitter: @ImagineCanada | Facebook: facebook.com/ImagineCanada
For further information:
Lindsey Vodarek
Manager, Strategic Communications
416-597-2293, ext. 309
