How can you be assured that the organization you care about is acting responsibly and with transparency? For many organizations in Minnesota, the Charities Review Council's Accountability Standards act as a "seal of approval" when achieved. But how do organizational boards governing through Policy Governance interface with the Standards? Do the governing waters get muddied with dueling philosophies? My compatibility white paper will help your board make sound decisions. click here to download

Boards play a pivotal role in fostering accountability and transparency in organizations but can easily get overwhelmed with everything for which they are ultimately accountable.

The publication of the new CRC Accountability Standards got me thinking about organizations that use Policy Governance but also feel compelled to meet the Standards because they are a powerful public testament of accountability. Specifically, I wondered:

• Does Policy Governance contradict the philosophy and/or the Standards identified by the Charities Review Council?
• Does Policy Governance position organizations to meet the Standards?
• What must a Policy Governance board do to set itself up for a favorable review?

In pursuit of answers, I recently completed a white paper for boards using Policy Governance that want assurance their organizations are meeting or exceeding the Charities Review Council’s Standards.  Boards considering the use of Policy Governance can be assured that the model was crafted with accountability and transparency firmly in mind. The purpose of the white paper is not to explain the Policy Governance system to the reader. Readers unfamiliar with Policy Governance can click here for such an overview. I have also placed a set of Policy Governance policy templates on the Resources page to use while studying this document if you are not familiar with the basic policies of the model as that will dramatically increase your understanding of the comparison.

The bottom line? A methodical review of each Standard demonstrates that Policy Governance does not contradict any Philosophies or Standards and often sets the organization up to exceed the expectation outlined in the Standard if the model is followed correctly. Each Standard is analyzed to determine what a Policy Governance board must do (i.e. adjust policy language, board deliberation, etc.) in order to assure the Standard is met should the board determine a particular Standard is in the best interests of the organization or their governance process.

Organizational transparency and accountability are the desired outcomes for boards shared by both Policy Governance and the Charities Review Council. I hope this document will serve as a bridge to many productive conversations in board rooms and among community benefit organizations.

I encourage you to link others to this site if you suspect they would find this information valuable and would love to hear your comments about the document and how you used it in your organizations.