About Certification: Stewardship & Accountability

BACK: Resource Development

NATIONAL STANDARDS FOR U.S. COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONS (developed by the Council on Foundations)

IV. Stewardship and Accountability
A. A community foundation is a steward of charitable funds, investing and prudently managing funds and maintaining accurate financial records.

B. A community foundation is accountable to the community it serves and regularly disseminates information on its programs and finances.

C. A community foundation maintains a written record of the terms and conditions of each component fund and all such records must reference the variance power.

D. A community foundation honors the charitable intentions of its donors consistent with community needs and applicable laws and regulations.

E. A community foundation observes the balance between donor involvement and governing board control and complies with applicable laws and regulations.

F. A community foundation ensures that the foundation's financial resources are used solely in furtherance of its mission.
Explanation: Some examples of intent here include 1) salaries and benefits are within a range considered reasonable and customary for community foundations of similar size and taking into account the background and experience of staff, and 2) assets of the foundation are not used for personal benefit of either board or staff.

G. An annual audit (financial review when assets total less than $1 million) is performed by an independent public accountant, reviewed and accepted by the governing body and made available to the public upon request.

H. A community foundation
1. has investment policies that include asset allocation guidelines, a spending policy and criteria for measuring investment performance.

2. makes available to the public upon request the names of its investment managers, fees charged (including investment and administrative fees), governing body or appointees responsible for investment oversight and investment.

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