Local Organization Accredited with Rigorous Philanthropic Standards
Martinsburg—The Eastern West Virginia Community Foundation (EWVCF) recently received accreditation with the nation’s highest standard for philanthropic excellence. National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations® establish legal, ethical, 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 that the Eastern West Virginia Community Foundation 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. EWVCF Associate Director/COO Susan Caperton was responsible for handling all aspects of the application process which normally requires several submissions. In this case the application was approved without needing any revisions.
“This is critically important to our donors,” said Michael Whalton, EWVCF executive director. “When people make a charitable bequest or establish a fund, they are putting their trust in us. They are counting on us to manage the investment wisely and honor their charitable intent. The National Standards accreditation says our house is in order.”
The Eastern West Virginia Community Foundation works to meet critical community needs and support local causes, including funding senior citizen programs, championing the arts, cultivating gardens, curing illness, expanding literacy, and feeding children.
By offering a wide range of charitable funds, EWVCF allows donors to advance a cause, support an individual organization, address 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 Andrew McMillan, EWVCF board president. “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 Eastern West Virginia Community Foundation helps people support the causes they care about, now and for generations to come. To learn more, visit the website at www.EWVCF.org or call 304.264.0353.
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. For more information on the National Standards Board, visit its website at www.cfstandards.org.