Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada is pleased to announce that we have been accredited under Imagine Canada’s national Standards Program. With this achievement, we join a growing community of more than 240 organizations dedicated to operational excellence.
The Standards Program is a Canada-wide set of shared standards for charities and nonprofits designed to strengthen practices in five fundamental areas: board governance; financial accountability and transparency; fundraising; staff management; and volunteer involvement.
“Having our peers and reviewers affirm that Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada is a trusted and responsible organization gives us even more confidence to continue on our path to achieve more for Canada’s youth.”, states Steve Kent, BBBSC Board chair
“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.”
About the Imagine Canada Standards Program
The goals of Imagine Canada’s Standards Program are to increase the transparency of charities and nonprofits, and to strengthen public confidence in individual organizations and the sector as a whole.
Peer-review Process and Compliance
Our policies and procedures in the five areas of compliance were evaluated by a group of volunteers from the sector, and were found to be compliant with the Standards Program. Accredited organizations are required to complete full re-accreditation 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.
For more than 100 years, Big Brothers Big Sisters has been changing the lives of Canada’s youth by developing and implementing a wide range of group, in-school and one-on-one mentoring programs. Big Brothers Big Sisters provides quality mentoring services for more than 40,000 youth, engaging over 21,000 mentors in 108 agencies that serve youth in over 1,100 communities across the country.
Matthew Chater, President & CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada concludes: “As an organization that prides itself on our commitment to our donors and families, it is uplifting to have an occasion to demonstrate our excellence in transparency, governance, and accountability.”