Principles and Practices for Nonprofit Excellence

IN 1994 THE MINNESOTA COUNCIL OF NONPROFITS (MCN) became the first state association of nonprofits to develop a set of accountability principles and management practices. This revised edition completely updates those original standards while remaining true to MCN’s longstanding goal of open access to our comprehensive policies for strong public accountability.

The Principles and Practices for Nonprofit Excellence are based on the fundamental values of quality, responsibility and accountability. The 11 accountability principles distinguish the nonprofit sector from government and the business sector. The 192 management practices provide specific guidelines for individual organizations to evaluate and improve their operations, governance, human resources, advocacy, financial management and fundraising.

 Minnesota Council of Nonprofits
2314 University Ave. West #20
St. Paul, MN 55114

Phone: 651-642-1904
Fax: 651-642-1517
Greater MN: 1-800-289-1904 info@minnesotanonprofits.org

Updated History

THE MINNESOTA COUNCIL OF NONPROFITS BEGAN THIS DOCUMENT on nonprofit accountability at its 1993 Annual Conference. We continued to develop it through community meetings, workshops and discussions throughout the state. Under the leadership of Dr. James P. Shannon and James V. Toscano, MCN joined with two organizations—the Charities Review Council of Minnesota and MAP for Nonprofits—to convene discussions on nonprofit standards and to develop principles of sound nonprofit management and accountability. The first draft of the Principles and Practices for Nonprofit Excellence was circulated to nonprofit and philanthropic leaders throughout Minnesota and the United States in 1994 and was approved by MCN’s board of directors in 1998.

In 2005, MCN conducted a major revision of the Principles and Practices, led by James V. Toscano. In 2013, MCN gathered a new group of nonprofit leaders through the Principles and Practices Advisory Committee to review necessary changes. James V. Toscano returned as a co-chair of the committee joined by Rinal Ray and Armando Camacho, with Laura Johansson as facilitator.

[Continued; for full availability of downloads and additional, invaluable information and resources, please visit the MCN website.]

http://www.minnesotanonprofits.org/nonprofit-resources/principles-and-practices/principles-and-practices-for-nonprofit-excellence-2014/principles-and-practices-for-nonprofit-excellence

Stephanie Doty
Discouraging NP Dysfunction
August 10, 2014
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/