| The
Iowa Register of Accountability on the Larned A. Waterman Iowa Nonprofit
Resource Center website is a voluntary listing of charitable nonprofits
that have committed themselves to continuous improvement through the
Principles and Practices as general guidelines. Its purpose is to
show Iowa and the nation that Iowa nonprofits make a concerted effort
to efficient, effective and ethical operation. This voluntary listing
was conceived as an alternative to a national accreditation system
of all nonprofits which had been proposed in Congressional hearings.
There are three ways to be listed on the Principles and Practices
registry: 1.
Board adoption of Principles and Practices by resolution.
2.
Training in Principles and Practices.
3.
Licensure or accreditation.
1.
Board adoption of Principles and Practices by resolution.
An
Iowa nonprofit can be added to the Iowa Register of Accountability
after an organizational review of the Iowa Principles & Practices
for Charitable Nonprofit Excellence and a board of directors’
resolution adopting them as Principles & Practices to pursue
in institutional operations. The resolution must state the date
on which the board adopted the Principles and Practices and be signed
by a board officer. The nonprofit making the resolution will be
added to the Register of Accountability once a photocopy of this
resolution has been received by the Larned A. Waterman Iowa Nonprofit
Resource Center.
The Board of Directors of _________________________ (name of nonprofit
organization), in a regular meeting at which a quorum was present,
reviewed the Iowa Principles & Practices for Charitable Nonprofit
Excellence. We the Board of Directors hereby affirm that our organization
is committed to begin guided by the Principles & Practices
and is actively engaged in good faith efforts to meet each of
them, or already meets the Principles & Practices.
This resolution was passed by a _________________ (majority/unanimous)
vote of the Board of Directors its regular meeting of ____________________
(date), and this Resolution has been recorded in the permanent
minutes.
Signed by: ___________________________________
On ___________________________________
For the Board of Directors ___________________________________________
2.
Training in Principles and Practices.
An
organizational representative can complete a Principles and Practices
training program which will result in a certificate of completion
for a stated period. In order for training to be adequate for the
Register, it must be at least six hours long. Shorter training sessions
can be combined for a total of six hours. Completion of the Nonprofit
Organizational Effectiveness I and/or II courses at University of
Iowa will allow an organization to be listed on the Register. Any
other form of nonprofit training can be submitted to the Larned
A. Waterman Iowa Nonprofit Resource Center for review of adequate
coverage of nonprofit issues to get listing for an organization
on the Register. All staff and volunteers of a nonprofit can attend
the trainings, but to be listed on the Register of Accountability,
the “organizational representatives” must be a board
member, or executive level paid staff. An approved list of training
sources will be developed to indicate whether the training is adequate.
One factor that will be considered in determining if the education
in the Principles and Practices was sufficient is the receipt of
CEU’s after having the training. After acceptable training,
the nonprofit will be listed on the Register of Accountability when
a certificate of attendance or a copy of the teaching institution’s
Registrar’s record on that attendee is received by the Larned
A. Waterman Iowa Nonprofit Resource Center.
3.
Licensure or accreditation.
An
Iowa charitable nonprofit which is accredited by a national organization
or licensed by a state agency will be presumed to have significantly
complied with the Iowa Nonprofit Principles & Practices for
Charitable Nonprofit Excellence. There are extensive accreditation
systems for educational institutions, health organizations, and
libraries. Examples of accrediting entities that will allow a nonprofit
to be listed on the Register are:
United
Way
Girls Scouts and Boy Scouts of America
Goodwill
Salvation Army
American Red Cross
The National Council for Private School Accreditation
Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities
Continuing Care Accreditation System
American Association of Museums
State Library of Iowa
Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations
Examples
of state agency licenses that will lead to listing on the Register
of Accountability are:
Adult
day services programs (27 Iowa Administrative Code 321 - 27)
Animal Shelter (Iowa Code 162.4)
Assisted living programs, certified under Iowa Code 231C (see
also 27 Iowa Administrative Code 321 - 27)
Child care center, licensed under Iowa Care 237A
Child foster care licensed under Iowa Code 237
Child placing agency, licensed under Iowa Code 238
Elder group homes, certified under Iowa Code 231B
Nursing facility, licensed under Iowa Code 135C.1
Substance abuse programs, licensed under Iowa Code 125.13
A
nonprofit will be listed on the Register of Accountability after
receipt of a copy of the official notice of the state agency license
or the document awarding accreditation to the nonprofit.
All
information should be mailed to:
Larned
A. Waterman Iowa Nonprofit Resource Center
130 Grand Avenue Court
Iowa City, Iowa 52242
ATTN: Register of Accountability
If
the following information is not listed on the documents sent, there
must also be receipt of the organization’s name, current business
address, contact person, charitable purpose, and year of creation.
Is one of the three forms of adopting the Principles and Practices
enough?
Yes,
an Iowa nonprofit can get on the Register of Accountability by doing
the training or the board adoption or the licensure/accreditation.
But the data base of the Register will record any and all forms
of embracing the Principles and Practices a nonprofit does. So,
for instance, a nonprofit that sends a board member to the Principles
and Practices training as well as adopting the Principles and Practices
by resolution will be listed on the Register and have a note of
both forms of accepting the Principles and Practices in the data
base.
Viewing
the Register of Accountability on the LAWINRC web site.
The
Register of Accountability is incorporated into the current publicly
accessible database of Iowa nonprofits on this website. The quickest
way to access the register is by clicking on the “The Iowa
Register of Accountability” link on the home page.
When
nonprofits have adopted the Iowa Principles and Practices for Charitable
Nonprofit Excellence, they can use the following graphics on their
publications, their websites, letterhead, etc.
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Back to the list of the Iowa Register of Accountability
