Huntsville, Alabama—Community Foundation of Greater Huntsville 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, Chair of the Community Foundations National Standards Board. “This accreditation is a significant accomplishment that indicates Community Foundation of Greater Huntsville 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.

“This is critically important to our donors,” said Stuart Obermann, Community Foundation of Greater Huntsville President/CEO. “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, honor their charitable wishes and, in some cases, provide lifetime income to a loved one. The National Standards accreditation says our house is in order.”

Community Foundation of Greater Huntsville works to increase the capacity of local nonprofits and meet critical community needs to improve the region’s quality of life through philanthropy.
The Community Foundation of Greater Huntsville provides a simple, powerful, and highly personalized approach to giving with variety of different tools to help people achieve their charitable goals including individual and collective giving opportunities. In addition to affirming the organization’s philanthropic services, the accreditation validates Community Foundation of Greater Huntsville’s grantmaking practices for the nonprofit community.

“Grantmaking is a lot like investing,” Joe Alexander, Community Foundation of Greater Huntsville board chair. “We need to identify opportunities, assess risks, diversify assets, monitor performance and operate fairly. With our National Standards accreditation, you can be assured that we’re doing just that. We are proud to be recognized as one of only four Community Foundations in the State of Alabama to receive this accreditation.”

National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations® is the first program of its kind for charitable foundations in the United States.

The Community Foundation of Huntsville serves as a catalyst for a making our great community even better, improving the quality of life in our community through philanthropy. www.CommunityFoundationHSV.org

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.