Specifically, the Accountability Wizard review offers your nonprofit the opportunity to:

• Engage your board and staff in accountability issues, in order to create a shared culture of accountability and transparency;
• Access technical assistance to assist you in aligning your organizational practices and procedures with the Accountability Standards;
• Demonstrate your accountability and transparency through a public review on the Smart Givers Network website and inclusion in our semiannual newsletter;
• Earn the “Meets Standards” seal (by meeting all of the Accountability Standards), and use it in your annual report, marketing and fundraising materials, and on your website and GiveMN.org profile to set your organization apart.

A review is valid for three years. Three months before the review expires, we will send an email notification encouraging your organization to renew your review. 

Yes.  It’s a sliding scale base on 1% of 1% (.0001) of your annual expenses, good for three years. There is a minimum fee of $100 and a maximum of $1500.

EXAMPLE: If your organization's annual expenses total $3,000,000, your fee would be $300. If your annual expenses total $33,000,000 you would pay the maximum of $1500 instead of $3300.

Yes.  As long as your nonprofit has obtained its federal tax exemption or applied for it, you can go through a review.  The process for reviewing new nonprofits is slightly different, however.  View the New Organization Review Policy or you can contact the Council directly for details.

After a review is complete, it is very common for a nonprofit to not meet a standard or two initially. In many cases, the changes required to meet all standards are minor and can be made before a review is made public. The Charities Review Council staff is available to provide technical assistance to help nonprofits meets our standards.