Introducing Idaho Partner for Good's Gold Seal
At Idaho Partners for Good, our mission is to strengthen nonprofits by fortifying their internal structures and systems to enable them to excel in delivering their respective missions. While numerous organizations make significant contributions to their communities, most lack the robust operational foundation necessary for sustained impact over the long term.
As part of our commitment to fostering transformation, we are actively developing a set of standards designed to recognize nonprofits that have diligently evaluated and improved their internal structures. This initiative has led to the creation of the Idaho Partners for Good Gold Seal—a prestigious accomplishment. This seal signifies to the community that the holder is dedicated to strengthening their organization. By attaining this seal, they proudly declare their commitment to enduring excellence and community impact. With this seal, they become a ‘great investment’ for other donors!
Outlined below are the criteria a nonprofit must work on with our team of capacity builders to be eligible for the Idaho Partners for Good Gold Seal.
Aspirations: An organization's mission, vision and values collectively articulate its common sense of purpose and direction. It's the big-picture reason for why they exist. These three concepts need to be described in clear, succinct statements of 1-2 sentences. Nonprofits need to spend time and effort articulating their aspirations because it should inspire people to get on board. Organizations that make the greatest gains in impact are those that tackle these high-level questions of mission, vision, and values.
Strategy: Represents the means for reaching the vision, and mission and living the values. Optimally, organizations will implement strategies that are coherent, well-integrated, and linked directly to its major goals. Well-conceived strategies build on the organization’s core competencies, allocate resources to priorities, and help delineate its unique point of differentiation.
Organizational Skills: The process through which an organization develops, implements, funds, and measures their programs and services. Crafting a successful process that increases social impact draws on the full range of an organization's skills, from strategic planning to marketing, and fundraising to program development and execution. Demonstrating that an organization has the processes and skills to deliver on their promise is important to funders, supporters and the community.
Human Resources: People (professional staff, volunteers, board members) are the lifeblood of any organization. An organization's human resources represent the collective capabilities and experiences of its people. Nonprofits have a tendency to manage talent and undervalue their people.
Systems And Infrastructure: Fixing a problem without regard to other systems invariably spawns additional problems. Understanding how the entire suite of systems works together is critical. These systems are the processes, both formal and informal by which an organization functions. Nonprofit systems are often complex, missing, or mystifying, especially in relation to managing decisions, knowledge, and people. Infrastructure describes the assets that support the organization, both physical and technological.
Organizational and Governance Structure: Clarifying roles and responsibilities, creating new work groups, and developing and working with a board are all important. But, institutional alignment happens when the organization supports not only the systems and human resources, but also its aspirations, strategies, and skills.
Culture: The glue that holds an organization together is their culture. Building a strong values-based and performance culture is a strategic, intellectual and difficult process. It requires substantial commitment BUT the pay-off can be substantial. Culture is often the reason why someone chooses the relatively low pay and hard work inherent in the nonprofit sector.