Alberta Ecotrust earns national accreditation from Imagine Canada
We've always tried to run Alberta Ecotrust well, but it's hard to judge yourself honestly. So over the past year, we invited an outside review of how we govern, manage funds, fundraise and support our people. We're grateful to share that Alberta Ecotrust Foundation is now accredited through the Imagine Canada Standards Program.
This recognition belongs to more than the people here today. Since 1991, board members, staff, volunteers and partners have built the foundation we stand on. Their care and good judgment over 35 years made this possible, and we're thankful for every one of them.
The Standards Program is Canada’s only national framework for non-profit governance and operations. It was developed in consultation with the charitable sector and is overseen by an independent Standards Council. To earn accreditation, independent peer reviewers assessed our policies and practices against 73 standards. The process also tested our practices against a national benchmark and helped us improve them, so we can put more of our time and resources toward environmental work in Alberta.
We chose to participate in the Standards Program because we ask a lot of the people who work with us. Grantees report on their outcomes. Partners trust us with their time and reputations. Funders and supporters trust us with resources meant to make Alberta a place where people and nature thrive. We think we should be held to the same standard we hold others to.
"Community impact starts with good governance. Being a blue-chip organization means people can trust you with their resources, their ideas and their communities. This accreditation confirms what I've seen from the Board table: an organization that takes its responsibilities seriously."
The Standards Program measures five areas of non-profit operations:
Board governance
Financial accountability and transparency
Fundraising
Staff management
Volunteer involvement
Every program we run depends on trust: our grants, water coalition, the Emissions-Neutral Buildings Information Exchange (ENBIX), and the Retrofit Accelerator. Accreditation gives funders, partners and communities independent confirmation that the trust is well placed.
Learn more about the Imagine Canada Standards Program and explore our work.
Thank You
Thank you to Canada Life for supporting our accreditation through the Canada Life Capacity Building Program. The program covered our one-time application fee and Standards Community fee during the accreditation process.
Related posts
Explore our most recent posts.
