Standards of Excellence Certification Program®

The NHC requires that its patient organization members comply with the Standards of Excellence Certification Program®.

The 38 Standards cover the areas of governance, human resources, programs, fundraising, finance, accounting and reporting, and evaluation. In addition, there are 11 minimum Standards that all patient organization applicants must meet before their application can move forward through the membership approval process.

These Standards are completely aligned with, but more stringent than, the Standards for Charity Accountability adopted by the BBB Wise Giving Alliance and are also consistent with Independent Sector’s Principles for Good Governance and Ethical Practices.

Once welcomed into membership, new members must meet the full SOE criteria within an appropriate timeframe, set collaboratively with the membership team. Similarly, a reasonable period of time will be set for current members to come into compliance with all newly adopted or revised standards.