Adoption of Principles & Standards for Private Foundations
The Board of Directors of the Klee Foundation joins other foundations, charities and corporate giving programs across the country in supporting Principles for Good Governance and Ethical Practice: A Guide for Charities and Foundations.
We agree that the Principles issued by the Panel on the Nonprofit Sector provide a strong guide for private foundations and public charities that aspire to high standards of governance and ethical practice. We join in encouraging board and staff leaders of every charitable organization to examine these principles carefully and determine how best they should be applied to their own operations.
The Guide resulted from charities and foundations reflecting a broad cross-section of the American nonprofit community coming together for the first time to develop principles of good governance that they aspire to and encourage all organizations to follow. The commitment of nonprofits to strengthening their operations is clear from the response to the Guide: over 30,000 copies were ordered during the first month of its release. Nonprofits are already reporting that examining the 33 principles in the Guide has both given them confidence in their operations, since they have many of the recommendations in place, and indicated areas in which they can improve existing policies.
You may obtain a single copy from the Klee Foundation office upon request.
The Klee Foundation Board has also adopted Principles for Grantmakers prepared by the Minnesota Council on Foundations which create benchmarks against which a private foundation can hold itself accountable to the communities which it serves.