National Standards
The Wamego Community Foundation is an affiliate and component fund of the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation. As described in this section, GMCF has met all required prerequisites and standards in order to qualify for confirmation that it has satisfied nationwide National Standards that have been set for operational quality, donor service and accountability in the community foundation sector.
The National Standards Seal opposite the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation name is verification of the official confirmation from the Council on Foundations that GMCF has met the most rigorous of standards in philanthropy. As an affiliate and component fund of the Manhattan Foundation, the Wamego Community Foundation (and other GMCF affiliates) not only benefit from and are an inclusive part of this confirmation, but are also fully expected to abide by and at al times comply with, the National Standards. The National Standards Seal affirms the commitment of the Manhattan Foundation and its affiliate component funds to financial security, transparency and accountability. The seal further affirms that the grant making and giving of monies for charitable causes by the Manhattan Foundation and its affiliates includes an open, competitive process designed to address the changing needs of their respective communities. The National Standards Seal also confirms a GMCF and affiliate history of honoring donors’ wishes—to support health services, education and the arts, cultivate gardens, save endangered species, cure illness, expand literacy, feed children—and provide support for countless other important charitable and philanthropical causes, services and programs.
The National Standards for the Community Foundations Program in the United States was established in 2000 in cooperation with the Council on Foundations. National Standards provide guidance to various community foundations in establishing legal, ethical and effective operational practices that serve as blueprints for internal development and benchmarks for external assessment. The 43 National Standards require the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation, inclusive of its affiliated component funds, to document its and their policies in donor services, investment management, grant making and administration. To receive confirmation of National Standards compliance, the Greater Manhattan Community foundation submitted its organizational and financial policies and procedures (inclusive of that of its affiliates) to a rigorous peer review.