The Center for Ethics, Governance, & Accountability

Our Vision

• To promote awareness and education of the importance of proper Governance, Ethics, and Accountability in the Non-Profit Sector;
• To be the leading Internet-based provider of Certifications for the Non-Profit Sector in the United States;
• To maximize our effectiveness through extraordinary customer service that builds long-term relationships with our clients.

OUR BELIEFS

We believe Non-Profit, community-based, issue-specific organizations provide the best opportunity to solve the tough problems our society is facing today and in the future.

All organizations can be classified into one of three Sectors: Government, For Profit, or Non-Profit. The Non-Profit Sector is growing at an ever-increasing rate and communities have a growing reliance on the Non-Profit Sector for problem-solving. The Public Sector (government) has proved too slow, unable, or unwilling to successfully address critical problems. The Private Sector (business) cannot be profitable in solving critical societal and community problems.

Therefore, we are resolved to support the growth and nurturing of what we believe will be the increasingly-important, solution-based, issue-oriented Non-Profit Sector.

OUR CONCERNS

The research for our Certification has been exhaustive. With the Internet, months could be spent reading the available material on governance, ethics, and accountability. We found this very frustrating and have resolved to provide our clients with straight-to-the-point information. We also found the many web sites serving the Non-Profit Sector to be so voluminous that we got lost in the minutia, so we have resolved to provide an inviting format on a critical subject.

During our research, we found an overwhelming negativity toward the operation of Non-Profit organizations, concerns about mismanagement, and comments about growing scandals. We found that to be surprising. And unacceptable.

Let’s briefly take a look at how the three Sectors compare:

• Ask most anybody to recall the top-of-mind Public-Sector scandal in recent years and most people would likely name Watergate. The Watergate scandal began to unfold publicly in 1971 and President Nixon resigned in 1974 (and was pardoned). Many people believe Watergate launched the growing skepticism of the average citizen toward our government.
• Ask most anybody to recall the top-of-mind For-Profit scandal in recent years and most people would likely name Enron. The Enron scandal began to unfold publicly in 2001 and its CEO, Kenneth Lay, was convicted in 2006. The company was the largest energy company at the time and is now bankrupt and defunct. Many people believe Enron paved the way for new federal regulations for publicly-traded companies.
• Ask most anybody to recall the top-of-mind Non-Profit scandal in recent years and most people would likely name the United Way of America. The United Way scandal began to unfold publicly in 1991 and its CEO, William Aramony, was convicted in 1995. The organization was the largest charity in the country and it remains so today.

The timeline is interesting (even if only coincidental): Watergate in 1971; United Way in 1991; and Enron in 2001 – first the government scandal; then the non-profit scandal (20 years later); then the business scandal (10 years after the non-profit and 30 years after the government).

We are concerned that the rhetoric surrounding the ‘issues’ related to the Non-Profit Sector may be misleading. The above example seems to illustrate that the Non-Profit Sector has the greatest resiliency of the three Sectors and seems to support our belief that the Non-Profit Sector holds great problem-solving potential for the future. We passionately agree that the Non-Profit Sector can proactively benefit from awareness, education, and certification in the areas of governance, ethics, and accountability; such is the sole mission of our Center.

OUR BOARD

Our Board of Directors is national in scope, with members located throughout the United States. In addition, our Board is diverse in expertise, which provides a comprehensive perspective specifically designed to benefit our clients.