Contact:
Kathryn Yarzebinski, President & CEO
Greater Lynchburg Community Foundation
(434) 845-6500
Local Organization Accredited with Rigorous Philanthropic Standards
Lynchburg, Virginia (May 7, 2024) – The Greater Lynchburg Community Foundation recently received accreditation with the nation’s highest standard for philanthropic excellence. Community Foundations National Standards® establish legal, ethical, effective practices for community foundations everywhere.
“Meeting the National Standards benchmarks is a rigorous, comprehensive process,” said Susie Nelson, board chair of National Standards. “This accreditation is a significant accomplishment that indicates The Greater Lynchburg Community Foundation demonstrates a commitment to transparency, quality, integrity and accountability as it carries out its mission.”
The Community Foundations National Standards® program requires community foundations to document their policies for donor services, investments, grantmaking and administration. With over 500 community foundations already accredited nationwide, the program is designed to provide quality assurance to donors, as well as to their legal and financial advisors.
“We go through this rigorous process voluntarily,” said Kathryn Yarzebinksi, Greater Lynchburg Community Foundation President & CEO. “It’s important for our donors to know that our operations are being evaluated, and that we are staying current with best practices. Donors are putting their trust in us. They are counting on us to manage funds wisely and honor their charitable wishes. The National Standards accreditation verifies that we are doing those things.”
The Greater Lynchburg Community Foundation works to solve our community’s greatest challenges by providing grants and scholarships, and by helping individuals, families, and organizations create their charitable legacy.
The GLCF offers a variety of charitable funds, allowing donors to advance a cause, support a specific organization, provide flexible support for community needs or recommend grants.
In addition to affirming the organization’s philanthropic services, the accreditation validates the GLCF’s grantmaking practices for the nonprofit community.
“Grantmaking is a lot like investing,” said John Stone, Greater Lynchburg Community Foundation Board Chair. “We need to assess risks, weigh potential gains, diversify assets, monitor performance, and operate fairly. With our National Standards accreditation, donors and grant recipients can be assured that we’re doing just that.”
The Community Foundations National Standards Board is a supporting organization of the Council on Foundations and is responsible for the quality, value and integrity of compliance with National Standards. Community Foundations National Standards® is the first program of its kind for charitable foundations in the United States.
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For more information on how to apply for a GLCF grant, to start your own charitable fund, or to make a gift to one of the existing funds at the Greater Lynchburg Community Foundation, please visit www.lynchburgfoundation.org.
For more information on the National Standards Board, visit its website at www.cfstandards.org