The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Wood Buffalo has been accredited under Imagine Canada’s Standards Program.
The program is a set of shared standards for charities and non-profits in Canada, which are designed to strengthen operations.
Those standards are designed to help organizations strengthen five areas of their operations including board governance, financial accountability and transparency, fundraising, staff management, and volunteer involvement.
Emma Jones who is Marketing and Community Relations with CMHA Wood Buffalo said the accreditation could mean a boost in donor confidence.
“These procedures, including those financials that have been reviewed, can have government and donors more confident that the money that they give will be managed properly and be used to provide the services for the organization.”
Jones said they’re hopeful that the accreditation, which took about three years to earn, will mean more mental health programs and services for our region.
When it comes to COVID-19 and the recent flooding in our region, CMHA Wood Buffalo Board Chair, Charles MacDonald says having a set of procedures to follow is important.
“In any emergency or disaster, an organization needs to be able to fall back on having proper procedures and policies in place – things happen quickly, they are multi dimensional and as staff and leaders work through them to have a set of procedures to follow is paramount to ensure we can deliver services.”
CMHA Wood Buffalo joins 32 non-profit organizations Alberta who have the accreditation.
