(WASHINGTON, June 23, 2009) -- Independent Sector has just released an effective new tool to help nonprofits, foundations, and corporate philanthropy programs examine and improve their governance practices. The Principles Workbook: Steering Your Board Toward Good Governance and Ethical Practice is designed to help the nonprofit community meet its commitment to upholding the highest standards of accountability, and do so in a cost-effective way.

Independent Sector developed the Workbook in partnership with BoardSource, the leading national resource on nonprofit governance, to expand and elucidate the Principles for Good Governance and Ethical Practice: A Guide for Charities and Foundations. The principles, which were developed by the Panel on the Nonprofit Sector in 2007, provide a list of 33 recommendations that organizations can use to analyze their practices. The Panel has been dedicated to finding ways to strengthen governance, transparency, and ethical standards at nonprofits and foundations since it was convened by Independent Sector in October 2004.

“Thousands of organizations across the nonprofit community have already used the Guide to make important changes to their governance,” said Diana Aviv, president and CEO of Independent Sector. “This new tool will further assist boards of directors and key staff in assessing the areas where their organizations are doing well and where there is room for improvement.”

Independent Sector invited BoardSource to develop the Workbook to make it easier for organizations to discuss their governance and ethical practices. Independent Sector has already fulfilled 100,000 requests for the Guide, which organizes the principles into four categories: legal compliance and public disclosure; effective governance; strong financial oversight; and responsible fundraising.

“Nonprofit and foundation boards bear the primary responsibility for ensuring that organizations live up to their legal and ethical obligations to donors, service recipients, and the public,” said Linda Crompton, president and CEO of BoardSource.“ The Workbook will further support the development of successful and effective board leaders.”

The Panel on the Nonprofit Sector initially brought together leaders from across the nonprofit community in order to develop more than 150 thoughtful recommendations, contained in its Final and Supplemental Reports, for improving government oversight and strengthening practices at organizations of all sizes and missions. It then focused on how the nonprofit community could advance the state of governance and self-regulation in its organizations, a process that led to the creation of the principles.

"Good governance is a cornerstone for building the trust nonprofit organizations need to fulfill their obligations to the communities they serve,” said Rand Wentworth, president of the Land Trust Alliance and chair of Independent Sector's Principles for Good Governance and Ethical Practice Advisory Group. “The Workbook is a terrific way for nonprofits and foundations of all sizes, fields, and mission areas to review and improve their governance practices.”

The Workbook is available for free download.

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Independent Sector is a nonprofit, nonpartisan coalition of approximately 550 charities, foundations, and corporate giving programs, collectively representing tens of thousands of charitable groups in every state across the nation. Its mission is to advance the common good by leading, strengthening, and mobilizing the nonprofit and philanthropic community.