MEDIA ADVISORY
Press Conference: Panel on the Nonprofit Sector to Release Report on
Good Governance and Ethical Practice

The Panel on the Nonprofit Sector announces the release of the Principles for Good Governance and Ethical Practice: A Guide for Charities and Foundations, 33 principles designed to build a common understanding of transparency, accountability, and good governance among all charitable organizations. The principles continue the efforts of the Panel, which has brought together thousands of people since it was convened by Independent Sector in 2004, to strengthen ethical standards within the nonprofit community.

The principles are organized into four categories: legal compliance and public disclosure; effective governance; financial oversight; and responsible fundraising.

In 2006, the Panel formed the Advisory Committee on Self-Regulation of the Charitable Sector, comprised of 34 leaders from charities, foundations, and academic institutions and chaired by Joel L. Fleishman, professor at Duke University, and Rebecca W. Rimel, president and CEO of The Pew Charitable Trusts. The Advisory Committee spent the past eighteen months studying existing self-regulation systems to develop principles that all nonprofit organizations can use to evaluate and improve their operations. The Panel drew on these recommendations, as well as hundreds of comments on draft versions of these ideas, to develop the Guide.

Interested members of the press may participate in the teleconference using the call-in information above. Diana Aviv, president and CEO of Independent Sector and executive director of the Panel on the Nonprofit Sector, will be available to answer questions about the Panel report following a brief statement.

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The Panel on the Nonprofit Sector is an independent panel of 24 leaders from a wide range of the country’s public charities and private foundations. Convened by Independent Sector in October 2004 at the encouragement of the leadership of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, the Panel has brought together thousands of people from across the country to develop recommendations to improve the governance, ethical conduct, and oversight of nonprofit organizations. The Panel released a major report in June 2005 and a supplemental report in April 2006. To learn more about the Panel on the Nonprofit Sector, please visit: www.nonprofitpanel.org.

Independent Sector is a nonprofit, nonpartisan coalition of approximately 600 charities, foundations, and corporate philanthropy 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 charitable community.