The CME was created to assess nonprofit organizational performance capacity and prioritize capacity building needs.
Purpose
The Criteria for Management Excellence (CME) was created to improve organizational performance capabilities and results in the nonprofit sector. Any nonprofit organization can use the CME assessment process to understand and manage performance and guide planning, improvement, and capacity building efforts.
Use by The Forbes Funds
The Forbes Funds now includes the Criteria for Management Excellence in its regular grantmaking process. Using a standard method for assessing organization and targeting critical needs for support expands the due diligence of grantmaking. The Forbes Funds will also utilize the data to track capacity building needs across the sector and to inform its grantmaking process and decisions.
Core Values and Concepts
The assessment will help your organization determine how well you are able to:
- Say what you do—explain your organization's mission and relevance
- Do what you say—discuss planning, program delivery and resource management strategies and practices that allow you to achieve your mission
- Prove it—demonstrate continuous improvement and achievement of your plans through evaluation and documentation
Read more about the fifteen criteria.
Organizational Assessment
To do a comprehensive organizational assessment it is important to include multiple perspectives. The CME assessment process incorporates the views of the organization's staff, executive management and board. Each person connected to the organization will be asked to complete a confidential online survey with questions that address the fifteen criteria in the Criteria for Management Excellence listed below. To ensure the organization's assessment reflects a balanced representation, a minimum of 80% participation from each group is needed. The results from this assessment process will be analyzed and summarized into organization-specific reports. This information can help guide resource allocation for the organization's ongoing improvement.
If you have questions or would like to learn more about the process, you can review information on the FAQ page or go to the Request Information Page to contact The Forbes Funds.
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