The British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (BC SPCA) is now among the elite group of Canadian organizations to be accredited by Imagine Canada, the national umbrella for charities and nonprofits. Imagine Canada announced this week that the BC SPCA had received accreditation status through its Standards Program, a Canada-wide set of shared standards for charities and nonprofits designed to demonstrate their compliance in five fundamental areas: financial accountability and transparency; board governance; fundraising; staff management and volunteer involvement. Only 45 charitable organizations hold Imagine Canada accreditation status and the BC SPCA is the first Canadian humane society to become accredited.
Craig Daniell, chief executive officer for the BC SPCA, says the society’s Board of Directors, staff and volunteers are committed to upholding the highest standards in its policies and programs. “The BC SPCA is able to help nearly 29,000 abused, injured and homeless animals every year through the generosity of individuals, businesses, foundations and others in the community who support our work. It is extremely important to us to be able to demonstrate that these donations are being stewarded as effectively as possible.”
The goal of the Imagine Canada Standards Program is to strengthen public confidence in individual non-profit organizations and in the charitable sector as a whole. Imagine Canada carefully evaluates an organization’s policies and procedures in the five areas of compliance and awards accreditation if the organization is found to be compliant with rigorous, externally established standards.
In addition to its Imagine Canada accreditation, the BC SPCA was one of only six Canadian charities to receive an A+ rating in MoneySense Magazine’s 2012 survey rating of 100 Canadian charities and was named as a Top Charity Pick in 2012 by Charity Intelligence.
The British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is a not-for-profit organization reliant on public donations. Our mission is to protect and enhance the quality of life for domestic, farm and wild animals in B.C.