The Quality Mark recognises an organisation’s ongoing commitment to maximising impact, improving performance and ensuring compliance.

A non-profit holding it will have assessed its performance, in all areas, within the last 12 months. It’s free and there is no additional workload required.

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Trustees

reassurance to trustee boards that the charity is well run and the necessary quality systems are in place and working to ensure statutory and best practice compliance. It also helps trustees to promote good governance, with detailed reporting for each section of the charity governance code

Charity Management, Staff and Volunteers

recognition for what they are achieving and confidence that key quality systems are operating well. Using the system also motivates them by identifying the greatest opportunities to achieve more, both broadens and deepens their knowledge, gives them the satisfaction of designing their own solutions and reduces workload by automatically generating reports and action plans.

Stakeholders and funders

the Quality Mark logo is included on all system generated reports and action plans, to enable qualifying charities to provide demonstrable evidence to stakeholders and funders, of their commitment to maximising charitable impact and delivering maximum value-for-money.

Charity performance areas assessed

A charity that holds the Quality Mark will have assessed its performance in the following functional areas: promoting good governance, maximising strategic impact, effectively leading and managing people, maximising operational delivery, effectively managing risk, efficient use of finance and resources, maximising income generation and developing communications effectiveness.

Performance in each of these areas is continuously updated on the charity’s dashboard, the dials assess overall performance and the 3 underpinning tables provide detailed analysis of 20+ areas of performance including:

Quality Mark qualifying criteria

The minimum criteria to qualify for the Quality Mark is set to match the annual planning cycle, with qualifying charity’s having completed each of the 8 functional modules at least once in the preceding 12 months. This criterion must continue to be met on an ongoing basis, or the quality mark will automatically be withdrawn.

The Quality Mark is awarded at the sole discretion of Alumna, which reserves the right to withhold or withdraw this, if in the view of Alumna, a voluntary organisation falls below the standards expected of a well-run not for profit. This may include, but is not restricted to, any attempt to ‘game’ the system, behaviour or standards that fall below the professionalism expected of a well-run charity, being subject to censure by the Charity Commission, or other regulatory authority, or an adverse audit or other report, the disqualification of directors, or being found against in legal proceedings.

In the event that a Quality Mark award is withheld or withdrawn, the charity will be advised and may appeal the decision in writing, within one calendar month, stating the grounds on which the appeal is based. The appeal will be considered and the charity advised of the outcome, the decision of which will be final.