Charity ISO Certification

Will an ISO Certification work for your charity?

ISO Certification helps charities to demonstrate that they are well run organisations. Verification by independent, impartial external auditors from UKAS accredited Certification Bodies gives the extra level of governance that many stakeholders require.

2SB work with charities to help them adapt their well developed systems to meet the requirements of a range of ISO standards - quality (ISO 9001), information security (ISO 27001), health & safety (ISO 45001) and environmental (ISO 14001) management systems all find their home in charitable and non profit organisations.

There are many benefits to ISO certification including improved stakeholder relationships and the ability to secure new funding through demonstratable governance.

Using an ISO Consultant like 2SB makes the acquisition of the ISO standard easier to achieve and can ensure you add value to your business.

Demonstrating Governance

  • Beneficiaries know they are supporting a well run organisation that can be trusted
  • Protect against issues that can affect not only your staff but the people you are supporting

Continual Improvement

  • Charities need to be dynamic in order to reflect the needs of society today and tomorrow
  • Our ISO Consultants give you candid advice on where to strengthen your business systems

Legislative Compliance

  • UKAS accredited ISO systems require you to carry out risk based evaluations of compliance
  • Address vulnerabilities before it is too late to protect your reputation

Organisational Management

ISO 9001 covers the core processes of any successful organisation and is what your stakeholders expect you to be doing to be an effective charity.

In order to be effective, management need to consider the impact that risk has on your charity, and we can give you the tools to guide you in this area. Having a well run business can have huge positive impacts on your ability to deliver upon your objectives.

  • Establish consistent processes that allow scalability across multiple units
  • Enhance support procedures to ensure staff are trained and competent

Environmental Management

Some charities work in environments that require extensive consideration for the natural environment. With the ever greater awareness on our enviromental impact, charities need to demonstrate that they have consistent plans to reduce their effect.

Having ISO 14001 can help you reduce your impact and demonstrate that the good that you are trying to achieve extends beyond just the principal deliverables of your organisation.

  • ISO 14001 supports your requirement for Corporate Social Responsibility
  • The standard provides tools to ensure compliance with key environmental legislation

Information Security

Most charities handle highly sensitive data of both donors and beneficiaries. Effective data management systems are essential to prevent a breach of this data which could do lasting damage to your reputation.

ISO 27001 is the leading industry standard to provide this protection and considers many different aspects of human and technical security.

  • The controls you put in place need to be right for the size of your organisation - this is where our guidance comes in
  • These effective controls also need to be updated as you and your risks evolve and we can help with ongoing business support

 

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Chris Passmore
Principal Management Consultant & Director
Chris Passmore

Frequently asked question view all

How long does it take to get ISO certified?

For any single management system including ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 27001, ISO 45001, a typical time frame for implementation is 3-6 months.

Implementation time frames (i.e. building your management system prior to the audit) are as follows:

ISO 9001 – 3 to 6 months
ISO 14001 – 3 to 6 months
ISO 27001 – 3 to 6 months
ISO 45001 – 3 to 6 months
ISO 9001 + ISO 14001 – 4 to 8 months
ISO 9001 + ISO 27001 – 4 to 8 months
ISO 9001 + ISO 14001 + ISO 45001 – 5 to 10 months
ISO 9001 + ISO 14001 + ISO 27001 – 5 to 10 months

This can vary depending on how effective you are at implementing the management system's requirements and the number of certifications being acquired. 

We have completed implementations in shorter time frames however from our experience this means internally you must prioritise the ISO implementation with a central member of staff.

In addition to the timeframes above, you should allow 1-3 months for the certification process (i.e. stage 1 and stage 2 audits) and around 2 further weeks to receive your certificate.

It's beneficial to have the advice of a consultant when doing this but you can do it alone if you have the time and resource needed to learn the standard and its requirements.

Contact an ISO Consultant