Who is ACE?

Picture Provided by the Arkansas Arts Council.

Arkansas Coalition for Excellence (ACE) is the Arkansas state association of nonprofit organizations and is Arkansas' representative in the National Council of Nonprofits.

Members include nonprofits, foundations, businesses, and individuals committed to excellence in the state's nonprofit sector.

ACE works with nonprofits of every size and function with one goal: maximizing effectiveness so that every donated dollar results in greater impact. This is achieved through a groundbreaking combination of training, collaboration, and networking, focused upon The Arkansas Diamond Standards(tm) for operational excellence.  Additional benefits, such as cost sharing, public advocacy, and news on the nonprofit sector make ACE the connection to success for its members.

ACE history

ACE was founded collectively by nonprofit, business, foundation and individual leaders invested in the building a stronger nonprofit sector.  ACE was incorporated in the summer of 2003 (then as Arkansas for Charity Excellence) as a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit.  As Arkansas’ state association and representative to the National Council for Nonprofit Associations, ACE is recognized as the central point within the state for nonprofits committed to elevating, collaborating and promoting success in Arkansas’ nonprofit sector.

In January of 2006, ACE hired a full-time Executive Director, Hunter Goodman.  The board of directors and membership voted to change the organization's name to Arkansas Coalition for Excellence, with the tagline, Promoting Nonprofit Success, to better represent all members of the nonprofit community.  Over the past few years, ACE has achieved many milestones.  Here are some of our accomplishments:

ACE accomplishments

• Met with Senator Blanche Lincoln and nonprofit leaders to discuss fiscal policy issues affecting nonprofits.
• Researched and published the "Arkansas State of the Sector Report," which summarized the state's 2004 nonprofit composition and capacity.
•  Developed the Arkansas Diamond Standards™ for Nonprofit Excellence
• Garnered selection as the Nonprofit Risk Management Center's 10th satellite location in the United States. 
• Partnered with fellow state associations in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Oklahoma, Michigan, Maine, Minnesota, Virginia, Iowa, and Montana to share resources, ideas, and planning.
• Partnered to co-host the annual Summit Conference for Arkansas Philanthropy.
• Received the Network Booster Award at the National Council of Nonprofit Associations (NCNA) 2006 member meeting in recognition of the Executive Director's establishment of ACE's firm foundation for success.
• Providing training opportunities through the Nonprofit Risk Management Center
• Collaborating with UALR and the Little Rock Chamber of Commerce to host a quarterly Nonprofit Management Series
• Partnering with the Association of Fundraising Professionals to host Advanced Topics in Fundraising teleconferences and webinars.

ACE's special thanks

With special thanks to our generous funders, Arkansas Coalition for Excellence continues to grow and build as our state’s nonprofit association committed to operational excellence, nonprofit policy issues, and central convening for all invested in our state’s sector. We thank them for their many contributions and investments.

• Arkansas Community Foundation
• Charles A. Frueauff Foundation
• Dolores F. & Thomas A. Bruce Endowment Fund
• Foundation for the Mid South
• Morris Foundation, Inc.
• Munro Foundation, Inc.
• Carl B. & Florence E. King Foundation
• The Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation