Awards, Aug 20, 2009

The following awards have been presented for work in advocacy, fund raising, nonprofit leadership, philanthropy, and other areas:

Aging. The National Alliance for Caregiving (Bethesda, Md.) and the MetLife Foundation (New York) have announced the winners of the 2009 National Family Caregiving Awards, which recognize community-based programs that support family caregivers of older adults. The winning programs, which each received $25,000:

— Al Sigl Center, the Arc of Monroe County, and Lifespan, all based in Rochester, N.Y., for Future Care Planning Services, a collaborative effort that helps caregivers prepare for the possibility that they will not outlive the person they are caring for.

— Community Action Program East Central Oregon (Pendleton), for Native Caring, a training conference for Native American caregivers.

— Copper Ridge Institute (Sykesville, Md.), for its Dementia Skills Training for the Home Caregiver program, an educational program for caregivers available in English and Spanish.

— Darts (Minneapolis), for its Workplace Eldercare Seminars, which support caregivers who also work other jobs with education and resources.

— James Madison U. (Harrisonburg, Va.), for its Caregivers Community Network, which recruits and trains community volunteers and students to provide services to caregivers in rural Virginia.

— Pro Bono Counseling Project (Baltimore), for its Caring for Caregivers program, which links low-income, uninsured caregivers with licensed mental-health professionals.

— Services and Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Elders (New York), for the Sage Caregiver Program, which is designed to meet the complete care and support needs of LGBT caregivers.

Leadership. Independent Sector (Washington) has presented the 2009 American Express Building Leadership Award to Community Voices Heard (New York), which works to give low-income people in New York the ability to advocate for public-policy changes that improve their lives. The award, which is accompanied by a $10,000 grant, recognizes a nonprofit group that advances leadership among its board and staff members, volunteers, and others.

Marketing. The American Marketing Association and the American Marketing Association Foundation (Chicago) have announced that Eric Overman, director of online communities and social media at Operation Smile (Norfolk, Va.), is the winner of the 2009 Nonprofit Marketer of the Year Award. Mr. Overman was recognized for increasing Operation Smile’s online revenue by 30 percent and expanding its e-mail list by 500 percent. In addition, Anne Bergquist, vice president of brand management and marketing at the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago, received the Special Marketing Initiatives Award, for efforts that increased her organization’s membership revenue by $6-million from 2003 to 2006, and increased the number of returning members by 11 percent, and David J. Neff, director of Web, film, and interactive strategy at the High Plains division of the American Cancer Society (Austin, Tex.), received the Social Media Award, for his innovations in social networking and user-generated content.

Nonprofit management. The Alliance for Nonprofit Management (Washington) has presented its 2009 Terry McAdam Book Award for the best new book about nonprofit management to Don Tebbe for Chief Executive Transitions: How to Hire and Support a Nonprofit CEO, published by BoardSource.

Social activism. The Andrew Goodman Foundation (Dumont, N.J.) has announced the recipients of its 2009 Hidden Heroes Awards, which honor individuals who promote human dignity, civil rights, and social justice. The winners: Frances Beinecke, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council (New York), a nonprofit organization of scientists, lawyers, and environmental specialists dedicated to protecting public health and the environment; Tashi Dolma, founder of the Tibetan Home of Hope (Valley Cottage, N.Y.), which provides Tibetan children with a safe haven and culturally sensitive education; Gwen Levine, founder of the Paterson Youth Photography Project (Paterson, N.J.), which gives disadvantaged youths an opportunity to learn the art of photography; and Toni Maloney, president and co-founder of the Business Council for Peace (New York), which tries to improve economic conditions in countries recovering from war.