Awards, Oct 16, 2008

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

Architecture and design. The University of Kentucky College of Design (Louisville) has announced the winner of the Curry Stone Design Prize, which recognizes designers who improve the human spirit, increase awareness of the environment, or respond to an area of need. The $100,000 award went to MMA Architects (Cape Town), for designing low-cost housing that is energy-efficient and requires little or no electricity or skilled labor to construct.

Arts. The Business Committee for the Arts (New York) has announced the winners of its BCA Ten: the Best Companies Supporting the Arts in America, which recognizes businesses that have supported the arts in recent years through grants, volunteer programs, matching gifts, local partnerships, sponsorships, and board membership. The winners are: Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (Houston), Brown-Forman Corporation (Louisville, Ky.), Emprise Bank (Wichita, Kan.), First Tennessee (Memphis), H&R Block (Kansas City, Mo.), Limited Brands (Columbus, Ohio), Northwestern Mutual (Milwaukee), Sweetwater Sound (Fort Wayne, Ind.), Wachovia (Charlotte, N.C.), and Zions First National Bank (Salt Lake City). In addition, James R. Houghton, chairman emeritus of Corning Inc. (Corning, N.Y), was named the winner of the BCA Leadership Award, which recognizes individuals whose commitment and leadership champion the arts, and Deutsche Bank (New York) was named to the BCA Hall of Fame for its long-term support of the arts.

Minorities. The W.K. Kellogg Foundation has announced the recipients of its National Leadership in Action Award, which recognizes work done by nonprofit organizations and philanthropic institutions to aid minorities. Each winner receives a $50,000 grant and an original art piece. The recipients are:

— Access (Dearborn, Mich.), for its commitment to providing economic and social services to Arab immigrants, Arab Americans, and non-Arabs, while removing language and cultural barriers.

— Native Americans in Philanthropy (Minneapolis), for its work to promote giving to Native American communities, while providing professionaldevelopment opportunities and support for Native Americans working in the field of philanthropy.

— Potlatch Fund (Seattle), for its work to inspire the tradition of giving in Native American communities in the Northwest and to promote economic development, civic participation, and the overall well-being of Native American people.

— Rose Community Foundation (Denver, Colo.), for its leadership in advancing cross-cultural collaborations with Denver’s Latino population and its support of actions that strengthen philanthropic participation in minority areas.

— Twenty-First Century Foundation (New York), for its efforts to encourage strategic giving to black communities.

Nonprofit leadership. The Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation (Washington) has announced the recipients of its 2008 Exponent Awards, which honor midcareer leaders of the foundation’s grantees. Following are the winners, whose organizations will each receive a $100,000 cash grant:

— Mary Brown, executive director and co-founder, Life Pieces to Masterpieces (Washington)

— Julie Chapman, president, NPower Greater D.C. Region (Washington)

— Steve Galen, president and chief executive, Primary Care Coalition of Montgomery County (Silver Spring, Md.)

— Anne Corbett, executive director, Cultural Development Corporation (Washington)

— Veronica Nolan, executive director, Urban Alliance (Washington)

Nonprofit management. The Drucker Institute at Claremont Graduate U. (Calif.) has presented the 2008 Peter F. Drucker Award for Nonprofit Innovation to KickStart International (San Francisco). The $35,000 award recognizes the organization’s efforts to fight poverty in Africa by creating and selling simple tools that help poor entrepreneurs increase their income.

The award also recognized Hidden Harvest (Coachella, Calif.), which received $7,500 for its program to gather produce that has been left behind in fields and orchards after harvest and deliver it to organizations that serve poor people. The Calvert Foundation (Bethesda, Md.) received $5,000 for its program to raise money from investors and lend it to nonprofit organizations and social entrepreneurs working around the world to alleviate poverty and promote sustainable development.

Substance abuse. Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (Alexandria, Va.) presented its 2008 Humanitarian of the Year award to HBO, for its Addiction project, a multimedia campaign and documentary series aimed at helping Americans understand addiction as a treatable brain disease. The organization also presented its 2008 Drug-Free Kids Award to the Consumer Healthcare Products Association (Washington), for its work to stop the abuse of cough medicine.