Awards, May 06, 1999

The following awards have been presented for work in philanthropy, fund raising, volunteerism, and non-profit management:

Black philanthropy. The Association of Black Foundation Executives (Indianapolis) has presented its James A. Joseph Award to Hugh C. Burroughs, director of special projects and external affairs at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation (Los Alto, Cal.).

Environment. The Goldman Environmental Foundation (San Francisco) has awarded its 1999 Goldman Environmental Prizes to seven grassroots environmental leaders. Each prize carries an unrestricted $125,000 award, which was increased this year from $100,000. The winners:

— Ka Hsaw Wa (Myanmar), who has documented thousands of cases of forced labor, executions, and confiscation of lands and property resulting from fishing, logging, mining, and petroleum concessions granted by the military government of this country formerly known as Burma.

— Jacqui Katona and Yvonne Margarula (Australia), who have organized their native Aboriginal people and other Australians to stop the development of a huge open-pit uranium mine on Aboriginal lands in the Kakadu National Park.

— Michal Kravcik (Slovakia), who directs the “Blue Alternative” project to restore Slovakia’s watersheds, which were destroyed during decades of neglect and uncurbed economic development.

— Bernard Martin (Canada), a fisherman who lost his livelihood when fishing grounds on Canada’s east coast were overharvested; he now works to rally fishers worldwide to protect fishing grounds from indiscriminate harvesting practices and techniques that harm the environment.

— Samuel Nguiffo (Cameroon), who founded and serves as a lawyer for the Center for Environment and Development, which works to limit industrial-scale logging and other environmental devastation in the Central African forest that is home to the Baka and Bagueli people and numerous endangered species.

— Jorge Varela (Honduras), who leads an organization opposed to the large-scale destruction of Honduran mangrove forests and the construction of commercial shrimp farms that lead to loss of habitat, epidemic aquatic diseases, loss of traditional farming, and environmental destruction.

United Way. The United Way of America (Alexandria, Va.) has presented its 1999 Spirit of America award to the Microsoft Corporation (Redmond, Wash.) for its employee-giving and corporate-giving programs, including the “Volunteers in Bellevue’s Education System” and the “Working Connections: Community Colleges” programs. United Way also presented Summit Awards for corporate leadership in these four categories:

— Corporate Contributions: Chase Manhattan Corporation (New York), the Fluor Corporation (Irvine, Cal.), and the Warner-Lambert Company (Morris Plains, N.J.).

— Employee Campaign: Chase Manhattan Corporation (New York), DaimlerChrysler Corporation (Auburn Hills, Mich.), and Merck & Company (Whitehouse Station, N.J.).

— Major Gifts: Chase Manhattan Corporation (New York).

— Volunteer Programs: Chase Manhattan Corporation (New York) and United Technologies Corporation (Hartford, Conn.).

Women. The Women’s Funding Network (St. Paul) has presented its 1999 Changing the Face of Philanthropy Awards to Kate Davis, founding president of the Sojourner Foundation (Detroit); Kavita N. Ramdas, president and chief executive officer of the Global Fund for Women (Palo Alto, Cal.); and Leonie Walker, an activist who served on the Astraea National Lesbian Action Foundation’s Community Funding Panel for several years.