Awards, Apr 09, 2009

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

Fund raising. The Association of Fundraising Professionals (Alexandria, Va.) has announced the following winners of its 2009 Awards for Philanthropy:

— Award for Outstanding Foundation: the Greater New Orleans Foundation.

— Chair’s Award for Outstanding Service: Jimmie R. Alford of Chicago.

— Changing Our World/Simms Awards for Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy (Ages 5-17): Caitlin’s Closet (Caitlin DeMars, Caitlin Wright, and Margaret Allison) (Bridgeport, Conn.)

— Changing Our World/Simms Awards for Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy (Ages 18-23): Jordan Thomas of Chattanooga, Tenn.

— Community Counseling Service Award for Outstanding Fund-Raising Professional: Kenneth C. Frisch of Perrysburg, Ohio.

— Freeman Philanthropic Services Award for Outstanding Corporation: AT&T (Dallas).

— Ketchum Award for Outstanding Volunteer Fund Raiser: William Greehey of San Antonio.

— Paschal Murray Award for Outstanding Philanthropist: John Erickson of Baltimore.

Religion. The John Templeton Foundation (West Conshohocken, Pa.) has presented the 2009 Templeton Prize to Bernard d’Espagnat, a professor emeritus of theoretical physics at the University of Paris-Sud, in France. The award is given annually to an individual who has made an exceptional contribution to affirming a spiritual dimension to life. Mr. d’Espagnat, who will receive 1 million pounds ($1.42-million) was recognized for his scientific and philosophical contributions to the field of quantum mechanics.

Technology. The Verizon Foundation has announced the winners of its Tech Savvy Awards, which recognize innovative efforts nonprofit organizations have made to help parents understand the technology used by their children. The Indigenous Language Institute (Santa Fe, N.M.) has won the national award and will receive $25,000. The four regional winners, who will each receive $5,000: Fisher Middle-High School (Lafitte, La.), Neighborhood House (St. Paul), Mary’s Center for Maternal and Child Care (Washington), and Project Accessible Hollywood.

Women. The Washington Area Women’s Foundation has announced the winners of its 2009 Leadership Awards, which recognize small nonprofit organizations whose work improves the health and safety of low-income women and girls. The 10 winners, who will each receive $10,000:

— Boat People SOS (Falls Church, Va.), which helps Vietnamese refugee women with issues of health and domestic violence.

— Calvary Women’s Shelter (Washington), which provides transitional housing for homeless women.

— Daughter for the Day (Fort Washington, Md.), which provides people over 70 with free personal assistance.

— Domestic Violence Legal Empowerment and Appeals Project (Washington), which works to overturn unjust trial-court outcomes for victims of domestic violence.

— Family Preservation and Strengthening Services (Vienna, Va.), which provides housing and counseling to families in homeless shelters.

— Friends of Guest House (Alexandria, Va.), which places nonviolent female ex-offenders in group housing.

— Polaris Project (Washington), for its D.C. Trafficking Intervention Program, which combats human trafficking and modern-day slavery.

— Second Chance Employment Services (Washington), which finds employment for abused, elderly, and poor women.

— Through the Kitchen Door (Chevy Chase, Md.), for its Win Win in Washington program, which trains battered women to work in a commercial kitchen.

— Washington Middle School, for its Girls’ Extended Day Program, which offers after-school classes to girls from low-income neighborhoods.