Awards, Apr 17, 2008

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

Grant making. The Council on Foundations (Washington) has awarded its 2008 Robert W. Scrivner Award for Creative Grantmaking to Linetta J. Gilbert, senior program officer at the Ford Foundation (New York), for her leadership in bolstering community-development efforts.

The council’s Paul Ylvisaker Award for Public Policy Engagement went to the McCormick Tribune Foundation (Chicago) in honor of its long-term commitment to improving education for needy children under the age of 5 in Chicago.

The Distinguished Grantmaker Award was presented to Robert K. Ross, president and chief executive officer of the California Endowment (Los Angeles), to recognize his pursuit of better health services for minorities in city neighborhoods in California.

The Award for Distinguished Grantmaking Through Collaboration went to Living Cities: the National Community Development Initiative (New York), which raises money from foundations and companies to revitalize urban areas of the United States.

The council also has announced the recipients of its Critical Impact Awards for innovative projects supported by grant makers. Two organizations were recognized: the Tow Foundation (Wilton, Conn.) for its efforts to improve the juvenile-justice system in Connecticut, and the Community Foundation of Greater South Wood County (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.) and the Ford Foundation (New York) for the Community Progress Initiative, a community-development program in central Wisconsin.

Additionally, Women & Philanthropy, a project of the council, has presented its 2008 Leadership for Equity and Diversity (LEAD) Award to Peggy Saika, president and executive director of Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy (San Francisco). The award, which carries a gift of $10,000, honors grant makers for developing and supporting programs that promote equity for women and girls.

Health. The John M. Lloyd Foundation (Los Angeles) has presented its inaugural AIDS Leadership Award to Gregg Consalves, an activist who works for the AIDS and Rights Alliance of Southern Africa (Cape Town). He coordinates regional health-literacy and treatment programs for people with AIDS and tuberculosis in South Africa. The award, which carries a $100,000 prize, recognizes AIDS advocates who have previously received little or no acclaim.

Human services. The Caring Institute (Washington) has announced the recipients of its 2008 National Caring Awards, which honor people who have worked to improve the lives of others. This year, the institute recognized five teenagers and five adults. The adult winners:

— Dick Grace, owner of Grace Winery and founder of the Grace Family Foundation (St. Helena, Calif.), which sells the wine his company makes to raise money for programs that fight child abuse, homelessness, and pediatric cancer, particularly in Asia.

— Adele O’Sullivan, medical director of Health Care for the Homeless (Phoenix), who serves patients at the clinic and searches out homeless people on the street who need care.

— Greg Porter, founder of God’s Katrina Kitchen (Gulfport, Miss.), a charity that travels to areas where disaster has struck to serve meals and provide shelter for volunteers.

— The Rev. Cecil Williams, pastor of Glide Memorial (San Francisco), a church in the city’s Tenderloin district that operates social-service programs to provide meals, assist working parents and older people, tutor children, and help homeless people.

— John Wooden, former basketball coach at the U. of California at Los Angeles, who is a motivational speaker and author of books about friendship, loyalty, cooperation, enthusiasm, and leadership.

The young-adult winners:

— Jamie Harper, 19, of Grand Island, Neb., who recruits fellow youngsters to lead efforts to improve the environmental health of the region.

— Alexandra Holderman, 14, of Mishawaka, Ind., who created a project to supply needy mothers with blankets, diapers, and warm clothing for their children.

— Dallas Jessup, 16, of Vancouver, Wash., who wrote the script, hired a director, and raised money to pay production costs for a film to teach young girls and women how to protect themselves from violent situations.

— Ashlee Kephart, 16, of Brooklyn Center, Minn., who founded Kids for a Better World to send supplies and donations to children’s hospitals, homeless people, orphanages, and needy families.

— Vasanth Kuppuswamy, 18, of Charleston, S.C., who has raised money to improve facilities, buy school supplies, and buy a water-purification system for a school in India.