Awards, Jan 12, 2006

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

American Indians. Ecotrust (Portland, Ore.) has presented its 2005 Buffett Award for Indigenous Leadership to W. Ron Allen, chairman and executive director of the Jamestown S’Kallam Tribe (Sequim, Wash.). The $25,000 award recognizes an American Indian leader working in conservation or community development.

Community development. The Fannie Mae Foundation (Washington) has announced its 2005 James A. Johnson Community Fellows, which honor individuals who promote community-development projects and low-cost housing. The recipients, who each receive a $70,000 grant for professional-development activities and a stipend of up to $20,000 for travel and education-related expenses:

— Ellen Baxter, executive director and founder, Broadway Housing Communities (New York)

— Robert Calvillo, executive director, McAllen Affordable Homes (Tex.)

— Diane Sterner, executive director, Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey (Trenton)

— Dee Walsh, executive director, Reach Community Development (Portland, Ore.)

The Enterprise Foundation (Columbia, Md.) has presented its 2005 Jim and Patty Rouse Award to Home HeadQuarters (Syracuse, N.Y.) and Central City Concern (Portland, Ore.). The award, which carries a $5,000 prize, recognizes outstanding community-based groups engaged in comprehensive affordable-housing and community-revitalization efforts.

Corporate giving. The White House and the Conference Board (New York) have presented the 2005 Ron Brown Awards for Corporate Leadership in employee and community relations. Bayer (Leverkusen, Germany) was honored for a program that educates people about “everyday” science. Johnson & Johnson (New Brunswick, N.J.) was recognized for its efforts to increase the diminishing numbers of nurses. S.C. Johnson & Son (Racine, Wis.) was honored for its commitment to manufacturing products that don’t harm the environment.

Humanities. The Grawemeyer Foundation at the U. of Louisville (Ky.) has announced the recipients of the 2006 Grawemeyer Awards, which were presented in five categories. Each recipient receives a $200,000 honorarium. The award in religion is given jointly with the Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. The winners:

— Education. Lee Shulman, president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching (Stanford, Calif.), for his work to improve teaching, including through his book Wisdom of Practice: Essays on Teaching, Learning, and Learning to Teach, in which he asserts that teachers are essential to the success of people in all professions.

— Ideas for improving world order. Fiona Terry, director of research for the French section of Doctors Without Borders, for her work to improve the performance of humanitarian-aid groups and ensure that such organizations don’t cause unintentional harm.

— Music composition. György Kurtág, the Hungarian composer, for his “Concertante Op. 42.”

— Psychology. John O’Keefe, a professor of cognitive neuroscience at University College London, and Lynn Nadel, a professor of psychology and cognitive science at the University of Arizona (Tucson), for their research on the brain’s mapping system.

— Religion. Marilynne Robinson, a creative-writing professor at the University of Iowa (Iowa City), for her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Gilead, which examines Christianity, the ministry, and family relationships.

International. Alcan (Montreal) and the Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum (London) have presented the 2005 Alcan Prize for Sustainability to Aga Khan Planning and Building Services (Karachi, Pakistan) for its efforts to improve Pakistan’s urban infrastructure, including sanitation and water facilities. The $1-million award is given annually to a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization in recognition of its contributions to “economic, environmental, or social sustainability.”

Nonprofit leadership. The Council on Foundations (Washington) has named three recipients of its Emerging Philanthropic Leaders Fellowship Program. The new fellows are Margaret Flanagan, president and chief executive officer of the Southern Illinois Community Foundation (Carbondale); Ricardo Lopez, program assistant at the Rasmuson Foundation (Anchorage); and Danielle M. Reyes, program officer at the Meyer Foundation (Washington). Ms. Flanagan will work with Nancy B. Anthony, executive director of the Oklahoma City Community Foundation, on board, fund, and program development. Mr. Lopez will work with Ruth Tebbets Brousseau, director of evaluation and organizational learning at the California Wellness Foundation (Woodland Hills), on the ways in which foundations evaluate their work. Ms. Reyes will work with Ligia Cravo of the William Randolph Hearst Foundations (New York) on leadership development.

The Rasmuson Foundation (Anchorage) has given sabbatical awards to four nonprofit leaders of health and human-service groups in Alaska that will allow them to take two- to six-month paid leaves. The recipients are Ginger Baim, executive director of Safe and Fear Free Environment (Dillingham); Patricia Branson, executive director of Senior Citizens of Kodiak; Dennis McMillian, president of the Foraker Group (Anchorage); and Brenda Stanfill, executive director of the Interior Center for Non-Violent Living (Fairbanks).

Nonprofit research. The Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (Indianapolis) has presented its 2005 awards honoring members’ accomplishments. The recipients:

— René Bekkers, associate professor of sociology at Utrecht U. (the Netherlands), received the Gabriel G. Rudney Memorial Award for Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation for “Giving and Volunteering in the Netherlands: Sociological and Psychological Perspectives.”

— Alnoor Ebrahim, assistant professor of urban affairs and planning at Virginia Tech-Alexandria Center, received the award for Outstanding Article published in Nonprofit Management and Leadership, “Making Sense of Accountability: Conceptual Perspectives for Northern and Southern Nonprofits.”

— Marion Fremont-Smith, senior research fellow at the Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations at Harvard U. (Cambridge, Mass.), received the award for Outstanding Book in Nonprofit and Voluntary Action Research for Governing Nonprofit Organizations.

— Kirsten Gronbjerg, professor of public and environmental affairs and philanthropic studies at Indiana U. (Bloomington), received the Distinguished Achievement and Leadership in Nonprofit and Voluntary Action Research Award.

— Mary Alice Haddad, assistant professor of government and East Asian studies at Wesleyan U. (Middletown, Conn.), received the award for Outstanding Article published in Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, “Community Determinates of Volunteer Participation and the Promotion of Civic Health: The Case of Japan.”

Poverty. The Robin Hood Foundation (New York) has presented its 2005 Robin Hood Heroes Awards, which honor individuals and groups working to mitigate poverty in New York. Joel Klein, chancellor of the New York City Department of Education, is the first public official to receive a Robin Hood Hero award in honor of his work to improve New York City’s school system. Three organizations and affiliated individuals also won awards that were accompanied by $50,000 grants:

— Angela Diaz and the Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center, which provides thousands of young people annually with services related to abuse, trauma, and other health issues.

— Julio Perez and Red Hook on the Road, which trains and helps low-income people obtain jobs as drivers of trucks, buses, and vans.

— George Sanders, Georgiette Morgan-Thomas, and Goddard Riverside Community Center, which provides permanent housing and other services for mentally ill and elderly New Yorkers.

Public interest. Public Citizen (Washington) has presented its Phyllis McCarthy Annual Public Interest Service Award to Judy Maslen, financial director of the Connecticut Citizen Action Group (West Hartford), which organizes coalitions around such issues as campaign finance and health care. The award honors people who have worked for lengthy stints at public-interest groups, but have received little or no acclaim.