Awards, Mar 31, 2005

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

Education fund raising. The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (Washington) has presented its annual national award for distinguished service on behalf of institutionally related foundations to David W. Bahlmann, president and chief executive officer of the Ball State U. Foundation (Muncie, Ind.). The award is sponsored by CASE and Commonfund (Wilton, Conn.), which provides fund management and investment services to nonprofit groups.

Film and video. The Council on Foundations (Washington) has announced the recipients of the Henry Hampton Awards for Excellence in Film & Digital Media, co-sponsored by Grantmakers in Film and Electronic Media (New York). The awards recognize excellence in documentary filmmaking that focuses on “compelling social movements and issues”; films must have received some foundation funding in order to be eligible. The winners:

— Farmingville, a film by Carlos Sandoval and Catherine Tambini that examines the issue of illegal immigrant labor in a suburban New York town.

— In the Light of Reverence: Devils Tower. The Four Corners. Mount Shasta, a film by Christopher McLeod that details the struggles of Lakota Indians in the Black Hills, Hopi Indians in Arizona, and Wintu Indians in California to protect sites sacred to them.

— Refugee, a film by Spencer Nakasako that follows three American youths from San Francisco whose parents immigrated from Cambodia, having fled the Pol Pot regime, and who return to their country of origin to find family members.

— Trembling Before G-D, a film by Sandi Dubowski that focuses on the personal stories of Hasidic and Orthodox Jews who are gay or lesbian.

Grant making. The Council on Foundations (Washington) has awarded its 2005 Distinguished Grantmaker Award, which recognizes lifetime achievement in philanthropy, to Rien van Gendt, executive director of the Van Leer Group Foundation and former executive director of the Bernard van Leer Foundation, both located in the Hague. Mr. van Gendt has worked to increase understanding and cooperation between U.S. and European foundations and was the first chair of the International Committee of the European Foundation Centre (Brussels). He has also served as chair of COF’s International Committee and as co-chair of its Disaster Response Initiative.

The council has presented its 2005 Robert W. Scrivner Award for Creative Grantmaking to Nancy Latimer, senior program officer in the children and families program of the McKnight Foundation (Minneapolis). Ms. Latimer was honored for the Alternative Response program, through which families in Minnesota that were considered at increased risk for child abuse and neglect, but did not yet meet criteria for child-protection involvement, were offered comprehensive support services. This program was eventually incorporated into state legislation and is now available in every county in Minnesota.

The council’s 2005 Paul Ylvisaker Award for Public Policy Engagement went to the Maytree Foundation (Toronto) for its efforts to change immigration policies in Canada through public-awareness campaigns and other activities. Its work has resulted in a policy that allows refugees who have not yet received permanent-resident status to receive loans for postsecondary education, and has helped create the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council.

Lutheran fund raising. The Association of Lutheran Development Executives (Madison, Wis.) has presented its 2005 Outstanding Executive of the Year Award to Bill Nolan, executive director of Ken-Crest (Plymouth Meeting, Pa.). Mr. Nolan was honored for his work to expand Ken-Crest’s services for children and adults with developmental disabilities and for his leadership and fund-raising efforts.

Women and girls. Women & Philanthropy (Washington) has presented its 2005 Leadership for Equity and Diversity (LEAD) Award to Elizabeth Bremner, founding president of the Foundation Incubator (Palo Alto, Calif.). The award, which carries a gift of $10,000, honors grant makers for developing and supporting programs that promote equity for women and girls. Ms. Bremner was recognized in particular for creating the Lesbian and Gay Community Funding Partnership in the 1990s when she was president of the Santa Fe Community Foundation (N.M.).