Awards, May 01, 2008

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

American Indians. Native Americans in Philanthropy (Minneapolis) has presented its Louis T. Delgado Distinguished Grantmaker Award to Susan Jenkins, executive director of the Cherokee Preservation Foundation (Cherokee, N.C.). Ms. Jenkins was honored for her efforts to connect mainstream philanthropy with American Indian philanthropy and to improve the quality of life for members of the Cherokee tribe in western North Carolina.

Education fund raising. The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (Washington) and Commonfund (Wilton, Conn.) have presented the Institutionally Related Foundation awards to Ed Davis, president of the Texas A&M Foundation (College Station), and to Susan Kubik, vice president for institutional advancement and executive director of the Northampton Community College Foundation (Bethlehem, Pa.). The award recognizes leaders of nonprofit groups that raise and manage money for colleges, universities, and university systems.

Environment. The Goldman Environmental Foundation (San Francisco) has presented its 2008 Goldman Environmental Prize to grass-roots environmental activists from six world regions. The winners, who each received an unrestricted stipend of $150,000:

— Africa. Feliciano dos Santos (Mozambique), who incorporates traditional music and technology into grass-roots efforts to bring sanitation to rural areas of Mozambique.

— Asia. Marina Rikhvanova (Russia), who leads efforts to protect Lake Baikal, in Siberia, from industrial pollution.

— Central and South America. Pablo Fajardo Mendoza and Luis Yanza (Ecuador), who are pursuing environmental litigation against the oil corporation Chevron in the Ecuadorian Amazon.

— Europe. Ignace Schops (Belgium), who raised more than $90-million to create Belgium’s first national park.

— Islands and Island Nations. Rosa Hilda Ramos (Puerto Rico), who directs a community effort to protect the Las Cucharillas Marsh, a large wetlands ecosystem.

— North America. Jesús León Santos (Mexico), who is leading a program to use indigenous practices to make depleted soil suitable to grow crops again.