Awards, May 07, 1998

The following awards have been presented for work in philanthropy, fund raising, volunteerism, and non-profit management:

AIDS. Funders Concerned About AIDS (New York) has presented its 1998 Humanitarian Leadership Award to Kate Shindle, 1998 Miss America, for her work to increase public awareness and compassion for people with HIV and AIDS and for her “frank and outspoken stance” on preventing the transmission of HIV. The group also presented its R. A. Radley AIDS Grantmaker Award to Judy Simpson, former senior program officer at the George Gund Foundation (Cleveland), for her creative and strategic public-policy grant making to fight AIDS.

Citizenship. The Heritage Foundation (Washington) has given its 1998 Salvatori Prize for American Citizenship to Thaddeus Lott, a Houston educator who implemented the “direct instruction” method — which requires strict adherence to a set of scripted questions and answers that teach fundamental mathematics, reading, and writing skills — at the Mabel B. Wesley Elementary School, where he serves as principal. Mr. Lott’s methods have been credited for reversing dismal academic scores at the school, which enrolls large numbers of poor students, and are being adopted by school districts elsewhere. The prize, which carries a $25,000 award, was endowed by the Henry Salvatori Foundation (Los Angeles) and recognizes “extraordinary efforts by American citizens who are helping their communities solve problems the government has been unable to solve.”

Corporate philanthropy. Newman’s Own (Westport, Conn.) and George magazine have named Aaron Feuerstein, owner of Malden Mills (Lawrence, Mass.), as the first recipient of the Newman’s Own/George award for innovative and significant corporate philanthropy. Mr. Feuerstein was cited for retaining employees on the company’s payroll as he rebuilt his plant, which had been destroyed by fire. The award carries a prize of $250,000 from the Newman’s Own Foundation, to be donated to a charity designated by the recipient.

Environment. The Goldman Environmental Foundation (San Francisco) has awarded its 1998 Goldman Environmental Prizes to six grassroots environmental leaders. Each prize carries an unrestricted $100,000 award, which was increased this year from $75,000. The winners:

— Anna Giordano (Italy), who initiated a campaign in defense of migrating raptors, which are traditionally shot for sport in her native Sicily; despite the firebombing of her car and other threats, she has insured that the number of birds killed each spring has dropped significantly.

— Kory Johnson (United States), who founded Children for a Safe Environment in 1989 at the age of 9; the group has organized a successful youth-based campaign to stop a proposed waste incinerator in Phoenix and other activities on environmental-health issues that affect children.

— Berita KuwarU’wa (Colombia), an indigenous U’wa Indian who, on behalf of his tribe, has waged an international campaign imploring multinational oil companies to end unauthorized drilling in the tribe’s remote Colombian homeland.

— Atherton Martin (Dominica), who overcame strong governmental opposition and organized extensive local and international support for stopping a proposed copper mine that would have devastated 10 per cent of his biologically diverse island nation.

— Sven (Bobby) Peek (South Africa), a native of the highly industrialized South Durban area who united his racially divided community to successfully close an illegal toxic dump last year and who works on related environmental-justice issues.

— Hirofumi Yamashita (Japan), who has worked for more than 25 years to halt a land-reclamation project planned for Isahaya Bay, one of the world’s richest wetlands, and who has succeeded in bringing public attention to this and other environmentally destructive public- works programs in Japan.

Fund raising. The Institute for Charitable Giving (Chicago) has presented its 1998 Laureate Award — which honors lifetime achievement in major-gift fund raising — to Frank R. Hall, senior vice-president at the St. Joseph Health System-Southern California Region (Orange) and to Constance H. Kravas, vice-president for university advancement and president of the foundation at Washington State U. (Pullman).

ICG’s 1998 Major Gift Fund Raiser of Distinction Awards were presented in the following three categories:

— Major-Gift Fund Raiser Whose Institution Raises $10-Million a Year or More: Carol A. Carter, vice-chancellor for institutional advancement at the U. of Pittsburgh.

— Major-Gift Fund Raiser Whose Institution Raises $5-Million to $10-Million a Year: Sister Jeanne O’Laughlin, president of Barry U. (Miami Shores, Fla.).

— Major-Gift Fund Raiser Whose Institution Raises $1-Million to $5-Million a Year: William H. Etling, vice-president for development and public relations at Ashland U. (Ohio).

Grant makers. The Council on Foundations (Washington) has presented its 1998 Robert W. Scrivner Award for Creative Grantmaking to Thomas C. Layton, executive director of the Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation (San Francisco). He was cited for various efforts, including early support for “death with dignity” efforts, innovative program-related investments, and cultural-preservation and environmental programs in Hawaii. The council’s 1998 Distinguished Grantmaker Award, which honors lifetime achievement in organized philanthropy, went to Irene Diamond, president of the Irene Diamond Fund (New York) and former president of the Aaron Diamond Foundation (New York), through which she oversaw the distribution of more than $220-million for AIDS and other programs from 1987 to 1996.

International relief and development. InterAction (Washington) has presented its InterAction Humanitarian Award to Fazle Abed, founder and executive director of the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee, and its InterAction Award for Excellence in International Reporting to Robin Wright, a reporter with the Los Angeles Times.

Non-profit leadership. The Midwest Center for Nonprofit Leadership at the U. of Missouri at Kansas City has presented its inaugural Edward A. Smith Awards for Excellence in Nonprofit Leadership, which recognize one national leader and one leader from the Kansas City metropolitan region in each of the following two categories:

— Executive Leadership Award: the Rev. Sid L. Mohn, president and chief executive officer of the Heartland Alliance for Human Needs and Human Rights (Chicago), and Janice C. Kreamer, president and chief executive officer of the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation (Mo.).

— Volunteer Leadership Award: Lindsay Dayton Berryman of Medford, Ore., and Suellen Fried of Kansas City, Mo.

United Way. United Way of America (Alexandria, Va.) has presented its Spirit of America award to Williams (Tulsa, Okla.), an energy and communications company, for its local work, including participation in the United Way Loaned Executives Program and involvement in the Jason Project, a national distance-learning program. United Way also presented Summit Awards for corporate leadership in these four categories:

— Corporate Contributions: BankAmerica Corporation (San Francisco), Enron Corporation (Houston), and the Microsoft Corporation (Redmond, Wash.).

— Employee Campaign: Kellogg Company (Battle Creek, Mich.) and the Microsoft Corporation (Redmond, Wash.).

— Major Gifts: Microsoft Corporation (Redmond, Wash.).

— Volunteer Programs: Chase Manhattan Corporation (New York).

UWA’s 1998 National Alexis de Toqueville Society Award went to Harold Alfond, a philanthropist and founder of Dexter Shoes (Dexter, Me.), and to Constance B. Eve, founder of Women for Human Rights and Dignity (Buffalo, N.Y.). Mr. Alfond was cited for his philanthropic activities over the past 47 years, including the creation of the Two/Ten International Footwear Foundation, which provides needy shoe-industry workers with counseling, grants, and scholarships. Ms. Eve was cited for her work in behalf of low-income and incarcerated women, including the creation of Project Joy, which conducts workshops for incarcerated women on child adjudication and educational opportunities and provides referrals and services for their families.

The UWA 1998 Joseph A. Beirne Community Services Award, which honors labor-union members for outstanding volunteer work with United Way, went to Jerry L. King of Lansing, Mich.; Lawrence A. Roehrig of Flint, Mich; and Edgar A. Scribner of Detroit.

The UWA 1998 Championing Diversity Award went to the United Way of Franklin County (Columbus, Ohio) which initiated Project Diversity in 1989 and which succeeded in doubling the number of blacks who gave more than $1,000 in 1997.

Women. Women & Philanthropy (New York) has awarded its second LEAD (Leadership in Equity and Diversity) Award to Jean Fairfax, a trustee of the Arizona Community Foundation (Phoenix) and a founding member of Women & Philanthropy, for her work to increase understanding of the links between race and gender and to promote women’s independence and autonomy, both in philanthropy and in society at large.

Womens Way (Philadelphia), which raises funds for groups run by and for women, recently honored four women for significant achievement: Rosemarie B. Greco, immediate past president of CoreStates Financial Corp (Philadelphia) and former chair of the Women’s Commission for the City of Philadelphia; Juliet E. Nathanson, a physician who devoted more than 50 years to women’s-health services and education; Ann L. O’Sullivan, an associate professor of pediatrics at the U. of Pennsylvania’s Schools of Nursing and Medicine who created the Teen Baby Program at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia; and Bertha S. Waters, a long-time social worker and educator who has worked in various capacities to help at-risk women and children, including as chair of Parents United for Public Schools (Philadelphia).