Awards, Nov 25, 2004

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 2004 Buffett Award for Indigenous Leadership to Clarence Alexander, co-founder of the Council of Athabascan Tribal Governments (Fort Yukon, Alaska) and the Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council (Fairbanks, Alaska). Mr. Alexander is also a former grand chief of the Gwitch’in peoples, and is currently working on a Gwitch’in-English dictionary. The $25,000 award recognizes an American Indian leader working in conservation or community development.

Black philanthropy.The Twenty-First Century Foundation (New York) has selected the winners of its 2004 Robert S. Browne Philanthropist with a Vision Awards, which honor African-American leaders who have made large gifts to causes that benefit black Americans. This year’s honorees are Linda A. Randolph, president and chief executive officer of the D.C. Developing Families Center (Washington) and John Rogers, founder and chairman of Ariel Capital Management (Chicago).

Environment. REI (Sumner, Wash.) has presented its 2004 REI Stewards for the Environment Awards, which honor volunteers who participate in activities that help protect the nation’s landscape and promote the safe, responsible enjoyment of outdoor recreation. The organization with which each recipient volunteers receives a $20,000 grant. The winners:

— Steve Austin, of Northglenn, Colo., and Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado (Denver)

— Chris Gray, of Buford, Ga., and the Georgia Wildlife Federation’s Mill Creek Nature Center (Buford)

— Miki Hidaka, of San Diego, and Outdoor Outreach (San Diego)

— Chris Hoff, of Minneapolis, and the Boundary Waters Wilderness Foundation (Minneapolis)

— Eileen Hyatt, of Spokane, Wash., and the Bicycle Alliance of Washington (Seattle)

— Mary Shaw and Roy Weil, of Pittsburgh, and the Adventure Cycling Association (Missoula, Mont.)

Grass-roots leaders. The Petra Foundation (New York) has announced the winners of its 2004 fellowships, which honor “unsung local heroes working to fight crime, environmental degradation, injustice, and poverty.” The winners are Danalynn Recer, executive director of the Gulf Region Advocacy Center (Houston), who provides pro bono legal services to indigent people charged with capital crimes; and Ian Marvy and Michael Hurwitz, co-founders and directors of Added Value (New York), which teaches leadership and business skills to juvenile offenders and other at-risk teenagers in Brooklyn’s Red Hook neighborhood while providing fresh, affordable produce to their community, which lacks adequate grocery stores.

Museums. The Institute of Museum and Library Services (Washington) has announced the recipients of its 2004 National Awards for Museum and Library Service, which honor extraordinary public service. The winners in the museum category are the Chicago Botanic Garden (Glencoe, Ill.), the Western Folklife Center (Elko, Nev.), and the Zoological Society of San Diego. The winners in the library category are the Flint Public Library (Mich.), the Mayagüez Children’s Library (P.R.), and the Regional Academic Health Center Medical Library of the U. of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Each institution will receive a $10,000 award.

Nonprofit leadership. The California Wellness Foundation (Woodland Hills) has selected six executives of California nonprofit health organizations to participate in its sabbatical program. The program provides each organization with a $30,000 grant to cover its leader’s salary and expenses during a sabbatical that lasts at least three months. The recipients:

— Jane Garcia of La Clinica de la Raza (Oakland)

— Dian Harrison of Planned Parenthood Golden Gate (San Francisco)

— Rick Mesa of Ranch Recovery Centers (Desert Hot Springs)

— Barbara Mitchell of Interim (Monterey)

— Debra Oto-Kent of Health Education Council (West Sacramento)

— Bernita Walker of Project Peacemakers (Los Angeles)

Nonprofit research. Independent Sector (Washington) has awarded its 2004 Virginia A. Hodgkinson Research Prize to Marc Morje Howard of Georgetown U. (Washington) for his book The Weakness of Civil Society in Post-Communist Europe. The second-place prize went to Marion Fremont-Smith of Harvard U. (Cambridge, Mass.) for Governing Nonprofit Organizations: Federal and State Law and Regulation.