Awards, Oct 18, 2007

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

Arts. Americans for the Arts (Washington) has announced the winners of its National Arts Awards, which recognize artists and supporters of the arts who show national leadership and extraordinary artistic achievement. The categories and winners:

— Corporate Citizenship in the Arts Award: Music Industry and NAMM (Carlsbad, Calif.), the international trade association for companies that make musical instruments and products

— Frederick R. Weisman Award for Philanthropy in the Arts: Wallis Annenberg, vice president and trustee of the Annenberg Foundation (Radnor, Pa.)

— Kitty Carlisle Hart Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Arts: Anna Deavere Smith, an actress, playwright, and teacher

— Lifetime Achievement Award: Ellsworth Kelly, an abstract painter, sculptor, and print maker

— Special Recognition in Honor of Its 75th Anniversary: the United States Conference of Mayors (Washington), for its support of spending on arts education and the arts industry in cities

— Young Artist Award for Artistic Excellence: John Legend, a singer, songwriter, and performer

Education. The Eli and Edythe L. Broad Foundation (Los Angeles) has presented the 2007 Broad Prize for Urban Education to the New York City Department of Education. The annual distinction honors an urban school district that has demonstrated great improvement in student achievement while closing achievement gaps across ethnic and income groups. The $500,000 award will finance scholarships for high-school seniors attending college. Four finalists each received $125,000 for scholarships: Bridgeport Public Schools (Conn.), Long Beach Unified School District (Calif.), the Miami-Dade County Public Schools, and the Northside Independent School District (San Antonio).

Health. The Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation (New York) has announced the winners of the 2007 Albert Lasker Medical Research Awards, which honor basic and clinical medical research and public service on behalf of such research. The Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research went to Ralph M. Steinman, a researcher at Rockefeller U. (New York) who discovered dendritic cells, which trigger the immune system to fight microbes. The Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research went to Alain Carpentier of Hôpital Europeen Georges Pompidou (Paris) and Albert Starr of the Providence Health System (Portland, Ore.), who together developed prosthetic mitral and aortic valves, which will provide treatment for people with heart disease. The Mary Woodard Lasker Award for Public Service, which is awarded every two years, went to Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (Bethesda, Md.), for engineering two major governmental programs that aim to fight AIDS and boost biodefense. The winners have each received a $150,000 honorarium.

Internet. The ePhilanthropy Foundation, a Washington organization that promotes the ethical use of the Internet in fund raising, has announced the winners of its 2007 International ePhilanthropy Awards, which were presented in four categories. Following are the winners, which each received $500 to donate to a charity of their choice:

— Best Community-Building/Volunteerism and/or Activism Campaign: Peace x Peace (Washington), which operates a network on its Web site to bring together women in 61 countries to discuss issues of peace.

— Best Integrated Online and Offline ePhilanthropy Campaign: American Friends Service Committee (Philadelphia), for its Friends for Peace Web site, which shares photos of supporters who have created signs and other art projects that promote peace.

— Best Online Donations/Fund-Raising Campaign: Mama Cash (Amsterdam), whose Web site sponsored an annual campaign to educate people about issues that affect women and girls and encourage women to become donors.

— Best Special Event Registration and/or Membership Campaign: Gulu Walk (Toronto), for its online promotion of Gulu Walk Day, which last year had more than 30,000 participants in 82 cities who marched in support of peace in northern Uganda.

— People’s Choice Award: International Fund for Animal Welfare (Yarmouth Port, Mass.), for its StopTheSealHunt.org Web site, which encourages activists to log their efforts to stop the commercial killing of seals in Canada.

Nonprofit leadership. The Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation (Washington) has presented its 2007 Exponent Awards, which honor midcareer leaders of the foundation’s grantees. Following are the winners, whose organizations will each receive a $100,000 cash grant:

— Michele Booth Cole, executive director, Safe Shores — the D.C. Children’s Advocacy Center (Washington)

— Judith Sandalow, executive director, Children’s Law Center (Washington)

— Sam Sweet, managing director, Signature Theatre (Arlington, Va.)

— Rebecca Wagner, executive director, Community Ministry of Montgomery County (Rockville, Md.)

— Ilir Zherka, executive director, DC Vote (Washington)