Awards, Sep 05, 2002

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

Community service. The Chicago Community Trust has presented its 2002 James Brown IV Award of Excellence for Outstanding Community Service to Housing Opportunities and Maintenance for the Elderly (HOME). The $50,000 award is given each year to one Chicago-area organization in recognition of its exemplary service to the community.

Museums. The American Association of Museums (Washington) has awarded its 2002 National Medal for Distinguished Philanthropy to Eugene V. Thaw, an art collector, dealer, and scholar and president of the Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw Charitable Trust (Santa Fe, N.M.). Mr. Thaw was recognized for his grant making, his donation of hundreds of art works to the Pierpont Morgan Library (New York) and the Fenimore Art Museum (Cooperstown, N.Y.), and his board service at several museums.

The AAM has presented its 2002 Nancy Hanks Award for Professional Excellence to Gwen Heller Tuason, coordinator of school and youth programs at the Wilton House Museum (Richmond, Va.). The award provides a $1,000 stipend for professional development.

Nonprofit leadership. Independent Sector (Washington) has presented its 2002 Leadership IS Award to the Aspira Association (Washington), which operates advocacy, educational, and leadership-development programs for Latino youths in the United States. The award, which includes a $10,000 grant, honors nonprofit groups that have developed exemplary programs designed to identify and nurture future leaders among their staff and board members, volunteers, and clients.

Scientific research. The Warren Alpert Foundation (Providence, R.I.) has presented its 14th Warren Alpert Foundation Prize to Eugene Braunwald, chief academic officer of Partners Healthcare System and a professor at Harvard Medical School (Boston), and Barry Coller, a professor of medicine at Rockefeller U. (New York), for their work in cardiovascular research, which has drastically reduced the mortality rate among people suffering heart attacks. The $100,000 award is presented annually to recognize scientists and researchers for their “contributions to humanity and their breakthroughs in the understanding and curing of major diseases.” Recipients are selected by the foundation’s Scientific Advisory Committee.

Technology. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (Seattle) has given its 2002 Access to Learning Award to BibloRed (Capital Network of Public Libraries), in Bogotá, Colombia. The award recognizes an exemplary foreign library or similar group that uses innovative methods to provide the public with no-cost access to information. BibloRed, which will receive a $1-million grant to expand its work, has built three libraries and upgraded 16 others that collectively provide free Internet access and training programs to hundreds of thousands of poor residents of Bogotá. The Council on Information and Library Resources (Washington) administers the award, which is given only to organizations outside the United States.