Awards, Sep 17, 2009

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

Education. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (Seattle) has presented its 2009 Access to Learning Award to the EPM Foundation (Medellin, Colombia). The $1-million award honors the group’s work to provide computer and Internet access to people from low-income communities using a network of libraries. The EPM Foundation’s efforts have helped reduce the individual-to-computer ratio in Medellin from 140 to 1 in 2005 to 47 to 1 in 2008.

Humanitarianism. The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation (Reno, Nev.) has presented its 2009 Humanitarian Prize to PATH (Seattle). This organization has adapted, developed, or helped to develop more than 85 technologies designed to improve the health and lives of people in poor countries. The Hilton foundation awards $1.5-million annually to a nonprofit group that has contributed significantly to alleviating human suffering.

In addition, the National Constitution Center (Philadelphia) has presented Steven Spielberg with the 2009 Liberty Medal, which honors men and women who try to secure the liberty of people around the world. Mr. Spielberg was recognized for his films and his efforts to gather and archive the testimonies of survivors and other witnesses of the Holocaust.

International. Coffey International Limited (Canberra, Australia) has announced that IBM (Armonk, N.Y.) has won the Coffey International Award, for its innovative use of technology to alleviate societal and environmental problems. The award recognizes corporate programs that have helped to further one or more of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. IBM received the award for World Community Grid, a network of computers around the world that is devoted to humanitarian research. Since its inception in 2004, the World Community Grid has provided research scientists with over 252,000 years of computer run-time at no cost.

Leadership. The San Francisco Foundation has announced the recipients of its 2009 Community Leadership Awards, which provide $10,000 each to individuals and $20,000 each to organizations in California. The winners:

— Mary Lou Breslin, co-founder of the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (Berkeley, Calif.), for her efforts in helping to create the 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act, the Fair Housing Amendments Act, and the Civil Rights Restoration Act.

— Michael Franti, artist, for using his music to spread a message of social justice and to advocate for underrepresented people.

— Eugene Rodriguez, founder of Los Cenzontles Mexican Cultural Arts Center (San Pablo, Calif.), for efforts to introduce traditional Mexican music to young people.

— Children’s Book Press (San Francisco), for publishing bilingual and multicultural stories that have helped children better understand their own lives.

— National Center for Lesbian Rights (San Francisco), for its commitment to advancing the civil and human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.

Sports philanthropy. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (Princeton, N.J.) and the Sports Philanthropy Project (Bethesda, Md.) have presented the 2009 Steve Patterson Sports Philanthropy Award for Excellence in Sports Philanthropy to Marvin Lewis, head coach of the National Football League’s Cincinnati Bengals. Mr. Lewis was recognized for the work done by the Marvin Lewis Community Fund, which has helped to increase the number of honor-roll students in Cincinnati public schools, established a free football camp for children, and supported a campaign to help women in the inner city gain access to a mammogram center.

Volunteers. The McKnight Foundation (Minneapolis) has announced the recipients of its 2009 Virginia McKnight Binger Awards in Human Service, which honor Minnesota residents who volunteer their time and expertise to improve the lives of people in their communities. The winners, each of whom receive $10,000 are: Nancy Guenette (Minneapolis), Mohamed Hasan Osman (Columbia Heights), Ken Porwoll (Roseville), John Poupart (West Saint Paul), Linda Riddle (Duluth), and Renee Tomatz (Hibbing).