Wednesday, November 11, 2015
Three Exceptional New York Nonprofits Win 2015 Nonprofit Excellence Awards
NEW YORK – Three nonprofit groups have been chosen as winners of the 2015 New York Community Trust Nonprofit Excellence Awards, which include a total of $60,000 in prizes as well as tuition scholarships for the Columbia Business School Executive Education Programs in Social Enterprise.
The announcement of the three winning organizations – America Needs You, BRC and New York Common Pantry – was made by the Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York (NPCC), which created and manages the nine-year-old Awards program.
A selection committee of 34 nonprofit management experts chose the three winners from a group of six finalists – which were previously selected from among 10 semifinalists – following an intensive application and vetting process that identifies excellent and replicable management practices among nonprofits in New York City, Long Island and Westchester.
A total of 56 organizations applied for the 2015 Awards. The three organizations will be honored for their excellence at a November 18th Awards presentation at which the Gold, Silver and Bronze Prize winners will be revealed. The Awards will follow a special best practices workshop where the winners will engage in a panel discussion about the management practices that led to their selection.
America Needs You fights for economic mobility for ambitious, first-generation college students by providing transformative mentorship and intensive career development. BRC helps people reclaim lives lost by restoring hope and dignity and offering opportunities for health and self-sufficiency. New York Common Pantry is dedicated to reducing hunger throughout New York City while promoting dignity and self-sufficiency.
“We are thrilled to honor these three outstanding organizations with this year’s Awards,” said Sharon Stapel, President of NPCC. “Through exemplary management practices, these nonprofits achieve incredible results for the people and causes they serve.”
“These groups have demonstrated exceptional management practices that shouldinspire the more than 40,000 nonprofits in New York City and its suburbs,” said Lorie Slutsky, President of The New York Community Trust, the sponsor of the award and one of the region’s leading funders of nonprofits.
“We celebrate all of the 2015 Award applicants, especially the three winning organizations, which represent the best of our sector,” said Ronna Brown, President of Philanthropy New York, the regional association of grantmakers representing the interests of over 280 of the most prominent private, corporate and community foundations across the region. “We will be out in force at the Awards ceremony because it’s such a great opportunity for the entire sector to come together and learn from these remarkable organizations.”
“America Needs You is deeply honored to be a 2015 winner of The New York Community Trust Nonprofit Excellence Awards,” said Kimberly A. Harris, CEO of America Needs You. “We are eager to share our management strategies and best practices and to learn from our peers, as we continue our fight for economic mobility for first-generation college students.”
“All of us at BRC are honored to be recognized as a medal-winning finalist in this year’s Nonprofit Excellence Awards,” said Muzzy Rosenblatt, Executive Director of BRC. “BRC is proud that our effort and success at achieving management excellence is being recognized by leaders in our philanthropic community, who rightly set the bar high for what nonprofits should and do achieve. BRC uses the best management practices to provide solutions to homelessness that are not only caring, they are effective, and we are grateful for the recognition.”
"To be recognized as a leader in our sector by The New York Community Trust Nonprofit Excellence Awards is an honor and we are thrilled to be chosen as one of the three winning nonprofits for the 2015 award,” said Stephen Grimaldi, Executive Director of New York Common Pantry. “As we continue to expand our work, New York Common Pantry remains steadfast in our mission to continue to improve the lives New Yorkers in need by providing dignity and self-sufficiency and determined to maintain our level of excellence."
The Excellence Awards program has attracted more than 685 applicants from across the city and its suburbs in its first nine years. The Awards recognize outstanding management practices in eight key performance areas identified by thousands of nonprofit leaders across the country.
The eight areas of excellence are: management focus on results; strong governance; excellent financial management; diversity and culturally competent organizational practices; enlightened human resources; model IT practices; effective communications; and, exemplary fundraising and resource development.
NPCC created the Nonprofit Excellence Awards in 2007 and serves as the program’s tax-exempt manager, in collaboration with The New York Community Trust and Philanthropy New York. WNYC sponsors the program, which is also supported by The Clark Foundation, Ford Foundation, RSM US LLP, and Columbia Business School Executive Education Programs in Social Enterprise.
More about the Nonprofit Excellence Awards, including the Awards’ guiding document, Eight Key Areas of Nonprofit Excellence; past winners; funders; and Selection Committee members, is available at this site.