Awards

HelpAge International, the only global organization with a singular focus on providing assistance to and advocating for disadvantaged older people, has been selected to receive the 2012 Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize of $1.5 million. The prize will be presented at the Global Philanthropy Forum on April 16 in Washington, D.C. The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation presents the annual award, the world's largest humanitarian prize, to an organization that is doing extraordinary work to alleviate human suffering.

Blackbaud's Chuck Longfield, an expert in donor databases, received the Max L. Hart Nonprofit Award at the 2012 Washington Nonprofit Conference, exemplifying the importance of donor data in the fundraising sector.

Two Virginia sisters whose national nonprofit based on treasure hunts has raised more than $7 million in scholarships for the children of military veterans, a Georgia high school student whose environmental activism has led to the recycling of 8,000 tons of waste and a Yale University violin virtuoso whose concerts have raised close to $5 million to help fight children’s neurological disease are among this year’s recipients of the 2012 Jefferson Awards.

The Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation (SSPF) will host its 13th annual Racing to Recovery Gala May 16 at the Dallara IndyCar Factory in Speedway, Ind., where it will honor Johnny Rutherford with the Legendary Driver Award. In addition, SSPF will recognize the countless efforts of the entire Holmatro Safety Team with the Silent Hero award for its unparalleled skill and efficiency providing trackside support at every IZOD IndyCar Series event.

The gala raises money to support medical research and rehabilitation for those living with paralysis.

The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) announced that the 2012 International ECHO Awards competition is underway. The awards honor the world’s outstanding marketing campaigns that demonstrate exceptional creativity, visionary strategy and results. The awards will be presented at a gala ceremony held Oct. 16 in Las Vegas. The deadline for submissions is April 25.

This year’s ECHO competition will honor excellence in 12 channels: alternative media, catalog, direct mail, email, mobile, print; search engine marketing, social media, telemarketing, television/video/radio, Web advertising, and Web development.

Ken Fisher, chairman and CEO of Fisher House Foundation, which constructs comfort homes to provide free, temporary housing to the families of service members receiving medical care at Veterans Affairs and military hospitals around the world, will receive the Defense Distinguished Public Service Award, the highest civilian award given by the United States Department of Defense.

The award is presented to those whose career has impacted the Department of Defense through extraordinary and prestigious contributions on a broad scope.

The Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits announced the finalists for its fifth-annual Oklahoma Nonprofit Excellence Awards. The awards honor nonprofit organizations for their excellence in eight categories: arts and humanities, community, education, health services, self-sufficiency, seniors, sports and recreation, and youth development.

Winners in each category receive $7,500, and the other finalists in each category are awarded $5,000. The overall winner will receive $10,000. A total of $150,000 will be awarded.

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation named 15 organizations in six countries as recipients of the MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions. The awards continue the Foundation’s history of building and supporting institutions that address some of the world’s most pressing problems in creative ways.

The recipients of the 2012 MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions are awarded $350,000 to $2.5 million, depending on the annual budget of each organization.

Five Californians received the 2012 James Irvine Foundation Leadership Awards for applying proven, innovative approaches to some of the state’s most difficult problems. Now in its seventh year, the Awards aim to uncover and spotlight breakthrough solutions that have the potential to better the lives of more Californians if policymakers and others expand and replicate these approaches.

The recipients, Patricia Dennehy, GLIDE Health Services; Christa Gannon, Fresh Lifelines for Youth; Carolyn Laub, Gay-Straight Alliance Network; Craig McNamara, Center for Land-Based Learning; and Olis Simmons, Youth UpRising, each receive $125,000 in organizational support.

FundRaising Success magazine, the fundraiser's complete source for multichannel strategy and integration techniques, announced the winners in its 2012 Fundraising Professionals of the Year awards competition.