Awards

Independent Sector will honor Bill Drayton with the 2011 John W. Gardner Leadership Award in recognition of his innovation and leadership in social change and social entrepreneurship. The award will be presented at the 2011 Independent Sector Annual Conference Oct. 31-Nov. 1 in Chicago.

Drayton is the chief executive officer and founder of Ashoka, a global organization that supports individual efforts to address society’s most pressing problems with innovative, entrepreneurial solutions.

Kyle Weiss, an 18-year-old from Danville, Calif., who started a nonprofit that raises money for soccer in Africa — FUNDaFIELD — has been selected as a 2011 Build-A-Bear Workshop Huggable Hero.

The honor comes with a $7,500 educational scholarship and a $2,500 donation to the cause of Weiss' choice, according to the Build-A-Bear Workshop. He will also go to the company's headquarters in St. Louis to be honored with the nine other recipients. Almost 1,200 people applied to be honored as a Huggable Hero.

The Washington Post and the Center for Nonprofit Advancement announced Horton’s Kids as the 2011 recipient of The Washington Post Award for Excellence in Nonprofit Management. In its 17th year of competition, The Post Award recognizes outstanding achievement in nonprofit management for a Washington, D.C.-area nonprofit organization.

Horton’s Kids is a nonprofit social service organization providing comprehensive services to the children of Washington, D.C.’s Anacostia neighborhood that improve the quality of their daily lives and nurture their desire and ability to succeed.

Until Alan Atterbury heard that he and his wife were being honored as Philanthropists of the Year, he said he had never heard his name and “philanthropist” mentioned in the same sentence.

But the University of Missouri-Kansas City and area nonprofits consider Alan and Mary Atterbury philanthropists because of their financial and volunteer support.

The two were among givers of time and talent who were honored Friday at the 27th annual Philanthropy Awards luncheon. About 1,000 people attended the event, sponsored by Nonprofit Connect, the successor organization to the Council on Philanthropy.

The International Swimming Hall of Fame conferred the 2011 G. Harold Martin Award to Robert Ogoreuc, president of the National Drowning Prevention Alliance (NDPA), at a May 7 awards ceremony. The award is given annually to an individual who exemplifies “long and exceptional leadership, insight and dedication to the water safety of children and the cause of making ‘Every Child a Swimmer.’”

The NDPA is currently working on a federally funded, national public education program that complements the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s Pool Safely campaign.

In this sixth year of Eva’s Initiatives Awards for Innovation, three winners are being recognized for their outstanding work with homeless youth. Eva’s Initiatives received 24 applications from organizations working with homeless youth across Canada. A six-member panel, knowledgeable about services for homeless youth, reviewed all applications and selected three winners from among the many applicants with impressive and innovative projects underway in communities across the county.

The winners are Resource Assistance for Youth, Phoenix Youth Programs and Bathurst Youth Centre.

The Association of Fundraising Professionals has awarded its highest professional certification, the Advanced Certified Fundraising Executive (ACFRE), to Angela Seaworth, director of the Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership at Rice University, which seeks to increase the effectiveness and impact of the nonprofit sector by providing education and nurturing leadership among professionals and those who support nonprofit organizations.

Available only to senior-level fundraisers who've worked in the profession for 10 or more years, the ACFRE is a distinguished achievement earned by only 91 professionals since the inception of the program in 1992.

Blue Avocado and the Tom Battin Awards announced their updated list of the Best Nonprofit Job Sites. This year's Tom Battin Awards winners are:

• Best all-around: Idealist
• Best nonprofit site: Opportunity Knocks
• Best commercial site: Simply Hired
• Best international: Devex

In recognition of its 75th anniversary, the Ford Foundation announced $100,000 awards to 12 social innovators who, through their extraordinary vision and courageous work, are improving the lives of millions of people. In a period of uncertain transformation in global society, politics and the economy, the Ford Foundation Visionaries Awards seek to raise the profile of leaders whose innovative efforts on the frontlines of key social issues offer pathways to improved economic opportunities and expanded political and social participation for millions of marginalized people worldwide.

Three nonprofits — the Public Broadcasting Service, Avaaz.org and Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation — were honored with awards recently.

The Public Broadcasting Service was among many nonprofits that earned top prizes for online efforts in this year’s Webby Awards. Avaaz.org, which focuses on issues such as poverty, corruption, and climate change, won the People’s Voice award for best Web site on activism. And the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation won in the best video-activism category with “The Time to Eliminate Pediatric AIDS is Now.”