The Council’s premiere award, first presented in 1984, honors an individual who has made significant lifetime contributions to philanthropy.

This year’s award goes to Robert E. Eckardt, senior vice president for Programs and Evaluations at the Cleveland Foundation. Eckardt has dedicated more than 25 years to overseeing the Cleveland Foundation’s grantmaking activities and has developed and led a host of collaborations—many of them nationally recognized—in economic development, the arts, education reform, neighborhood revitalization, health, human services, and youth development. He was a founding board member of both Grantmakers in Aging and Funders Concerned About AIDS. He served four terms on the board of Grantmakers in Health where he received their highest Award in 2006. (www.clevelandfoundation.org)

This award, which honors outstanding collaborative efforts, goes The National Fund for Workforce Solutions, a national effort designed to identify, strengthen, and expand high-impact local workforce development programs. The five-year initiative, launched in 2007, supports regional collaboratives comprised of nearly 200 public and private funders supporting new workforce development efforts in their communities. Key foundations in the collaborative include the Hitachi Foundation, California Endowment, Ford Foundation, Knight Foundation, Walmart Foundation, Microsoft, The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, The Annie E. Casey Foundation and Prudential Foundation. (www.nfwsolutions.org)

This new award, named in honor of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, will honor those who use their professional success for philanthropic service. This year, the signature award will be introduced to Newman’s Own Foundation, where it will reside. In 2005, Paul Newman established the Newman’s Own Foundation, and to date, Paul Newman and the Newman’s Own Foundation have donated over $295 million to thousands of charities worldwide. In future years, the Newman’s Own Foundation and the Council on Foundations will present the award to an individual or individuals for distinguished professional and philanthropic service. (www.newmansownfoundation.org)

The 2010 Board Chair’s Award honors business leaders whose philanthropic work and contributions have led to transformative change in their home communities. Through organizational leadership and setting a strong personal example, these leaders have inspired and enabled others to give their time, talent, and resources to improve the lives and opportunities of the disadvantaged. The recipients of the inaugural award are Sam Gary, Denver oilman and founder of the Piton Foundation, and Thomas Cousins, Atlanta real estate developer and co-founder of Purpose Built Communities.

Gary’s foundation, founded in 1976, is funded primarily through the Gary-Williams Energy Corporation and supports programs to improve education, expand economic opportunities for families, and strengthen lower-income communities. (www.piton.org)






Cousins launched Purpose Built Communities in 2009, along with Warren Buffett and Julian Robertson. The initiative works with a network of organizations in six states to help break the cycle of intergenerational poverty by transforming struggling neighborhoods through holistic community revitalization. (www.purposebuiltcommunities.org)

This award recognizes an individual who has demonstrated outstanding creativity in their grantmaking. It was created in 1985 as a memorial to the late Robert Winston Scrivner, former staff associate of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and first executive director of the Rockefeller Family Fund. The award includes $10,000 for the recipient’s ongoing professional enrichment and development in the field of philanthropy. The 2010 award recipient is Kavita N. Ramdas, president and CEO of Global Fund for Women. It is the world’s largest public foundation focused exclusively on advocating and providing funding for women’s human rights globally. Since 1996, Ramdas has led and expanded the impact of this international network, which has supported thousands of women’s groups that are finding innovative solutions to the persistent problems of health, poverty, violence, and discrimination in nearly 170 countries. (www.globalfundforwomen.org)

This award recognizes a foundation for its strategic and creative approaches to advancing public policy change. This year’s award goes to The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, which has partnered with youth aging out of the foster care system through the Metropolitan Atlanta Youth Opportunities Initiative. This partnership began in 2003 and focuses on empowering foster youth to advocate on behalf of the issues that affect them. As a result of this program, Georgia policymakers extended Medicaid benefits up to age 21—a key public policy priority for the youth. (www.atlcf.org)

This award celebrates outstanding risk-takers and innovators in the philanthropic community whose determination and leadership have increased funding for programs that promote gender equity and diversity. The 2010 award goes to Barbara Dobkin, chair of American Jewish World Service and a funder, activist, and leader in the social justice arena for more than 25 years with a particular focus on the advancement of women in all sectors of society. She has created and funded innovative programs serving women and girls globally and has encouraged women of wealth to strengthen their role as philanthropic leaders and advancing causes for women, children, and families. (www.ajws.org)

This award, created in 2006 by the Council’s President and CEO Steve Gunderson, honors grantmakers for their innovative leadership, bold visions, and significant impact that serves as a model for advancing the common good through effective grantmaking. The award is presented at each of the Council’s three conferences. Those being honored at the Council’s annual conference in Denver include:

• The W.K. Kellogg Foundation for its Access to Recreation Initiative, which supports community foundations, parks and recreation providers, advocacy groups, and individuals in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, and Illinois working to increase recreational opportunities, particularly for people with disabilities. (www.accesstorecreation.org)
  
  

  
  
  
  
  

• Pacific Gas & Electric Company for its Solar Habitat Program, an environmental and renewable energy partnership with Habitat for Humanity that provides solar electric systems for every Habitat-built home in northern and central California, bringing solar energy to families on limited incomes. (www.pge.com/about/environment/pge/solarhabitats/)
  
  

  
  
  
  
  

• The Hitachi Foundation and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for the Jobs to Careers Initiative, a work-based training and career building program for frontline, low-wage healthcare workers, who are in demand but have few advancement opportunities. (www.jobs2careers.org)
  
  

    
  
  

These awards recognize grantmaking foundations and corporate giving programs for excellence in communication strategies and techniques that advance their grantmaking goals. The award began in 1984 and is named after Wilmer Shields Rich, the first executive director of the National Council on Community Foundations (now the Council on Foundations). She was an early champion of public accountability by charitable foundations, which she encouraged through publications and other forums. This year, the Council is honoring 71 foundations with 92 awards, given in gold, silver, or bronze in six different categories. Awardees were evaluated on overall outcomes/impact, message and design effectiveness, organization of content, and outreach/distribution strategies.

For a complete list of awardees, please visit: Wilmer Shields Rich Awards page

Gold Award

• Public Welfare Foundation
• Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation
  
• MetroWest Community Health Care Foundation
  
• The Chicago Community Trust
  
• The Greater New Orleans Foundation
  
• The Global Fund for Women
  
• Global Greengrants Fund
  
• Medtronic Foundation
  
• Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation
  

• Charles Stewart Mott Foundation
  
• Arcus Foundation
  
• DentaQuest Foundation
  
• Change a Life Foundation
  
• The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region
  
• Community Foundation of Greater Flint
  
• Central New York Community Foundation
  
• Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation
  
• First Nations Development Institute
  
• IBM Corporation
  
• Ayala Foundation, Inc.
  

• Lumina Foundation for Education
  
• McGregor Fund
  
• The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta
  
• The Winston-Salem Foundation
  
• Wayne County Foundation
  
• The Global Fund for Children
  
• The Prudential Foundation
  

• Open Society Institute – Stateless In-depth
  
• Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation
  

• The George Gund Foundation
  
• Saint Luke’s Foundation of Cleveland, Ohio
  
• Community Foundation of Ottawa
  

• Kansas Health Foundation

• The Heinz Endowments
• Consumer Health Foundation
  
• Vancouver Foundation
  
• Initiative Foundation

• The Skillman Foundation
  
• The Dayton Foundation for Good News
  
• Grand Rapids Community Foundation

• Lumina Foundation for Education
  
• Marin Community Foundation

• The Columbus Foundation
  
• Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice
  
• The Community Foundation for Southwest Washington
  
• MetLife Foundation
  
  
  

On behalf of the Count Me In campaign:

• The Joyce Foundation
  
• The Chicago Community Trust
  
• Grand Victoria Foundation
  
• The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
  
• The Boeing Company
  
• The Chicago Bar Foundation
  
• Woods Fund of Chicago
  
• Lloyd A. Fry Foundation
  
• Polk Bros Foundation
  
• Steans Family Foundation
  

• Kansas Health Foundation
  
• Silicon Valley Community Foundation
  
• Rose Community Foundation
  
• Twenty-First Century Foundation (21CF)
  
• ArcelorMittal on behalf of Sustain Our Great Lakes
  

• Marguerite Casey Foundation
  
• Frieda C. Fox Family Foundation
  
• Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties
  
• PG&E Corporation Foundation
  

• The Colorado Trust - Preventing Suicide in Colorado – Progress Achieved & Goals for the Future
  
• Catalogue for Philanthropy: Greater Washington - (An initiative of the Harman Family Foundation)
  
• Vancouver Foundation
  
• Victoria Foundation
  
• The Cape Cod Foundation
  
• Global Greengrants Fund - (Water)
  
• New York Life Foundation
  

• Kansas Health Foundation
  
• The Community Foundation of the National Capital Region
  
• Grand Rapids Community Foundation
  
• The Kitchener and Waterloo Community Foundation
  
• Medtronic Foundation
  
• The Hitachi Foundation - (Weathering the Storm)
  

• The California Wellness Foundation
  
• The Columbus Foundation
  
• Greater Houston Community Foundation
  

• The Heinz Endowments
    Heinz.org
  
• Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation
    grdodge.org
  
• Catalogue for Philanthropy: Greater Washington
  (An initiative of the Harman Family Foundation)
    Cfp-dc.org
  
• Marin Community Foundation
    Marincf.org
  
• San Antonio Area Foundation
    Saafdn.org
  
• Global Fund for Women
    Globalfundforwomen.org
  
• The Global Fund for Children
    globalfundforchildren.org
  
• Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation
    Meaf.org
  

• The Skillman Foundation
    Skillman.org
  
• Paso del Norte Health Foundation
    pdnhf.org
  
• VNA Foundation
    vnafoundation.net
• Silicon Valley Community Foundation
    siliconvalleycf.org
  
• The Greater New Orleans Foundation
    Gnof.org
  
• The Community Foundation for Southwest Washington
    Cfsww.org
  
• Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation
    Bcbsm.com/foundation
  
  

• California HealthCare Foundation
    CalQualityCare.org
  
• Change a Life Foundation
    Changealife.org
  
• The Boston Foundation
    Myneighborhoodboston.org
  
• Community Foundation of the Lowcountry
    Cf-lowcountry.org
  
• IBM Corporation
    Ibm.com