Hundreds of foundations were nominated for the 2015 NCRP Impact Awards in recognition of their high-impact philanthropy – the largest pool of nominees since we launched the awards in 2013. Now, the wait to learn the winners is over! Join us in congratulating these five inspiring grantmakers:
Awardee for Corporate Foundation
Blue Shield of California Foundation
The state’s largest private funder of domestic violence prevention and services, Blue Shield of California Foundation is also known for its work to making health care accessible for underserved communities in the state of California. In 2014, the foundation launched its Domestic Violence and Health Care Partnerships Initiative, breaking the silo between these two often unconnected issues by pairing domestic violence organizations and community health centers.
Awardee for Grantmaking Public Charity/Community Foundation
Brooklyn Community Foundation
Brooklyn Community Foundation is notable for “Brooklyn Insights,” its 2014 strategic planning process that extensively engaged grantees and community members to identify the best direction for the foundation to take. In response to the feedback the foundation received, Brooklyn Community Foundation drastically changed its operations and grantmaking strategy.
[pullquote]“This year’s 2015 NCRP Impact Awardees represent the best of philanthropy today. These five foundations put underserved communities front and center in addressing critical issues such as civil rights, health care and domestic violence. We’re especially excited to honor two foundations in our midsized private foundation category, demonstrating the strides this field of philanthropy has made in effecting change.”
– Aaron Dorfman, Executive Director, NCRP[/pullquote]
Awardees for Small/Midsize Private Foundation
Needmor Fund
This small family foundation in Toledo, Ohio is widely recognized in the world of social justice philanthropy. The Needmor Fund invests in multi-issue, membership-based, direct action community organizations that assist low-income communities in fully participating in the democratic process and make decisions affecting their lives. Its grantee Communities Creating Opportunity ran one of the largest data-driven c3 voter engagement programs in Missouri and Kansas in 2014.
One of the oldest foundations in the country, the New York Foundation has a long history of building the strength of New York’s community organizing groups. It is known for its risk-taking, issuing “start-up grants” to “unproven” organizations before the practice was commonplace. The foundation’s grantees have advocated for engaging citizens in public spending, education reform, low-income housing and workers’ rights in New York City. One grantee, Community Action for Safe Apartments, led a successful battle to force the Rent Guidelines Board (the body that determines rent increases for rent-stabilized apartments every year) to hold its public hearings in each outer borough to allow for more tenant participation. The organization brought so many people to a hearing that they initially weren’t allowed in.
Awardee for Large Private Foundation
Open Society Foundations
The Open Society Foundations, a family of offices and foundations created by George Soros, seek to build vibrant and tolerant democracies in which governments are accountable to their citizens. Working with local communities in more than 100 countries, the Open Society Foundations support justice and human rights, freedom of expression and access to health care and education. Several of their grantees worked to pass Proposition 47, a ballot initiative to reclassify many low-level nonviolent and drug offenses from felonies to misdemeanors
Learn more about the recipients of the 2015 NCRP Impact Awards.
You’re invited to the 2015 NCRP Impact Awards Ceremony! We will be celebrating the work of these inspiring foundations during a special cocktail reception on May 19 at The InterContinental Hotel in San Francisco, in conjunction with the Center for Effective Philanthropy’s Annual Conference. Click here for more information about the reception and to view the Host Committee. RSVP Now.
Please join us in congratulating the Blue Shield of California Foundation, Brooklyn Community Foundation, Needmor Fund, New York Foundation and Open Society Foundations. And feel free to share the news on social media.
Thank you for being a part of our community promoting smart philanthropy!
Jeanné Isler is field director at the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP). Follow @NCRP on Twitter and join the #NCRPImpactAwards conversation.
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