BizTimes Media honored a host of impactful nonprofit organizations and corporate philanthropists during the inaugural Nonprofit Excellence Awards breakfast, held on Tuesday at Potawatomi Hotel & Casino.
The awards program, which drew about 400 attendees, unfolded with a panel discussion assessing the health of area nonprofits and exploring ways that for-profits and nonprofits can collaborative to achieve greater results. The panel, moderated by Kimberly Kane of Kane Communications Group, also addressed how a company’s sense of philanthropy can act as a talent attraction and retention tool.
During the awards presentation, BizTimes Media, announced winners from a pool of finalists in 10 categories. Finalists were selected in a vetting process facilitated by BizTimes Media, the Association of Fundraising Professionals of Southeastern Wisconsin and the Donors Forum of Wisconsin. More than 100 nominations were submitted for the program’s first year.
2014 winners are:
Corporate Citizen Awards:
*Hunzinger Construction for Corporate Citizen of the Year (Other finalists were Emery’s Cycling Triatholon & Fitness and Potawatomi Hotel & Casino)
*Pam Evason of Windermere Wealth Advisors for Next Generation Leadership (Other finalists were Jesse Daily of CORE Consulting and Dimas Ocampo of R.C. Insurance Services Inc.)
*WISN-TV Channel 12 for In-Kind Supporter (Other finalists were Core Creative and Schroeder Solutions)
*Kevin Behl of Madison Medical Affiliates for Corporate Volunteer of the Year (Other finalists were Peggy Groth of Tri City National Bank and Maureen McGinnity of Foley & Lardner LLP)
*Raejean Kanter of The Falk Group Public Relations for Lifetime Achievement (Other finalists were Normal Doll of Pieper Electric and Sylvia DuBois of Standard Process Inc.)
Nonprofit Awards:
*Make A Difference-Wisconsin for Small Nonprofit of the Year (Other finalists were College Possible and Rebuilding Together Greater Milwaukee)
*Penfield Children’s Center for Large Nonprofit of the Year (Other finalists were Junior Achievement of Wisconsin and Meta House)
*The Water Council for Social Enterprise (Other finalists for GPS Education Partners and United Community Center)
*Menomonee Valley Partners and the Urban Ecology Center (Other finalists were Discovery World and Journey House as well as the Faye McBeath Foundation, Hunger Task Force, the United Way of Greater Milwaukee, Milwaukee Public Schools, Boys & Girls Clubs, and the Salvation Army)
*Bonnie Bellehumeur of Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin for Nonprofit Executive of the Year (Other finalists were Lynda Kohler of SHARP Literacy, Inc. and Sister Edna Lonergan of St. Ann Center for International Care)
For a video of award winners’ acceptance speeches, click here.
Look for another recap of the Nonprofit Excellence Awards, along with profiles of winners and finalists, in BizTimes’ Nov. 24 print issue.
