Nonprofits who are keeping their eye on the people they serve are honored

Announcing the five finalists for the Award for Excellence in Nonprofit Management for 2010 Glen O'Gilvie, Chief Executive Officer of The Center for Nonprofit Advancement said “When the center strengthens nonprofits, nonprofits can strengthen their communities.”

Despite the recession, many nonprofit associations are getting stronger, by using best practices and staying customer-focused.

The winner of the 2010 Award, sponsored by the Washington Post, is PHILLIPS Programs for Children and Families of Annandale, Virginia. “The competitive award recognizes outstanding achievement in nonprofit management for a Washington-area nonprofit organization. As the winner, PHILLIPS receives a $10,000 cash grant and a scholarship to Georgetown University’s Center for Public and Nonprofit Leadership’s Nonprofit Management Executive Certificate Program,” said Glen O’Gilvie.

The award selection committee noted several outstanding management practices for PHILLIPS. Some examples of management excellence include:

Extensive staff development programs
Effective management of corporate volunteers, working to provide them with an “authentic experience”
Financial risk management and assessments that provide a range of contingency scenarios
Use of an online project collaboration tool to manage complex tasks involving multiple stakeholders

PHILLIPS serves the needs of individuals with emotional and behavioral problems and their families throughout Greater Washington. PHILLIPS provides educational services and therapeutic foster homes for children and youth with special needs and intensive in-home support and counseling for families with a child or children having special needs.

“We believe there is a champion inside every child and our job is to find that child and build him up says long-time Phillips CEO Sally Sibley. “Phillips serves children with multiple severe disabilities. We look to find what their strength is in learning and play to that strength. We focus on risk management – a process in which you look at yourself and think of everything that could go wrong. We also focus on financial sustainability. We ask ourselves what we would do if we came in 15-30% below our budgeted income – so that if we face a shortfall we aren’t starting from scratch to face it.”

Asked what advice she would offer other nonprofit leaders/organizations striving for excellence in nonprofit management, Sibley said:

Manage out of an established set of values. Teach, demonstrate and live by these values in all realms of the organization – operations, finance, administration, service provision, development, and especially governance.
Create and maintain a culture of respect, compassion and belief in the potential of every staff and client.
Use data to make decisions.
Hire exceptional managers with diverse skills and personalities. Empower and support them to operate interdependently toward common organizational goals. Emphasize processes and systems to achieve sustainable and successful outcomes.

Four more finalists received honorable mention awards, and received a $2,500 award.

Asian American LEAD of Washington, D.C.;” What makes us successful is that the people who work here really commit personally to our mission which is to serve the welfare of children and youth of low income Asian American families. What makes this job work is passion – passion, commitment, and results. Our staff is full of young people with ideals who think they can change the world, and I play to that strength, says Rosetta Lai, Executive Director.AALEAD.org
Byte Back of Washington, D.C.: “We work as a team a lot -- there’s a lot of cross-training” says Kelley Ellsworth, Executive Director. “We teach basic computer literacy, and skills to unemployed and often homeless adults who get trained free. If there’s one thing that should be funded during a recession its job training.”
The Children’s Inn at NIH of Bethesda, Maryland: “Our purpose is to keep families together as they go through the most serious crisis in their lives. We bring together families who are diverse but have the commonality of this very serious influence. We believe that accountability is good business practice in a nonprofit. We keep an eye on those we set out to serve are prudent in the management of our resources, says Kathy Russell, Chief Executive Officer
Global Impact of Alexandria, Virginia: “There’s never been a day I didn’t want to go to work
says Renée S. Acosta President and CEO. Global Impact, dedicated to helping the poorest people on Earth is distinguished by having only three CEO’s in 60 years. We keep in mind the people that will benefit from what we do – we believe in the importance of helping other people. We connect people to purpose. What we have is our integrity. We do everything we say we are going to do every time.

The Washington Post Award Selection Committee judges applicant organizations in the areas of fiscal management, information and communication, organizational development, people development, planning, resource development, risk management, and use of technology. This is the 16th year of competition.

This award is a project of the Center for Nonprofit Advancement, sponsored by The Washington Post , cosponsored by RAFFA, P.C., with additional support by the Center for Nonprofit Advancement's Benefits Trust and Georgetown University’s Center for Public and Nonprofit Leadership’s Nonprofit Executive Certificate Program.

The Center for Nonprofit Advancement partners with nearly 800 nonprofits helping them achieve their missions through training and technical assistance programs, networking, advocacy and group buying power. Center members can log-in to the Center Web site and visit the Nonprofit Management Resource Center to download sample materials in board governance, financial management and more from our 2010 Award honorees.

In saluting the 2010 finalists, Michael Caggiano of Award Co-Sponsor RAFFA, P.C., said, “You light the way for all other nonprofit's success. For that we applaud you.”

All associations are stronger when their staff and volunteers are aligned with the association's mission. Somehow at the end of every day there's just a little more energy left, when you have your eye focused on the humans you are serving.