Finalists for $250,000 Nonprofit Collaboration Prize Announced by Lodestar Foundation
Ailing economy, fundraising anxiety highlight collaborations and mergers as a strategy for nonprofits
January 14, 2009. Phoenix, AZ –-Continued economic woes have taken a heavy toll on the not for-profit world, turning a primary goal of The Lodestar Foundation–-encouraging collaboration among nonprofits--into a need more pressing than ever. Earlier this year, in an effort to demonstrate how nonprofit resources can be used more effectively to create greater impact, The Lodestar Foundation, in association with the Arizona-Indiana-Michigan (AIM) Alliance, created The Collaboration Prize, a national cash award of $250,000 presented to an outstanding model of collaboration. Today they announced the eight finalists selected by a distinguished panel of leaders from the nonprofit and business worlds, and chaired by Sterling Speirn, President and CEO of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Finalist were chosen from a pool of over 644 U.S.-based nominations.
“The economic crisis has decreased charitable giving and that has dramatically increased interest in collaborations and mergers among nonprofits, particularly with respect to eliminating duplication and sharing resources,” says Lodestar board chairman, Jerry Hirsch. “Though such strategies can be an imperative during this economic crisis, collaborations and mergers are best practices that should be considered even in the best of economic times.”
The Collaboration Prize winner will be announced at a luncheon in Scottsdale, Arizona on March 5, 2009, during which all eight finalists will make presentations on their collaborations. The winner will provide the most successful model of collaboration meeting the prize’s criteria (as described on the award’s Web site, www.thecollaborationprize.org).
The finalists will also participate in two panel discussions over two days of events: a morning panel on March 5, as part of a seminar on funding nonprofit collaboration co-hosted by the Association of Small Foundations in Scottsdale, Arizona, and a morning panel on March 6, at the annual Spring Forum on Nonprofit Effectiveness, sponsored by Arizona State University’s Lodestar Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Effectiveness.
The announcement of the winner will come at a time when many nonprofits are desperately seeking ways to remain viable in an increasingly harsh fundraising environment.
“Nonprofits have always sought ways to stand out and be more competitive, but the current fundraising environment is creating a new level of anxiety,” says Jo DeBolt, a senior manager at La Piana Associates, a national management consulting firm that serves nonprofits and their funders. “We are receiving an unprecedented number of requests for advice regarding whether collaboration or
merger might be a good option. There’s also an intensified interest among both funders and nonprofits eager to learn more about successful collaborations.”
The eight finalists are strikingly diverse in their locations and areas of focus.
“The missions of these eight finalists are so different, and yet each found a way to utilize a collaboration strategy--ranging from joint programming to administrative consolidation to merger--to maximize their resources and impact,” observes Lois Savage, President of the Lodestar Foundation. “We hope that these finalists will serve as a source of inspiration for other nonprofits."
To set up interviews with Lodestar, the AIM Alliance or any of the finalists, contact Claudia Gunter at cgunter@fenton.com or (212) 584-5000 x 226. For more information on The Collaboration Prize or for more details on the finalists, please visit www.thecollaborationprize.org.
The Collaboration Prize Finalists:
(in alphabetical order)
1. Cancer Vaccine Collaborative, New York, New York, Cancer research collaboration promoting learning over competition
2. Chattanooga Museums Collaboration Chattanooga, Tennessee, Administrative collaboration among The Creative Discovery Museum, The Hunter Museum, and Chattanooga Aquarium
3. Crittenton Women’s Union, Boston, Massachusetts, Merger of two organizations serving low-income women
4. Museum of Nature and Science, Dallas, Texas, Merger among the Dallas Children’s Museum, The Science Place, and Dallas Museum of Natural History
5. New York LawHelp Consortium, New York, New York, Collaboration among legal services organizations providing on-line resources
6. Ready, Set, Parent, Buffalo and Lackawanna, New York, Collaboration between organizations supporting at-risk new parents
7. ShoreBank Enterprise Cascadia, Ilwaco, Washington, Merger of two community development financial institutions
8. YMCA/JCC Integration, Sylvania, Ohio (Greater Toledo), Merger of Jewish Community Center and Young Men’s Christian Association in Greater Toledo
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