October 7, 2013
Cameron Foundation’s special recognition awards honor two local nonprofits with $50,000
Through its two annual recognition award programs, The Cameron Foundation has selected two local nonprofits to receive honors for their outstanding community service and best practices in organizational management. This year’s awardees include Gateway Homes, Inc. and Crisis Assistance Response Emergency Shelter, Inc. (CARES). The presentations will be made at the Foundation’s Annual Grant Awards Ceremony on October 24.
These selections are the result of two annual competitions for nonprofit organizations within the Foundation’s service area of Petersburg, Colonial Heights, Hopewell, the counties of Dinwiddie, Prince George, and Sussex, and the portion of Chesterfield County south of Rt. 10. Both of the awards, the Cleveland A. Wright Award for Outstanding Community Service and the Handy L. Lindsey, Jr. Award for Excellence in Organizational Management, are chosen by review committees made up of volunteers who live or work within the community along with one Cameron Board member.
For the 2013 Cleveland A. Wright Award for Outstanding Community Service, people in the community were encouraged to nominate an organization that they felt had demonstrated a commitment to caring and generosity of spirit, as well as openness and accessibility. This award was named in honor of The Cameron Foundation’s first president (and current board member) for his exemplary and untiring commitment to the Foundation’s mission. Eligible organizations then engaged in a competitive process to be considered for the award.
The review committee for the Cleveland A. Wright Award was led by immediate past chair and current Foundation director Ann C. Taylor. Other members included Betty Moore Beverly, Robert S. Carlon, Shikee H. Franklin, Dr. William D. Irvin, Angela M. Orrell, and Pastor J. David Tolbert. In addition to the recognition Gateway Homes will receive as the 2013 honoree for this award, it also will be given an unrestricted $40,000 grant. Located in southern Chesterfield County, Gateway Homes provides a transitional residential treatment program for adults with mental illness who are striving for independence. The organization had received an honorable mention in the 2012 competition for the Foundation’s other recognition award, which was for excellence in organizational management.
For the 2013 Handy L. Lindsey, Jr. Award for Excellence in Organizational Management, staff or board members of a nonprofit applied on behalf of their organization. The application process was similar to an internal audit or self-assessment, and organizations were encouraged to use it as an opportunity to measure themselves against national best practices in organizational management.
Along with committee chair and Foundation director Pam Comstock, five additional community members reviewed and scored the applications. The review committee recommended CARES for an honorable mention for demonstrating excellence in governance, one of the specific areas reviewed during the scoring process. Along with this distinction, CARES will receive an unrestricted gift of $10,000. CARES, an emergency shelter for women and children that is located in Petersburg and serves the Tri-Cities area, was the 2012 recipient of The Cameron Foundation’s Cleveland A. Wright Award for Outstanding Community Service. The 2013 review committee for the organizational management award included Dr. Virginia R. Cherry, Dr. Ray L. Drinkwater, Conaway B. Haskins III, Heather Turbyne-Pollard, and Carol D. Woodward.
About The Cameron Foundation
The Cameron Foundation is a private foundation that supports the work of nonprofits and partner agencies to improve the quality of life of residents in the Tri-Cities area of Southside Virginia. Founded in 2003, The Cameron Foundation was formed from the proceeds of the sale of Southside Regional Medical Center by the Hospital Authority of the City of Petersburg. Since it began grantmaking in 2004, the Foundation has awarded approximately $60 million to organizations serving the residents of the Tri-Cities and surrounding counties. Both the Cleveland A. Wright Award for Outstanding Community Service and the Handy L. Lindsey, Jr. Award for Excellence in Organizational Management are designed to elevate an awareness and appreciation of the local nonprofit sector’s contribution to the community.