Donner Canadian Foundation Awards recognize excellence in the non-profit sector
Contact:
Jason Clemens, Director of Non-Profit Studies
The Fraser Institute 604-714-4544
Email jasonc@fraserinstitute.ca
For Release: 16 November 2001
TORONTO, ON— The Honourable Hilary M. Weston, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, presented the Donner Canadian Foundation Awards for Excellence in the Delivery of Social Services at a Queen's Park reception today. These annual awards recognize efficiency and effectiveness among non-profit agencies at the community level.
This year, the $20,000 Donner Canadian Foundation Award for Excellence in the Delivery of Social Services was awarded to the Alzheimer Society of Thunder Bay.
This year, 266 organizations applied for the awards, which total $65,000 and are presented to agencies in nine categories: alternative education, child care, counselling, crisis intervention, prevention and treatment of substance abuse, provision of basic necessities, services to the disabled, services to seniors, and traditional education.
"We had two goals when we established these awards," says Allan Gotlieb, Chairman of the Donner Canadian Foundation, "we wanted to reward and bring public attention to excellence in program provision by non-profit agencies across Canada, but, of equal importance, we wanted to provide these organizations with information they can use to improve their service delivery."
The awards use a unique system of objective performance measures, developed in partnership with The Fraser Institute, to select finalists. The evaluation protocol was established with input from the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy, the Canadian Cancer Society (BC & Yukon Division), the Trillium Foundation, and Family Services Canada.
"The system assesses performance between participating agencies in ten areas, including financial management, staff, volunteers, and program cost," explained Jason Clemens, Director of Non-Profit Studies at the Fraser Institute. "This data will help agencies focus their limited resources on areas for improvement, and ensure they are providing services effectively."
Awards of $5,000 are presented to the top-performing agency in each of the nine categories. The Donner Canadian Foundation Award for Excellence in the Delivery of Social Services, an additional award of $20,000, is given to the agency receiving the highest score overall.
This year's overall recipient, the Alzheimer Society of Thunder Bay was incorporated in 1986 and is a key organization in improving the quality of life of persons with Alzheimer disease or related dementia, and in supporting their caregivers. It promotes the rights and well-being of the person with Alzheimer disease, supports the delivery of programs for individuals affected by the disease, and provides funds for research.
"These awards mean a lot to our organization," says Kim Morgan, Executive Director of the Alzheimer's Society of Thunder Bay. "It will enable us to reach out and help more people affected with Alzheimer's disease and to assist their families and caregivers."
This year's recipients of the Donner Canadian Foundation Awards for Excellence in the Delivery of Social Services are:
Donner Canadian Foundation Award for Excellence in the Delivery of Social Services (for overall performance)
Alzheimer Society of Thunder Bay
Thunder Bay, Ontario
Alternative Education
Community Resource Centre of Goulbourn, Kanata & West Carleton
Kanata, Ontario
Child Care
Big Brothers & Big Sisters of Victoria Capital Region
Victoria, British Columbia
Counselling
Vernon & District Hospice Society
Vernon, British Columbia
Crisis Intervention
Sarnia-Lambton Rebound
Sarnia, Ontario
Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse
Wood's Homes
Calgary, Alberta
Provision of Basic Necessities
AIDS Vancouver
Vancouver, British Columbia
Services to the Disabled (Joint Recipients)
Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada—Calgary Chapter
Calgary, AlbertaNorfolk Association for Community Living
Simcoe, Ontario
Services to Seniors
Alzheimer Society of Thunder Bay
Thunder Bay, Ontario
Traditional Education
Lynn Valley Parent Participation Preschool
North Vancouver, British Columbia
"The Donner Awards program serves to encourage the pursuit of excellence and in the years since it was founded, has become an important tool in the development of an objective, quantifiable measure of performance for non-profit organizations," says Gotlieb.
The Donner Canadian Foundation (DCF) was established in 1950 by William H. Donner and is one of Canada's largest, and oldest, private foundations. The Donner Canadian Foundation is dedicated to supporting projects that emphasize self-reliance, individual initiative, and independence. For more information, visit the website at www.donnerfoundation.org
Established in 1974, The Fraser Institute is an independent public policy organization based in Vancouver with offices in Calgary and Toronto.