Nonprofits to receive Best Practices awards from R.I. Foundation

PROVIDENCE – Five nonprofits will receive 2015 Best Practice awards Tuesday from the Rhode Island Foundation.
Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island sponsors the awards, which recognize outstanding work in advocacy, collaboration, communications, innovation and leadership.
The ceremony is slated for 5 p.m. at the BCBSRI offices at 500 Exchange St.
“Our recipients emerged from a highly competitive process and an impressive group of nominees,” Jill Pfitzenmayer, vice president of the Foundation’s Initiative for Nonprofit Excellence, said. “There is something instructive in each of their extraordinary stories that can help any nonprofit accomplish more.”
The winners include: The RI Jump$tart Coalition, advocacy award; Green & Healthy Homes Initiative, collaboration award; The Boys & Girls Club of East Providence, communication award; OpenDoors, innovation award; and Girls Rock! Rhode Island, leadership award.
All of the recipients will receive a $1,000 grant, a video about their work and tuition waivers for any Initiative for Nonprofit Excellence professional development workshop or seminar in the next 12 months.
“As a sponsor – and as a nonprofit with a social mission of our own – we at Blue Cross understand and appreciate the collective impact of the organizations being honored this year,” said Peter Andruszkiewicz, president and CEO of BCBSRI. “Recognizing these organizations and their great work gives us an opportunity to reflect on and learn from nonprofit best practices to help Rhode Islanders lead healthier lives.”
Girls Rock! Rhode Island won its award for increasing operational efficiencies by defining strong strategic priorities such as expanding fundraising and increasing the annual budget.
“Our board has challenged itself to grow in much the same way our participants challenge themselves in our programming,” Hilary Jones, the organization’s executive director, said. “They have established GRRI! as a learning organization and worked hard to reach strategic and fundraising goals that enable us to reach more girls and women with music empowerment programming.”
The Rhode Island Jump$tart Coalition’s public policy advocacy effort prompted the Rhode Island Council on Elementary and Secondary Education to adopt the state’s first-ever standards for financial literacy, said Margaret Brooks, president.
Green & Healthy Homes Initiative created the Rhode Island Alliance for Healthy Homes, which includes more than 75 organizations that work together to align and coordinate information, resources and services to improve the health and safety of Rhode Island homes.
The Boys & Girls Club of East Providence launched a marketing campaign that increased membership by 18 percent, the number of donors by 22 percent and participation in the club’s programs by 17.5 percent.
OpenDoors won for its “9 Yards” program, which prepares incarcerated Rhode Islanders for re-entry through comprehensive long-term supports including job training, education, transitional housing and counseling. Eighty percent of the program’s graduates are currently working or in school, said Solongel Rodriguez, executive director.

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