The excitement in the Great Hall was palpable yesterday, as more than 250 nonprofit professionals from across Massachusetts gathered at the State House for MNN's annual celebration of Nonprofit Awareness Day, presented by Citizens Bank. The event drew attention to the impact and importance of the nonprofit sector, as nine nonprofit organizations and professionals were presented with Nonprofit Excellence Awards for their accomplishments. 

From left to right: Emcee Kristy Lee from NECN, Rick Musiol from presenting sponsor Citizens Bank, Public Official of the Year recipient Senate President Stan Rosenberg and MNN Board Chair David Shapiro

 

Senate President Stan Rosenberg, who has long understood the important relationship between government and the nonprofit sector, was presented with the Public Official of the Year Award. Sen. Rosenberg touted the force of the nonprofit sector and thanked the crowd for the work being done at nonprofits to support communities and residents across the Commonwealth.

 

The highlight of the event was the presentation of the Nonprofit Excellence Awards. The 32 impressive finalists were honored for their work and the nine awards were presented to nonprofit organizations and employees that exemplify the most innovative, creative, and effective work being done throughout the Commonwealth.

 

Congratulations to the 2015 Excellence Award Winners:

Advocacy: Changing the Game

MCAN (Massachusetts Communities Action Network)

Board Governance: Setting the Course

The Theater Offensive

Collaboration: Collective Impact

One City, One Library

Communications: Telling Your Story

Lovelane Special Needs Horseback Riding Program

Innovation: Finding New Ways

A Little Easier Recovery

Leadership: Guiding the Ship

Jean Ford Webb, Mother Brook Arts and Community Center

Catherine D'Amato, The Greater Boston Food Bank 

Small Nonprofit: Doing More with Less

Southeast Asian Coalition of Central Massachusetts

Young Nonprofit Professional: Forging the Future

Robbie Bergquist, Cell Phones For Soldiers 

 

 

Robbie Bergquist, co-founder of Cell Phones for Soldiers and winner of the Excellence by a Young Nonprofit Professional Award with Francisco Ureña, Secretary of the Department of Veterans' Services

The impressive group of winners shared personal stories, words of wisdom and calls to action from the podium that reminded the audience how amazing the faces behind nonprofit organizations are. Varying in mission, size and region, the winning organizations ranged from a dynamic government-private partnership focused on improving literacy skills across Worcester to a group that successfully advocated for Massachusetts to have the strongest state-level sick time policy in the country.

 

Anh Vu Sawyer, who accepted the Excellence by a Small Nonprofit Award on behalf of the Southeast Asian Coalition of Central Massachusetts, shared her personal story of immigrating to America from Vietnam with the help of nonprofit organizations, a profound experience that led her to work in the sector. Cathy McGrath told the audience about how her own battle with breast cancer prompted her to found A Little Easier Recovery, which won the Nonprofit Excellence in Innovation Award. And Megan Donovan, who accepted the Excellence in Communications Award on behalf of Lovelane Special Needs Horseback Riding, expressed her passion for the organization and the joy she felt from helping the children in the program.

 

We hope yesterday's event, the Nonprofit Excellence Award winners, and the #nonprofitsmakesense social media campaign reminds you that the potential impact of our work, together as a sector, is limitless. Thanks to everyone who made this day possible including our presenting and Excellence Award sponsors, and award judges.

 

Read the full summary of the event.

Millions of People Learned Why #nonprofitsmakesense

 

This year's #nonprofitsmakesense campaign shared beautiful pictures and unbelievable stats and stories to convey the impact and importance of the nonprofit sector. We're still crunching the numbers, but we can tell you that the campaign made millions of impressions on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram over the past month. 

 

Thanks to everyone who participated- you played a crucial role in helping to increase awareness of the local nonprofit sector.

Each month, MNN partners with our affiliate members-experts in their field- to present a free webinar on timely and relevant topics for the nonprofit sector. On Wednesday, June 17, 10-11am, learn the nuts and bolts of QuickBooks from Gregg S. Bossen, CPA PC, QuickBooks Trainer and Advanced Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor. 

You'll build the technical skills needed to optimize your nonprofit's ability to effectively utilize this powerful software tool-from QuickBooks fundamentals to techniques specific to your organization.  The webinar will cover: The basic set up's every nonprofit needs to successfully use QuickBooks including the Chart of Account, Classes List, Customers, Vendors, and Budgets.  Participants will also be able to ask questions specific to their organization.

PUBLIC POLICY UPDATE

Survey on Vocational Technical Education

The Coalition for Vocational Technical Education is seeking organizations to participate in their survey of current and potential beneficiaries of vocational education programs in Massachusetts, including employers; school administrators, students, graduates, and parents; and the community at large. Survey results are intended to help both the Baker administration and citizens of the Commonwealth.  Click  here  to take the survey. Deadline to complete is June 15, 2015.