'One' Award Goes to United Way of Central Oklahoma
TULSA, Okla.–The Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits announced that United Way of Central Oklahoma has won the 2016 Charles Schusterman Award for Excellence, as well as receiving a $10,000 grant. The Center held its ninth annual Oklahoma Nonprofit Excellence (ONE) Awards on Saturday in Tulsa, honoring 24 nonprofits from throughout the state for superior leadership and exceptional service to their constituents and communities.
Jeff Moen, board chair of the Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits, congratulated all the winners and finalists, saying, “All 24 of the nonprofits honored tonight have demonstrated excellence in their approach to serving the community. Since its inception, the ONE Awards have been transformational to build capacity for more than 200 organizations in Oklahoma through the recognition and grants ranging from $5,000 to $10,000. We are truly thankful to the visionary philanthropists who have made these awards possible.”
David Hogan, chairman of the ONE Awards Selection Commission, said the award to United Way of Central Oklahoma was “timely due to its long and storied history in Oklahoma City, as well as its unique ability to identify and enrich the best of our human services organizations in Central Oklahoma. They are a pillar of community fundraising and impact, and the United Way truly embodies excellence. We are very proud to honor this esteemed organization.”
The ONE Awards honors a total of 24 organizations in eight categories: arts and humanities, community, education, health services, open services, self-sufficiency, seniors, and youth development. Additionally, the Center names an overall winner of the event named after Charles Schusterman. All 24 nonprofits receive at least a $5,000 prize, and category winners receive $7,500. The overall winner receives a grand prize of $10,000.
Finalists in each category are as follows (category winners designated by an asterisk):
The Barnett Family Foundation and Moran Family Foundation Award for Arts & Humanities:OK Mozart International Music Festival*, Oklahoma City Ballet, The Osage County Historical Society Museum
Cherokee Nation and Potts Family Foundation Award for Community:United Way of Central Oklahoma*, Beautiful Day Foundation, Main Street Altus
The H.A. and Mary K. Chapman Charitable Foundations Award for Education:Paths to Independence*, Creative Oklahoma, El Sistema Oklahoma
Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Chahta Foundation and Williams Award for Health Services:Health Alliance for the Uninsured (HAU)*, Grand Lake Mental Health Center, Inc., Morton Comprehensive Health Services, Inc.
Boeing Award for Self-Sufficiency:ReMerge of Oklahoma County*, Peppers Ranch, YWCA Oklahoma City
Herman Kaiser Foundation and The Anne & Henry Zarrow Foundation Award for Seniors:RSVP of Enid and North Central Oklahoma, Inc.*, Jewish Federation of Greater Oklahoma City, Restore Hope Ministries
George Kaiser Family Foundation Award for Youth Development:Cleats for Kids*, Girls Scouts of Western Oklahoma, New Hope Oklahoma
The Chickasaw Nation Open Category Award:Oklahoma Media Research Foundation*, NIMROD International Journal of Prose and Poetry, Oklahoma Historical Society
This year’s grants bring the total awards for Oklahoma Nonprofit Excellence to $1,357,500. Past Schusterman Award winners have included Myriad Gardens, Elder Care, Little Light House, Oklahoma FFA Foundation, the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, Mental Health Association in Tulsa, Oklahoma Blood Institute and the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma. Nonprofits may use the prize money as they see fit to aid current programs or make transformational changes for their organizations.
source: Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits
