January 3, 2011
Community Voice Mail National Named a Semifinalist in Lodestar Foundation’s 2011 Collaboration Prize
20 semifinalists recognized for successful and innovative partnerships; Eight finalists to be selected and awarded a total of $250,000
PHOENIX, Ariz., January 3, 2011 – Community Voice Mail National has been selected as a semifinalist for the 2011 Collaboration Prize created by The Lodestar Foundation, an organization dedicated to maximizing the growth and impact of philanthropy. Each of the 20 semifinalists, chosen from over 800 submissions, represents a successful collaboration created between two or more nonprofit organizations.
“We are thrilled and honored to be among the final twenty organizations under consideration for The Collaboration Prize. We hope Community Voice Mail’s story of innovation through collaboration encourages leaders to invest in strategic alliances that turn ‘good’ into ‘great’,” said Jennifer Brandon, Executive Director, Community Voice Mail National.
“The pool of applicants for the 2011 Prize exceeded our expectations and provided an array of impressive and innovative collaborations from which to choose,” said Jerry Hirsch, The Lodestar Foundation Chairman. “The semifinalists, who successfully leveraged human and financial resources to achieve greater impact, will now serve as models of collaboration for others in the nonprofit sector – showcasing how working together can bring about extraordinary results.”
About Community Voice Mail National
Community Voice Mail helps people in poverty, transition, and homelessness rebuild their lives by connecting them to jobs, housing, information, and hope using internet and voice mail technology to increase connection to vital local information and resources. CVM is the only nonprofit in the U.S. that has created, replicated and sustained a nation-wide voice mail program dedicated to helping the homeless and those “at risk” of homelessness. Each year, in partnership with more than 2000 social services agencies in 45 hub regions, Community Voice Mail supports 43,000 households, and 57,000 low-income, primarily phoneless individuals annually, to move out of poverty. For more information about Community Voice Mail National, please visit www.cvm.org, or email Andrea John-Smith at ajohn-smith@cvm.org.
About The 2011 Collaboration Prize
The collaboration must involve two or more nonprofit organizations. Each collaboration will be judged on the extent to which it demonstrates improved effectiveness in achieving social good; more effectively uses human and financial resources; represents an innovative response to a specific challenge or opportunity; and exhibits characteristics that would demonstrate that the collaboration is a model for the field, sector, or community.
Out of these 20 semifinalists, the Selection Panel – a group chaired by Sterling Speirn, president and CEO of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and comprised of elite philanthropists and leaders of major philanthropic foundations – will choose eight finalists who will receive $12,500 and the grand prize winner, to be chosen from among the eight, will receive an additional $150,000. The finalists will be announced in early February 2011 and the grand prize winner will be announced in April 2011. For more information and for a full list of the 20 semifinalists, please visit www.thecollaborationprize.org.
The Lodestar Foundation
The Lodestar Foundation is a grantmaking organization devoted to maximizing the growth and impact of philanthropy and provides funds nationally and internationally to organizations that support its mission. In support of this mission, Lodestar created the Collaboration Prize in 2009 to identify achievements in collaboration as models for inspiration and replication. True to the spirit of collaboration, the Lodestar Foundation has partnered with AIM Alliance, the Foundation Center, La Piana Consulting and other foundation and nonprofit leaders to support the 2011 Prize. Please visit www.lodestarfoundation.org for more information.