The Maine Community Foundation announces guidelines for the 2008 Noyce Award for Nonprofit Excellence. Please note the changes in this year’s selection process.
Background
The Noyce Award for Nonprofit Excellence, created in 1990, annually recognizes one Maine organization's exceptional leadership and service to the community. The award honors the late Elizabeth Noyce (1931-1996), who is often referred to as Maine's premier philanthropist. After moving to Maine in 1974, Noyce gave generously of her time and wealth, and was dedicated to supporting the health and development of Maine's nonprofits. In addition to creating her own private foundation, she established a fund at the Maine Community Foundation (MaineCF) to recognize the work of outstanding Maine nonprofits. The Noyce Award includes a $10,000 unrestricted grant.
Each year, the Noyce Award program focuses on a different theme and area of interest. The theme of the 2008 Noyce Award is "Celebrating Community." The award will honor the critical contributions that recipients of MaineCF Community Building grants have made to creating sustainable and vibrant Maine communities.
Selection Process and Criteria
This year, the Maine Community Foundation will not accept unsolicited nominations or applications for the Noyce Award. Instead, the pool of nominees will be composed of those organizations that are selected for the MaineCF 25th Anniversary Community Building Awards.
The 2008 Noyce Award winner will be selected in a two-stage process:
Stage I: MaineCF 25th Anniversary Community Building Award Winners Selected
The 25th Anniversary Community Building Awards program is a special initiative funded by the Sandy River Charitable Foundation and the Maine Community Foundation, which is marking its first quarter-century this year.
Advisors from each of MaineCF's 11 county or regional committees will select an organization that best exemplifies the standards of the community-building program. In addition, using the same criteria, a special ad-hoc committee will select one organization from each of the four counties that do not currently have a MaineCF county or regional committee (Sagadahoc, Kennebec, Penobscot, and Lincoln counties). As winners of the 25th Anniversary Community Building Awards, these 16 nonprofits will receive a special one-time grant of $2,500. The winners will be announced in September 2008.
Stage II: 2008 Noyce Award Winner Selection
Each winner of the 25th Anniversary Community Building Awards will become a nominee for the 2008 Noyce Award. An ad-hoc committee of volunteers and MaineCF staff will review all winners and select one organization to win the 2008 Noyce Award for Nonprofit Excellence. That nonprofit will receive an additional one-time, unrestricted $10,000 grant.
The selection for both the 25th Anniversary Community Building Awards and 2008 Noyce Award for Nonprofit Excellence will be based on an organization's work over time rather than on a specific project. Criteria for selection will include the extent to which the organization's approach and accomplishments:
- build off existing community strengths and assets
- use collaboration and partnerships as key strategies
- foster local leadership
- involve people who will benefit from the organization's work in the planning and implementation of projects.
The winner of the 2008 Noyce Award for Nonprofit Excellence will be announced in September and the award will be presented at the Maine Community Foundation's Inspiring Philanthropy event in early November.
For more information, contact Lelia DeAndrade via e-mail or at (207) 512-4902.
May 5, 2008