Native Nations

The 2024 Northwest Ohio Nonprofit Excellence Awards, presented by the Greater Toledo Community Foundation and The Blade in partnership with The Center for Nonprofit Resources, aim to honor and recognize outstanding nonprofit organizations and their achievements. This program aligns with the foundation's mission by fostering excellence and impact within the nonprofit sector, ultimately strengthening the community. The awards are structured to identify and celebrate best practices across various operational and programmatic areas, reinforcing a strategic priority to support robust and effective community-based initiatives. The program targets nonprofit organizations operating in northwest Ohio or southeast Michigan, with a focus on those demonstrating exceptional collaborative programming, strategic action, or organizational operations. The overall impact goal is to elevate the standard of nonprofit work, encourage innovative solutions to community challenges, and promote sustainable organizational health. By recognizing these achievements, the awards intend to inspire further excellence and positive community change, ultimately benefiting the residents of these regions. The awards have specific priorities and focuses across three categories: "Excellence in Collaborative Programming," "Excellence in Strategic Action," and "Excellence in Organizational Operations." Collaborative Programming prioritizes joint initiatives that leverage multiple partners to deliver excellent service, reach underserved audiences, and avoid duplication. Strategic Action highlights organizations that have strategically expanded programming or pivoted to new service delivery models, emphasizing data-driven approaches and alignment with community-wide planning. Organizational Operations recognizes overall excellence, particularly demonstrating active involvement by staff, board, volunteers, and constituents, with a focus on strong governance, financial management, fundraising, and community impact evaluation. Expected outcomes include improved service delivery to residents, enhanced community impact through creative partnerships, and more efficient resource utilization. Measurable results for Collaborative Programming focus on how projects are evaluated and the positive results achieved. For Strategic Action, success is measured by how the strategic change addressed a need, its sustainability, and metrics illustrating impact. For Organizational Operations, outcomes are demonstrated through examples of best practices in governance, financial management, fundraising, and how outcome data is used to achieve the mission and impact the community. The awards provide a $7,500 unrestricted grant from the Greater Toledo Community Foundation, a $1,000 unrestricted grant from The Andersons, and a half-page ad in The Blade, offering tangible support and recognition to further enable winning organizations to achieve their missions.