Lodestar Foundation unveils $250,000 Collaboration Prize


The Lodestar Foundation, an organization dedicated to maximizing the impact of philanthropy by leveraging philanthropic resources, has announced its Collaboration Prize, a $250,000 award to recognize nonprofit collaborations that achieve exceptional impact and significantly eliminate duplication of efforts.

Nominations for the prize began June 1 and will be accepted through July 21. The winning collaboration from a pool of eight finalists will be announced March 6 at the ASU Lodestar Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Innovation’s 11th annual Forum on Nonprofit Effectiveness.

The annual prize, created by the Lodestar Foundation, is funded by the foundation in association with the Arizona-Indiana-Michigan (AIM) Alliance, of which the ASU Lodestar Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Innovation is a member.

The prize, which is designed to inspire cooperation among nonprofits, will be awarded to one collaboration that demonstrates that it has achieved exceptional impact and significantly eliminated the duplication of efforts through programmatic collaborations, administrative consolidation or other joint activities.

The collaboration must be composed of two or more organizations that otherwise would compete for clients, financial resources and staff.

The $250,000 prize must be used for charitable purposes, such as enhancing the winning collaboration’s continued service to its constituents or clients.

“A core mission for the Lodestar Foundation is to create financial and programmatic efficiencies among nonprofits, making sure philanthropic dollars achieve their maximum impact,” says Jerry Hirsch, Lodestar Foundation chairman. “The Collaboration Prize is an excellent way to reach this goal.”

The prize recipient will be chosen by a final selection panel, which will be chaired by Sterling Speirn, president and chief executive officer of the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, and will include representatives of the nonprofit and business worlds, as well as representatives of AIM.

A full list of eligibility requirements and nomination details can be found at the Web site www.thecollaborationprize.org.

Amy Cox O’Hara, amy.ohara@asu.edu
(602) 496-0185
Lodestar Center