The Direct Marketing Association Nonprofit Federation, formed in July from the merger of the DMA Nonprofit Council and the National Federation of Nonprofits, will present its Nonprofit Achievement Award for the first time at the 11th Annual Nonprofit Washington Conference in the nation's capital Feb. 14.
The winner will be selected from eight nominees whose names have been submitted by co-workers, a board chairman, another charity in the same field, and a fundraising agency that nominated an individual who took over a troubled client charity and “straightened it out,” said Lee M. Cassidy, executive director at the DMA Nonprofit Federation. Cassidy is the former executive director at the National Federation of Nonprofits.
“All are people who have made significant achievements,” Cassidy said. “There isn't one of them I would not say deserves an award, if not this award. It's a question of who the committee believes best meets the criteria. In fact, we encourage those people whose candidates do not win to submit those names next year.”
The nominee must be a paid professional with an outstanding record of achievement during the previous 12 months, although preference will be given to those who have demonstrated long-term success using direct response marketing techniques. The nominee should also be an innovative leader, a model of integrity who has shown a willingness to help in the professional development of others, and a source of inspiration and encouragement.
Most of the nominees come from social service agencies, although one comes from a for-profit organization that works for charities, Cassidy said. Nominations for the award were closed Nov. 17.
The DMA Nonprofit Federation's Nonprofit Achievement Award replaces four other awards: the National Federation of Nonprofits' Charity Executive of the Year, Charity Fundraising Executive of the Year and Charity Financial Executive of the Year awards; and the DMA Nonprofit Council's Fundraising Achievement Award.
Cassidy said the new award has three purposes: to recognize achievement and excellence; to hold people up as standards to which others can aspire; and to bring positive publicity to the DMA Nonprofit Federation.
