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Media Release
March 10, 2010

Community Foundation of Ottawa wins Wilmer Shields Rich Award for Excellence in Communications

The Community Foundation of Ottawa has been named a silver award winner for excellence in communications by the 2010 Wilmer Shields Rich Awards Program. Sponsored by the Council on Foundations, the awards program recognizes effective communications efforts to increase public awareness of foundations and corporate giving programs. The Community Foundation of Ottawa received the award in the Electronic Publications category for its comprehensive online 2008 annual report, which was just launched last May.

“It is a wonderful honour to be recognized in this way by such a prestigious international organization,” said Barbara McInnes, President & CEO of the Community Foundation of Ottawa, “and it is especially rewarding to win an award for having made the move to publishing the full version of our annual report online. We felt the time was right to demonstrate our strong commitment to fiscal responsibility among both our donors and the grantee organizations we serve, as well as to reduce our carbon footprint on the environment. We are gratified to have our efforts recognized and supported in this fashion.”

Some of the judges comments about the Community Foundation’s electronic annual report include: “The strategy of an online annual report to complement a much smaller printed version in order to save money and “go green” was very smart. The online version achieved the stated goals and reflects very well on the foundation’s desire to steward funds wisely.” “I love the move to online publishing, with a small print version. That’s sure to be the future of nonprofit publications. The report is honest and clear and it seems to have been well-received.”

Entries to the awards program included annual or biennial reports, electronic publications, magazines/periodicals, special reports, public information campaigns and websites. This year, 166 entries were submitted to the awards program. The Community Foundation of Ottawa is one of only four Canadian foundations to receive one of the 92 awards presented through the William Shields Rich Awards Program in 2010.

The award will be presented during the Council on Foundations’ Annual Conference, April 25—27, 2010, at the Hyatt Regency Denver at the Colorado Convention Center, 650 15th Street, Denver, CO 80202.

Established in 1987, the Community Foundation of Ottawa is a public, non-profit organization created by and for the people of Ottawa. It connects donors who care with causes that matter and serves as a trusted resource for addressing issues and leveraging opportunities in the community. Since its inception, the Community Foundation has been enabling generous citizens to enhance the quality of life in their community and to achieve their own charitable objectives through permanent, well-managed endowments.

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