If there is a silver lining for nonprofit organizations during the slow economic recovery, it's that they've been motivated to focus on core missions that matter most. Nonprofits have also become more resourceful and innovative than ever before. And there are no better examples of this than in the realm of nonprofit communications. This year's Nonprofit PR Awards finalists are on the leading edge of collaborative partnerships, social media programs, fully integrated campaigns and more. PR News congratulates all the Nonprofit PR Award winners and honorable mentions, who were honored on May 18, 2011, at a luncheon held at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

View Nonprofit PR Awards Special Issue

Advocacy Campaign

MWW Group - From Surviving to Thriving: African Program for Onchocerciasis Control (APOC)

Honorable Mentions:

• DAWSON + MURRAY + TEAGUE Communications - Telling Amy’s Story
• Excellus BlueCross BlueShield - Coalitions to Pass a State Law While Providing Overall EOL Decision Option
• National Shooting Sports Foundation, Inc. - Hunting Works for America

Annual Publication or Brochure

National Shooting Sports Foundation, Inc. - 2010 Annual Review

Honorable Mentions:

• American Heart Association - Progress in Policy, 2009-2010 Advocacy Annual Report
• MWW Group - 2010 MWW Group Corporate Citizenship Report: Promise, Practice
• NYU Langone Medical Center - Innovation: 2010 Research Report

Branding/Rebranding Campaign

American Cancer Society - Creating a World with More Birthdays

Honorable Mentions:

• American Student Assistance - I Am ASA
• Coyne PR on behalf of Breastcancer.org - Breastcancer.org: One Mission, One Voice

Corporate/Nonprofit Partnerships

American Airlines - American Airlines Honors National Breast Cancer Awareness Month With Global Pink-Out

Honorable Mentions:

• DAWSON + MURRAY + TEAGUE Communications - Telling Amy’s Story
• Discovery Education and Siemens Foundation - Siemens STEM Academy
• Jiffy Lube International and Cone - 2010 Jiffy Lube Maintenance Partners for Life Campaign

Crisis Management

Howard Brown Health Center and Public Communications Inc. - Creating a Lifeline for LGBTQ Health Center

Honorable Mentions:

• Office Depot Foundation and Business Civic Leadership Center - National Disaster Help Desk for Business
• Xenophon Strategies for The Salvation Army - Helping Haiti: Social Media Drives Communications During Haiti Earthquake

Digital PR & Marketing

ONE – The ONE Blog

Honorable Mentions:

• BlueCross BlueShield of Rhode Island - Company Intranet Pop-Up Advertising Series
• National Shooting Sports Foundation, Inc. – Bullet Points
• SPI: The Plastics Industry Trade Association - SPI's Inside Edge

Employee / Internal Communications

Western Connecticut Healthcare - Affiliation Communication Campaign: The First 100 Days of a Merger

Honorable Mentions:

• American Student Assistance - I Am ASA
• U.S. Fund for UNICEF and American Airlines - UNICEF’s Change for Good Program on American Airlines

Event PR

United Nations Foundation - Inaugural Girl Up "Unite for Girls" Tour

Honorable Mentions:

• American Heart Association - 2010 Scientific Sessions Chicago
• Dentsu Communcations - Siemens Competition is Math, Science & Technology
• Legacy - truth® Orange Summer and Fall Tours 2010
• The Marine Toys for Tots Foundation - Blue Angels on a Mission for Toys for Tots
• SPI - The Plastics Industry Trade Association: NPE 2012 Space Draw
• Tierney on Behalf of Fox Chase Cancer Center - 50th Anniversary of the Philadelphia Chromosone: Dawn of Personalized Medicine

External Publication or Report

Seattle Children's Hospital Research Foundation - Connection Magazine

  Honorable Mentions:

• MusiCares - 20th Anniversary Campaign Brochure
• NYU Langone Medical Center - Philanthropy in Motion
• Office Depot Foundation - 2010 Office Depot Foundation Report to the Community
• ONE - The DATA Report

Fundraising Campaign

4GreenPs on Behalf of NCC - Respitality: Serving 52 Families in 52 Weeks

Honorable Mention:

• Cone on Behalf of Lindt USA - 2010 Lindt Gold Bunny Celebrity Auction
• Howard Brown Health Center and Public Communications Inc. - Creating a Lifeline for LGBTQ Health Center
• MusiCares - 20th Anniversary Campaign

Internal Publication

Pentagon Force Protection Agency  - The Shield

Honorable Mentions:

• American Heart Association - Advocacy Online Annual Report: “Progress In Policy”
• House of Commons Administration of Canada - The Commoner / Tout en commun
• NYU Langone Medical Center - NYULMC2: Capturing the Energy of NYU Langone Medical Center

Marketing

Legacy - truth® Orange Summer and Fall Tours 2010

Honorable Mentions:

• Museum of Science and Industry Chicago and PCI - Museum of Science and Industry Seeks Roommate
• Vault Communications on behalf of The Mark Twain House & Museum - Preserving the Legacy of Mark Twain

Media Relations

Dentsu Communications - Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology

Honorable Mention:

• Alliance for Consumer Education - Super Heroes Team Up to Fight Germs
• Legacy - truth® Orange Summer and Fall Tours 2010
• Weber Shandwick for American Airlines - All Aboard the Snowball Express

PR on a Shoestring

Virginia Early Childhood Foundation - VECF Reaches New Audiences with Strategic PR

Honorable Mentions:

• American College of Physicians - High-Value, Cost-Conscious Care
• Peel District School Board - What is a Peel board student worth?
• Stanton Communications & Airforwarders Association - An Industry’s Worst Nightmare becomes Opportunity to Shine

Public Affairs/Issues Management

• American Society of Anesthesiologists & FD - Anesthesia: Colorado Crusade to Save Lives • U.S. Chamber of Commerce - ThisWayToJobs Board Game

Honorable Mentions:

• National Shooting Sports Foundation, Inc. - Hunting Works for America
• Ruder Finn and the Alice Ferguson Foundation - Taking Action Against Trash

Public Service

ONE - Bellies

Honorable Mentions:

• Discovery Education and Siemens Foundation - Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge
• Williams Whittle - USO Patriotic Six

Social Responsibility Campaign Initiatives

GolinHarris - charity:water

Honorable Mentions:

• BlueCross BlueShield of Rhode Island - Internal Recycling Campaign
• Discovery Education and Siemens Foundation - Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge
• National Down Syndrome Society - My Great Story Public Awareness Campaign

Use of Facebook

First Book - Cheerios 6 Million Minute Read-A-Thon

Honorable Mentions:

• Neathawk Dubuque Packett - Facebook to Footsteps: Driving Fans to Downtown Roanoke
• U.S. Chamber of Commerce - American Free Enterprise

Volunteer & Member Communications

ASTM International - Standardization News and ASTM eNews

Honorable Mentions:

• United Way of the Greater Triangle - 6th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service

Association/Nonprofit Team of the Year

Kaiser Permanente

Honorable Mention:

• Legacy - Blowing Smoke Around Tobacco: Keeping a Deadly Issue in the Public Eye

Nonprofit Communicator of the Year

Dr. Marisa Weiss - Breastcancer.org

Honorable Mentions:

• Mark Thomas - National Shooting Sports Foundation
• Patrice Smith - Kaiser Permanente

Partner of the Year

Discovery Education & Siemens Foundation Partnership

Honorable Mentions:

• Engineers without Borders - Enhancing engineering through humanitarianism: CH2M HILL and EWB-USA Partnership Program