Catalyst Kitchens, the 2023 national award winner.
About the Mutual of America Foundation Community Partnership Award
The Mutual of America Foundation Community Partnership Award was created in 1996.
Each year, we honor nonprofit organizations from across the country that are helping to move our nation forward by building healthier, more equitable communities. Now in its 29th year, this prestigious award encourages nonprofits that work in partnership with public, private and other social sector organizations to demonstrate:
1.
The measurable impact their program is having on the communities it serves.
2.
What they are doing to replicate and share their program for the benefit of other local communities.
3.
How they are innovating new approaches to meeting new and evolving community needs.
An independent committee selects organizations to receive the following Community Partnership Award honors:
- The Thomas J. Moran Award is given to the national award-winning program and includes a documentary video about the program.
- The Frances R. Hesselbein Award is given to a partnership that is addressing social challenges and is also being replicated in more than one community.
- The Social Impact Award is given to a partnership whose program is making a positive difference in its community, and has the potential to scale to increase its impact.
Since its inception in 1996, the Community Partnership Award has recognized 268 partnerships from cities and towns across America. Like so many of our clients working in the nonprofit community, Mutual of America is dedicated to having a direct, positive impact on society.
Two Visionaries Unite to Shine a Light on Nonprofits
Nearly three decades ago, Thomas Moran and Frances Hesselbein led the way, along with board members and and leaders from various business and philanthropic sectors, in establishing the Community Partnership Award. To celebrate their significant and lasting contributions, the top two awards are named respectively in their honor.
The Thomas J. Moran Award is presented annually to the Mutual of America Foundation’s Community Partnership Award national award-winning program. The eponymous award commemorates the lifetime achievements and personal generosity of Thomas Moran, who passed away in 2018 after serving as Chairman, President and CEO. During a distinguished 43-year career at the Company from 1975 to 2018, Mr. Moran championed the Community Partnership Award to recognize the extraordinary leadership of nonprofit organizations across the United States and to highlight the numerous contributions they make to society, in particular toward improving the lives of individuals most in need.
The Frances R. Hesselbein Award was created in 2022 in special recognition of Frances Hesselbein, who served on our Board and was an esteemed part of the Mutual of America family for more than 40 years. Her deep connection to the nonprofit community helped lead to the creation of the Mutual of America Foundation Community Partnership Award, on whose Selection Committee she served as a founding member until her passing in 2022. Ms. Hesselbein, who was awarded the Medal of Freedom in 1998 by President Bill Clinton, served as President and CEO of the Frances Hesselbein Leadership Forum at the University of Pittsburgh. She also served as CEO of the Girl Scouts of the USA.