TORONTO, ON – A pair of social service agencies from Nova Scotia and Ontario shared a $20,000 prize after being recognized as the best in the country at the Donner Canadian Foundation Awards for Excellence in the Delivery of Social Services held Wednesday in Toronto.

Alice Housing of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Peterborough, Ontario, shared the $20,000 William H. Donner Award for Excellence in the Delivery of Social Services, the award for the highest performing agency overall.

In total, 11 of Canada’s top performing non-profit agencies were recognized at the awards and shared $70,000 in prize money. The Donner Awards recognize excellence in social service provision by Canadian non-profit organizations by encouraging best practices and greater accountability.

The Peter F. Drucker Award for Non-Profit Management, a $5,000 award, was presented to the Sudbury Action Centre for Youth of Sudbury, Ontario. The award is given to a non-profit organization with a consistent record of excellence and innovation in management and service delivery.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Peterborough, Ontario, was also named top agency for excellence in the delivery of services for children, winning an additional $5,000 prize. Alice Housing of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, was also recognized for excellence in the provision of basic necessities, earning a $5,000 prize.

Eight other organizations shared the remaining $35,000 in category awards. Additional information is available at www.donnerawards.org

Administered by The Fraser Institute on behalf of the Donner Canadian Foundation, the Donner Awards were established in 1998 to recognize and reward excellence in the provision of social services by Canadian non-profits and to provide these organizations with important performance information.

“Non-profit social service organizations touch Canadians’ lives in countless ways. Programs like the Donner Awards play a vital role in recognizing the accomplishments of non-profit agencies by rewarding excellence and encouraging greater accountability,” said Niels Veldhuis, Fraser Institute Director of Fiscal Studies and the Centre for Non-Profit Studies.

“These non-profit organizations are setting a powerful example of efficient social service delivery that we hope others will follow. Their communities can be justly proud of what these organizations have accomplished and the benefits they provide in their home towns.”

This year, non-profit organizations from across Canada submitted a total of 601 applications to the awards. The award recipients were selected based on a ranking of their performance in 10 key areas, including management and governance, the use of staff and volunteers, innovation, program cost, and outcome monitoring. A complete list of all award winners is provided below.

The Donner Awards’ evaluation protocol was established with input from the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy, the Canadian Cancer Society (BC & Yukon Division), the Trillium Foundation, and Family Services Canada. These awards represent an important step in the development of an objective, quantifiable measure of performance for non-profit organizations.

Complete list of all 2008 Donner Award recipients

The $20,000 William H. Donner Award:

William H. Donner Award for Excellence in the Delivery of Social Services (joint recipients)
Alice Housing, Dartmouth, NS
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Peterborough, Peterborough, ON

The $5,000 Peter F. Drucker Award:

Peter F. Drucker Award for Non-Profit Management
Sudbury Action Centre for Youth, Sudbury, ON

The nine $5,000 category awards:

Donner Canadian Foundation Award for Excellence in the Delivery of Alternative Education
o Sarnia Lambton Rebound, Sarnia, ON

Donner Canadian Foundation Award for Excellence in the Delivery of Counselling Services
o Youth Services of Lambton County – Huron House Boys’ Residential Home, Bright’s Grove, ON

Donner Canadian Foundation Award for Excellence in the Delivery of Crisis Intervention
o Calgary Pregnancy Care Centre, Calgary, AB

Donner Canadian Foundation Award for Excellence in the Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse
o Simon House Residence Society, Calgary, AB

Donner Canadian Foundation Award for Excellence in the Provision of Basic Necessities
o Alice Housing, Dartmouth, NS

Donner Canadian Foundation Award for Excellence in the Delivery of Services for Children
o Big Brothers Big Sisters of Peterborough, Peterborough, ON

Donner Canadian Foundation Award for Excellence in the Delivery of Services for People with Disabilities (joint recipients)
o Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada – Calgary Chapter, Calgary, AB
o Pacific Assistance Dogs Society, Burnaby, BC

Donner Canadian Foundation Award for Excellence in the Delivery of Services for Seniors
o Alzheimer Society of Oxford, Woodstock, ON

Donner Canadian Foundation Award for Excellence in the Delivery of Traditional Education
o Cornwall Alternative School, Regina, SK