Winners of the 2023 Northwest Ohio Nonprofit Excellence Awards were presented with thousands of dollars in grant money Thursday during an event at the Pinnacle in Maumee.
So All May Eat Café, or simply SAME Café, took home the award for Excellence in Collaborative Programming. SAME Café set up inside the Main Library in downtown Toledo this year with a “pay as you can” system, so those who eat at the cafe can get a meal in exchange for contributing time, money, or produce as they are able.
“When we pool our resources, there is more than enough for everyone,” said Rori Quinonez, executive director of SAME Café.
“Everyone can come and both enjoy either side of the counter,” he said.
The Jewish Federation of Greater Toledo won the award for Excellence in Organizational Operations for its service to the community across faiths and cultures. Since 2022, the Jewish Federation has made more than 65 grants to local secular charities totaling $85,000.
“We are on the front lines of making this world the sort of place that people want to live in,” said Stephen Rothschild, CEO of the Jewish Federation.
“It is a challenging task,” he said, and abdicated responsibility for the award to his team, who helped secure the award.
TutorsSmart Toledo took home the award for Excellence in Strategic Action for its study looking into why Toledo education scores were not rising despite having more than 100 tutoring organizations.
The study results showed the term tutoring was mostly applied to “homework help” instead of addressing how students digest or master information.
“We will continue to support our kids and our communities, and are open to partnering to make sure that our kids have what they need across the city,” said Tiffany Adamski, executive director of Tutorsmart,
The Blade, the Greater Toledo Community Foundation, the Center for Nonprofit Resources, and WTVG-TV Channel 13 presented Thursday's awards event. The Andersons, Waterford Bank, and the Eidi Family Foundation sponsored the breakfast.
Since 2011, more than $235,000 in grants have been awarded to some of the best nonprofits in three main areas: innovation, and excellence for both large and small nonprofits.
In 2022, the categories changed to Excellence in Collaborative Programming, Excellence in Organizational Operations, and Excellence in Strategic Action.
A new award was added this year: the Golden Anniversary Award, which went to Hospice of Northwest Ohio. The winner was awarded $25,000 in unrestricted grant funds for answering the question, “What has been your organization’s most impactful, program, project, or partnership?”
There were six nominees for the award, which also included Advocating Opportunity, the Arts Commission of Greater Toledo, Boys and Girls Clubs, Center of Hope Family Services, and Water for Ishmael.
“From the beginning, we were founded by volunteers, and wouldn't exist without community support,” said Richard Russell, president and CEO of Hospice of Northwest Ohio.
“This really demonstrates the impact that we've made and how that community continues to come out and support us,” he added.
First Published October 26, 2023, 2:00 p.m.
