June 4, 2018 — Four Massachusetts nonprofits and two nonprofit leaders today were cited as role models for the sector when they were named Nonprofit Excellence Award winners at a State House event in connection with Nonprofit Awareness Day, a 10-year-old statewide celebration of the contributions of Massachusetts nonprofits.

The awards were selected and announced by the Massachusetts Nonprofit Network (MNN), the state’s nonprofit trade association, to a gathering of 250 nonprofit and business leaders.

Leading up to the event, MNN coordinated a social media campaign, called #MAkingadifference, during which organizations, using Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, shared pictures, stories, and statistics to communicate the breadth and depth of the state’s nonprofit sector.

Receiving the awards were the following:

• Excellence in Advocacy – Language Opportunity Coalition, Boston, founded in 2014 to increase language learning opportunities for learning English, native, heritage, and world languages, and to ensure that all learners have equal access to a high quality education and professional opportunities.

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On hand to receive the award on behalf of the coalition were steering committee members Nicole Sherf (MaFLA), Phyllis Hardy (MABE), and Helen Solorzano (MATSOL). In her remarks, Helen Solorzano thanked Mass Nonprofit Network for the honor, and urged members of the nonprofit community to promote multilingualism in Massachusetts by supporting the expansion of language education in schools under the LOOK Act and looking for the Seal of Biliteracy on job candidates’ resumes.

Our coalition also congratulates the all finalists for the Excellence Awards, and especially our colleagues in the Advocacy category: Jett Foundation, New England Hemophilia Association, and Samaritans.  It was very moving to receive this recognition in the company of so many other impressive nonprofit organizations and leaders.