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A Night of Light Proved That Nonprofits Aren’t Namby Pamby

If you think people working in the nonprofit sector are pleasant little mealy mouths who are one step away from a convent and would slit a competitor’s throat for a grant, you’ re officially put on notice — you’re oh-so wrong.

Thursday night’s “A Night of Light” thrown by the Center for Nonprofit Management proved nonprofit types

• can hold their own when packing a ballroom with stellar types.
• celebrate accomplishments like touchdowns at Cowboys Stadiums.
• really like each other.

This event was definitely not a proper sit back, applaud politely at the appropriate time, and grind your teeth that there are 40 awards to hand out. Nope. Think Golden Globes fun as opposed to the Academy Awards.

Yes, the reception went on and on for good reason. Nobody wanted to sit down. It’s been a very rough year for the nonprofits — greater-than-ever demands and lesser-than-memory-can-recall income. But Thursday was a night for catching up with each other. Table sign of the best- and least-known nonprofits in the area indicated the makeup of the crowd — Autism Treatment Center, CASA of Collin County, Community Partners of Dallas, Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity, Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center, Dallas Concilio of Hispanic Service Organizations, ECOM Foundation for the Development of Origin Resources, Essilor Vision Foundation, Jubilee Park & Community Center, Junior League of Dallas, PediPlace, Presbyterian Communities and Services, Snowball Express, Uplift Education, and Vickery Meadow Learning Center.

Finally the guests settled down for an evening that opened with a performance by the Dallas Black  Dance Theater fresh from a performance Sunday night at the Dallas Holocaust Museum gala. Hmm, looks like DBDT has become the hot act for galas this season, and with good reason.

Then it was a short couple of speeches by Dallas Morning News ever-charming Steve Blow (pictured) and Event Chair George Baldwin and a video. Unlike other organizations, the CNM knows what their audience wants — who won what! Here you go:

 Excellence in Mission Achievement (Operating budgets $1,000,000 and over)
Winner — Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center
Runnesr up — Dallas Concilio of Hispanic Service Organizations and PediPlace

• Excellence in Mission Achievement (Operating budgets under $1,000,000)
  Winner — Essilor Vision Foundation
  Runners up — Jubilee Park & Community Center Corp. and Vickery Meadow Learning Center
• Excellence in Communications in honor of Robert Miller
  Winner — Promise House
  Runners up — Texas Ballet Theater and Visiting Nurse Association of Texas
• Excellence in Environmental Practices
  Winner — Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity
  Runners up — ECOM Foundation and For the Love of the Lake
• Innovation in Nonprofit Leadership
  Winner — Rosemary Perlmeter (Uplift Education)
  Runners up — Florence Velasco Fortner (Dallas Concilio of Hispanic Service Organizations) and Paige McDaniel (Community Partners of Dallas)
•  Excellence in Board Leadership
  Winner — Elizabeth T. Heyne (Low Birth Weight Development Center)
  Runners up — Diane Chester ( CASA of Collin County) and Jacques Stoerr(Essilor Vision Foundation)

All the hooping and hollering wasn’t saved for the “winners.” Nope, the announcement of each nominee was greeted with pockets of cheerleaders throughout the room. If there had been a meter monitoring the loudest group, it would have been the Paige McDaniel team. Lynn McBee and Juliette Coulter admitted that they were a little boisterous for their pal. When asked if they were disappointed that Paige didn’t win, the response was, “Rosemary Perlmeter of Uplift Education truly deserves the award. Paige will have her turn, and the fact she was nominated with two amazing leaders is a compliment. We did have a great time hooting and hollering in the back!”

Just “good sports”? No. That was the general feeling of all the runners up.

Spotted during the evening: Essilor Board Member Patrick Esquerre was introducing Essilor Founder Jacques Stoerr to the locals. There’s just something about French men who wear glasses. . . Dallas Morning News business columnist Robert “Bob” Miller explained that wife Shirley was home with a set of bad knees. . .  Alissa Christopher wondered if handwriting was becoming a lost art and if schools will start teaching texting. Don’t even get her started on grammar! . . . Karen Pardoe updated friends on the status of Neiman alums. Since her retirement from NM, she and husband Bill have really gotten involved in volunteer work including a trip to Honduras.  

Another winning group is the sponsors of the event that include:

Presenting sponsor: Citi

Award sponsors: Oncor, Target, Bank of America, The Dallas Morning News, Communities Foundation of Texas, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG, and Pricewaterhouse Coopers

Galaxy sponsors: American Airlines, Ashlee and Chris Leinert, and WRR 101.1

Aurora Borealis sponsors: Friends of George Baldwin, Gwen and Leldon Echols, and Medical Clinic of North Texas

One suggestion to organizers: Learn from other awards ceremonies. Try not to say “The winner is. . .” Instead consider saying, “The award goes to . . . ” After all, in this group, they’re all winners even the ones who didn’t make the finals.