When the Tampa Bay Business Journal and the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay announced a competition for recognition of nonprofits, Sarah Jordan-Holmes jumped at the opportunity. She was particularly pleased that, befitting a business-oriented publication, the awards were to focus on fiscal responsibility and value per dollar spent with an aim to promote transparency and accountability.
Data were gathered, numbers were crunched and forms were completed. When the dust had cleared, Prevent Blindness Florida’s record was one to be envied by other nonprofits. As one would hope, PBF demonstrated clearly that most of its money is spent on programs and that its fundraising costs are well within the norms of the most ethical nonprofits. In addition, the information to prove it is readily available and easily understood.
And, the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay declared Prevent Blindness Florida the winner of the Tampa Bay Business Journal’s 2006 Nonprofit of the Year Judges’ Choice Award, one of only two organizations to receive this recognition in the inaugural year of the awards.
The staff and volunteers for Prevent Blindness Florida are extremely excited and grateful for this recognition. The excitement is tinged with a bit of poignancy, too, since President & CEO Sarah Jordan-Holmes died as a result of a long and valiant battle with cancer shortly after the awards were announced. Speaking about the award, Richard Sanchez, chairman of the Board of Governors of Prevent Blindness Florida, said, "We feel like the award is a tribute to the years of dedicated work by Sarah Jordan-Holmes."
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