Three Boston Nonprofits Honored for Excellence, Including a Project Involving the Hyde Square Task Force

The Massachusetts Nonprofit Network honored three Boston organizations Monday with Excellence Awards as part of the fourth annual Nonprofit Awareness Day.

The State House ceremony recognizes nonprofits that stand out as playing a critical role in strengthening the Commonwealth, and the Boston organizations were among seven winners chosen. The local organizations are:

• Boston Youth Arts Evaluation Project, a three-year project funded by Raw Art Works in Lynn that collaborates with Boston youth organizations including: Jamaica Plain's Hyde Square Task Force, Zumix, The Theater Offensive and Medicine Wheel Productions, which were also honored for collaboration.
• The Friday Night Supper Program, which provides home-cooked meals to homeless people out of in Back Bay. Honored for board leadership.
• Families United for Educational Leadership, which addresses challenges low income families face in sending their kids to college. Honored for innovation.

“Nonprofits enrich our communities, our economy, and our lives in countless ways,” said Rick Jakious, CEO of the Massachusetts Nonprofit Network.

Jamaica Plain is an epicenter of the non-profit sector, with more than 200 non-profits based in the neighborhood.

The winners were chosen from 14 finalists, and selected by a committee of leaders from across the state. Treasurer Steve Grossman was also honored as the Public Official of the Year, specifically for his support of the nonprofit retirement bill, which establishes a retirement plan for nonprofit employees.

"The Massachusetts Nonprofit Network," Grossman said, "has had a dramatic impact on our state's quality of life since it was created just a few years ago."

Other organizations that received Excellence Awards included

• MotherWoman, Amherst, Advocacy;
• School for Field Studies, Beverly, Communications;
• Dorcas Grigg-Saito, Lowell Community Health Center, Lowell, Leadership;
• Nicki Eastburn, Assabet Valley Collaborative/Family Success Partnership, Young Nonprofit Professional