The Wilmer Shields Rich Awards Program

Recognizing and encouraging excellence in communications by foundations and corporate giving programs

The awards, which originated in 1984, showcase the ways foundations and corporate giving programs use communications strategies and techniques to advance their grantmaking goals.

Wilmer Shields Rich, executive director of the National Council on Community Foundations (now the Council on Foundations) from 1957 to 1968, was an early champion of public accountability by charitable foundations in both their resources and activities. The awards program, named after the Council's first executive director, also seeks to educate the field of organized philanthropy about creative and strategic communications. Strategic communications is defined as a deliberate and managed process—not just a set of products—that encourages others to think and act in ways supportive of a goal that is vital to the mission of the foundation. The process involves communications that are comprehensive, integrated, targeted, and well timed.

The 2009 award categories are: annual or biennial reports; newsletters; public policy campaigns; special reports; and websites. Judges evaluated entries based on the following criteria: overall outcomes/impact; message and design effectiveness; organization of content; and outreach/distribution strategies.

• 2009 WSR Winners coming soon!
• 2008 WSR Winners
• 2007 WSR Winners 
• 2006 WSR Winners 
• 2005 WSR Winners 
• 2004 WSR Winners 
• 2003 WSR Winners 
• 2002 WSR Winners 
• 2001 WSR Winners 
• 2000 WSR Winners 
• 1999 WSR Winners 

Questions? 
Contact Evelyn Gibson at 703-879-0691