Nominees announced for new awards celebrating Southwest Florida's best charity events
The Community Foundation, founded in Cape Coral, honors Southwest Florida’s best charity events. If you have never attended a charity event awards presentation - an annual celebration to recognize the best fundraising events and the most outstanding charitable organizations that plan and promote events to raise funds to fulfill their mission - you need to attend the Charity Event Awards created by The Community Foundation. Be prepared to be amazed by the incredible fundraising innovation and excellence.
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The heartwarming stories of giving back are inspiring. The event attended by the region’s leading philanthropists, humanitarians, business sponsors, and nonprofit leaders is an opportunity to witness generosity and kind acts of community service. There are so many generous givers who share testimonies of why they give to support seniors, arts, animals, veterans, education, and families in need. Southwest Florida is a generous regional community.
More than 200 nonprofit event fundraising professionals, marketing and public relations leaders, event sponsors, and private donors are expected to gather at the Crowne Plaza Fort Myers at Bell Tower Shops, IHG Hotel, on April 5 from 6-9 p.m. Teri Hansen, the founder of Priority Marketing, is the featured keynote speaker.
The event is an evening of networking, celebration, and honoring philanthropic heroes. An important part of the Charity Event Awards is celebrating the continued innovation and resilience of our nonprofit community and its ability to create well-planned events with excellence.
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The event is an opportunity to hear the stories from charitable organizations, event fundraising professionals, and board members who are truly changing the future of event fundraising. The event will honor the charity event fundraisers and trailblazers who turned the challenges of the pandemic into opportunities for their causes, finding new ways to engage donors, sponsors, ticket buyers, and grow impact.
Here are the categories and nominees for this year’s Charity Event Awards:
Best Special Charity Event
Bobby Nichols-Fiddlesticks Charity Foundation
Cape Coral Animal Shelter
Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife
The Dubin Center
Early Learning Coalition of Sarasota County
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Edison Festival of Light
EHL Fragile X Foundation, Inc.
Friends of Lovers Key
Greater Pine Island Elks Charitable Trust
Hodges University
Lee County Fort Myers Police Athletic League
Our Mother’s Home
St. Andrew Conference of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul
Thrive of Southwest Florida
Valerie’s House
Best Charity Event Venue & Caterer
The Burroughs Home
The Forest Country Club
Hilton Naples
JW Marriott Marco Island Beach Resort
Marriott Sanibel Harbor Resort and Spa
The Plantation Golf & Country Club
Quail Creek Country Club
The Ritz-Carlton Naples
The Westin Cape Coral Resort at Marina Village
Best Virtual/Hybrid Event
C Three Foundation
The Cancer Alliance of Naples
Fort Myers Beach Community Foundation
Guadalupe Center
Naples Children & Education Foundation
Shy Wolf Sanctuary Education & Experience Center
Best Overall Charity Event
Animal Refuge Center
Cape Coral Animal Shelter
Cape Coral Caring Center
Garden Club of Cape Coral
Goodwill Industries of Southwest Florida
The Immokalee Foundation
Kids’ Minds Matter
Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southwest Florida
Valerie’s House
YMCA of Southwest Florida – Englewood
Up & Coming/Grassroots
Angel Wings of Southwest Florida, Inc.
Donation Yoga Naples
Duffy’s Foundation
Gulf Coast Humane Society
Naples Woman’s Club
Orphan Support International, Inc.
Ride for Tiny Town
Corporate Citizenship
Alliance Financial Group
Bailey’s General Store
Bank of America
Best Home Services
Calusa Sportsman Foundation
Cape Coral Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram
Cushman and Wakefield Commercial Property of SWFL
Estero Bay Chevrolet
The Horizon Foundation/Horizon Council
Jaguar Fort Myers
Spada Salon and Day Spa
State Insurance
Subaru of Fort Myers
Best Events Team
Charlotte County Habitat for Humanity
Lee Health Foundation
Path2Freedom
Virginia B. Andes Community Clinic
The Charity Event Awards is a very special evening that celebrates what’s at the heart of The Community Foundation – generosity. It’s a feel-good evening recognizing and connecting outstanding individuals, companies, and organizations to inspire greater generosity.
To find out more about the Charity Event Awards, visit charityeventawards.org
The Community Foundation, founded in Cape Coral, the largest city in Southwest Florida, is the voice and the choice of the region’s 5,214 nonprofits with a combined workforce of 37,610 employees that generate $4.15 billion in annual revenue. The Community Foundation is also the creator of the upcoming Generous People, weekly television production that combines entertainment with philanthropy. The groundbreaking television series will broadcast across Lee, Collier, Charlotte, DeSoto, Glades and Hendry counties in Florida to more than 610,000 households. Every episode features real-world nonprofit leaders and experts who are working in the trenches of the charitable sector.
Michael Chatman is president & CEO of The Community Foundation, the global center for generosity, and can be reached at michael@capecoralcf.org. The foundation is located at 1405 SE 47th Terrace, Unit 2, Cape Coral. For information, call 239-542-5594 or go to www.capecoralcf.org
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Nominees announced for new awards celebrating Southwest Florida's best charity events
