University of San Diego’s Kaleidoscope Award Highlights Excellence in Nonprofit Education and Research

The University of San Diego’s Institute for Nonprofit Education and Research recently presented its sixth annual Kaleidoscope Award for exceptional governance to Girl Scouts San Diego. Designed to recognize, celebrate, promote and inspire excellence in nonprofit governance, the award was presented during USD’s 8^th annual Nonprofit Governance Symposium.

USD Assistant Professor Mary McDonald, chair of the selection committee, told the audience, “What sets the Girl Scout organization apart from others is that they do not separate passion and vision from good true work.”

San Diego County Supervisor Greg Cox presented a proclamation during the awards ceremony. Girl Scouts San Diego also received an honorarium of $500 and a plaque of recognition.

Girl Scouts San Diego Board of Directors members and CEO Jo Dee C. Jacob participated in a panel discussion after the awards presentation. Investment Committee Chair Rick Brooks, Immediate Past President Solveig Deuprey, Board Development Committee Chair Deanna Martin Mackey and board director Hollyce Phillips described the organization’s history, goals, nominating process and financial investment strategies. They also answered questions from the audience of 290 on-profit board members and staff; chief executives; foundation and emerging leaders; and members of  service clubs and public boards and commissions.

USD began awarding the Kaleidoscope Award in 2007. Recipients are selected for their ability to demonstrate board accountability through evidence of principled fiduciary, strategic and generative governance. Awardees are charged with proving that they are able to safeguard their organizations’ missions; oversee operations; ensure accountability; move their organizations wisely into a preferred future; shape the work to meet that future; and offer technical assistance? They must show they are able to define core problems, discover what is most important to their organizations and make sense of it all, while focusing on the values, assumptions, insights, culture and judgments about their organizations’ past and present circumstances.

About the University of San Diego

The University of San Diego is a Catholic institution of higher learning chartered in 1949; the school enrolls approximately 7,500 undergraduate and graduate students and is known for its commitment to teaching, the liberal arts, the formation of values and community service. The inauguration of the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies brings the university’s total number of schools and colleges to six. Other academic divisions include the College of Arts and Sciences and the schools of Business Administration, Law, Leadership and Education Sciences, and Nursing and Health Science.

 About Girl Scouts San Diego

Founded in 1912, Girl Scouting has evolved into the world’s premier leadership development experience for girls. Its mission is to build girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place. Girl Scouts San Diego serves more than 31,000 local girls and nearly 13,000 adult members, providing programs and events, training volunteers, and maintaining seven camps and program facilities. The Girl Scout Outreach Program partners with shelters, detention and community centers, schools, and other youth organizations to bring Girl Scouting to those who might not otherwise be able to participate. For more information on Girl Scouts San Diego, visit www.sdgirlscouts.org. 

About the University of San Diego

Strengthened by the Catholic intellectual tradition, we confront humanity’s challenges by fostering peace, working for justice and leading with love. With more than 8,000 students from 75 countries and 44 states, USD is the youngest independent institution on the U.S. News & World Report list of top 100 universities in the United States. USD’s eight academic divisions include the College of Arts and Sciences, the Knauss School of Business, the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering, the School of Law, the School of Leadership and Education Sciences, the Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science, the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies, and the Division of Professional and Continuing Education. In 2021, USD was named a “Laudato Si’ University” by the Vatican with a seven-year commitment to address humanity’s urgent challenges by working together to take care of our common home.