University of San Diego Honors Local Nonprofits for Outstanding Practices

SAN DIEGO, Jan. 8, 2008 - The University of San Diego’s Institute for Nonprofit Governance will present its second annual Kaleidoscope Award for exceptional governance during the 4th annual Nonprofit Governance conference, which starts Jan. 11, 2008.

The awards will be presented to the Chicano Federation of San Diego County and the San Diego Hospice and Palliative Care Corp. Each organization will receive an honorarium of $500, a plaque of recognition and will be part of a recognition wall in the lobby of the new School of Leadership and Education Sciences building at USD.

The organizations were selected based on their ability to show board accountability through evidence of principled fiduciary, strategic and generative governance. They were charged with proving that they were able to safeguard the organization’s mission, oversee operations and ensure accountability. Could they move the organization wisely into a preferred future, shape the work to meet it and offer technical assistance on the way? They also had to show they were able to define core problems, to discover what is important to the organization and to make sense of it all, while focusing on the values, assumptions, insights, culture and judgments about the organization's past and present circumstances.

"Governance is important work and difficult to do well,” said Liz Shear, awards program coordinator. “Like a kaleidoscope, the work of governance is intricate, varied and involves viewing the organization through different lenses. Exceptional governance requires precision, imagination and principled and adept decision-making. Its' practitioners are dedicated volunteers who contribute valuable services to our community. We are delighted to honor the Chicano Federation of San Diego County, Inc. and the San Diego Hospice and Palliative Care Corporation.”

The University of San Diego is a Catholic institution of higher learning chartered in 1949; the school enrolls approximately 7,500 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 the Chicano Federation of San Diego County, Inc.

The Chicano Federation is a community-based social service organization, serving the San Diego region since 1969. Its mission is to promote the self-sufficiency of area residents through the building of partnerships and the provision of quality services including job training, case management, center and home-based childcare, crisis intervention and building/managing affordable housing. Of the 10,000 clients the Federation serves on an annual basis, most are low-income children, youth and families of all ethnic groups with Latinos constituting 70 percent of clients served. More than half are classified as very low income, and 40 percent fall below the poverty level. The Chicano Federation is one of San Diego County’s most successful multi-level social service agencies. For more information, please visit www.chicanofederation.org.

About the San Diego Hospice and Palliative Care Corp.

San Diego Hospice & Palliative Care continues to set the standard for policies, procedures and models in end-of-life care used by hospices and hospitals around the world. In addition to providing traditional hospice care services to nearly 1,000 seriously ill adults and children throughout San Diego County each day, the organization is recognized for its advances in palliative medicine locally, nationally and globally. San Diego Hospice & Palliative Care is the first and only academic hospice program in the area, providing advanced education to more than 1,200 physicians and healthcare professionals annually around the world and conducting clinical research trials to promote better patient and family care. For more information, go to www.sdhospice.org or by calling toll-free at (866) 688-1600.

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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 among the Top 20 Best Private Schools for Making an Impact according to The Princeton Review. 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.