3609 Hwy 24 (Ocean) | Newport, North Carolina 28570

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 11, 2005

For information from the North Carolina Coastal Federation:
Todd Miller, Executive Director
252-393-8185 or 252-241-0191 (cell)
toddm@nccoast.org

For information from the NC Center for Nonprofits:
Jane Kendall, 919-790-1555 x103, jckendall@ncnonprofits.org
Trisha Lester, 919-790-1555 x104, tlester@ncnonprofits.org

NC Coastal Federation Honored for Nonprofit Stewardship

     Raleigh – The North Carolina Coastal Federation (NCCF), headquartered in the community of Ocean in Carteret County with offices in Wilmington and Manteo, received statewide honors today when the North Carolina Center for Nonprofits selected it for one of three 2005 Nonprofit Sector Stewardship Awards. The groups were recognized for their exemplary stewardship of the resources entrusted to them. The Center announced the 2005 Awards at its annual conference in Charlotte with more than 800 community leaders from across the state participating.
     Founded in 1990, the NC Center for Nonprofits helps nonprofit organizations lead and manage their organizations effectively, save time and money, and collaborate with others to achieve their mission. The Center is a coalition of some 1,600 nonprofit organizations of all sizes and types in all 100 counties across North Carolina. It created the annual Nonprofit Sector Stewardship Awards in 1995 to recognize nonprofit organizations that demonstrate exemplary stewardship of the accountability and ethics that the public expects of them as tax-exempt organizations. The Center’s statewide Board of Directors serves as the selection committee. Board member Richard T. “Stick” Williams, a vice president of Duke Energy, announced the winners.
     Accepting the award on behalf of the NC Coastal Federation were Board of Director members Olivia Holding and Lewis Piner, Executive Director Todd Miller, and Development Director Sally Steele. Olivia Holding also serves as NCCF’s treasurer.
     “We are honoring the North Carolina Coastal Federation for its effective advocacy, collaboration, and planning. All three of these are hallmarks of nonprofit organizations that are determined to make a lasting difference,” said Jane Kendall, president of the NC Center for Nonprofits.
     “The NC Coastal Federation pulls together leaders in the nonprofit, government, and business sectors – from fishermen and farmers to developers and environmentalists – to protect our precious coast. And, its thoughtful planning shows NCCF’s understanding of wise growth as well as its business acumen,” Kendall said.
     NCCF works with citizens to safeguard the coastal rivers, creeks, sounds, and beaches of North Carolina. Founded by Todd Miller in 1982, it has evolved from a volunteer group born in a home office to an organization with more than 8,000 members, 200 affiliated organizations, 320 active volunteers, a 14-member staff, and three office locations along the entire coast.
     Kendall stressed that NCCF demonstrates exemplary stewardship of its mission in three major ways:

• By forging effective, innovative coalitions to protect the coast. Rather than approaching coastal protection as the environment versus business interests, NCCF is helping fishermen and farmers to see that their own future depends on a healthy coastal environment. The result has been the restoration or protection of more than 50,000 acres of estuaries and wetlands as well as regulations on peat mining and wastewater discharges. These regulations help protect the water and wetlands on which the seafood and tourism industries depend.
• By using a smart business plan to manage NCCF’s own growth. Its board recognized that the organization needed to grow in order to achieve its ambitious mission. Rather than doing this in a reactive or haphazard way, NCCF engaged a consultant to do an internal assessment of both the board and staff. As a result, NCCF reorganized its growing staff into a new team structure that is working well. It also recruited new board members for stronger ties with different parts of the state and with different philanthropic sources. In addition, NCCF created a formal business plan with long-range goals for its programs and for its funding. Kendall said, “This commitment to good planning is helping this nonprofit organization to grow in intentional ways to achieve its vital mission.”
• By collaborating effectively with many other nonprofit organizations. NCCF has helped its partner organizations grow, and it shares information with them freely. For example, it helped to form Friends of Cape Lookout National Seashore last year and provided interns for the start-up phase. NCCF also helped to create the Coastal Caucus to assist the many local groups that do not have any paid staff. Kendall said, “The Coastal Federation understands that by helping to improve the effectiveness of other groups and by sharing in projects that benefit the entire coast, it is enhancing the overall environmental effort.” 

     In addition, all three winners of the 2005 awards have received national recognition for creating innovative programs that other states have replicated. All three organizations' boards of directors do extensive evaluation to be sure the organization is getting the results the community expects. All three boards also evaluate the performance of the CEO every year. All three have a clear plan for sustaining their organizations financially by being sure that they have a range of funding sources, including broad support by the community. All have created coalitions to engage the three sectors of the economy –  the business, government and nonprofit sectors – to address societal problems. And, all three are careful stewards of the financial, human, and natural resources entrusted to them.
     “We do whatever we need to do to make ourselves a backbone for other organizations that also need funding for environmental projects,” said Melvin Shepard, president of the NCCF Board of Directors, about the organization’s strong belief in collaboration.
     The other nonprofits receiving the 2005 awards are Hospice and Palliative Care of Greensboro and the Life Enrichment Center of Cleveland County in Shelby. Each of the winners receives recognition from nonprofit leaders across the state and from its own elected officials, $500 to invest in professional development for its board of directors and staff, and a work of art by Durham artist Galia Goodman to commemorate this statewide honor.
     The NC Center for Nonprofits serves as a statewide network for nonprofit board and staff members, an information center on effective nonprofit organizational practices, and an advocate for the nonprofit sector as a whole. Its mission is to serve, promote, and represent the nonprofit sector and strengthen nonprofits’ effectiveness as they improve North Carolina’s quality of life. It celebrated its 15th anniversary on Oct. 2, 2005. The Center can be reached at 919-790-1555 or www.ncnonprofits.org.