The Cameron Foundation has announced that it is soliciting nominations for its two annual recognition award programs. The awards total $80,000 for nonprofit organizations within the Foundation’s service area of Petersburg, Colonial Heights, Hopewell and the counties of Dinwiddie, Prince George, Sussex and the portion of Chesterfield County lying south of Rt. 10. The awards will be presented annually at The Cameron Foundation’s October Grants Award Ceremony.

For the Cleveland A. Wright Award for Outstanding Community Service, members of the community are encouraged to nominate an organization that they feel has demonstrated a commitment to caring and generosity of spirit, as well as openness and accessibility. The deadline for nominations is June 20th. Nominations must be submitted on a Cleveland A. Wright Award for Outstanding Community Service Nomination Form, available at www.thecameronfoundation.org or by calling the Foundation at 804-732-8900. Nominated organizations that meet the award criteria will then be contacted and asked to submit an application form. The application deadline is July 9th. From these applications, one nonprofit organization will be honored with an unrestricted $40,000 gift.

Last year, the first year for both recognition awards, Crater Community Hospice, Inc. was awarded the Cleveland A. Wright Award for Outstanding Community Service.

The Foundation’s other recognition program is the Excellence in Organizational Management Award. Only nonprofit organizational staff or board members are eligible to apply for this award on behalf of their organization. Applications, which can be found on the Foundation’s website or by calling, are due July 9th. One applicant will be selected to receive a single, unrestricted $30,000 award for demonstrating excellence in overall organizational management. Up to two honorable mentions, with gifts of $5,000 each, will go to organizations that exemplify excellence in one or more of the specific areas reviewed during the scoring process.

The Foundation will hold two pre-application information sessions for this award. One will be held June 10th from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Appomattox Regional Library System headquarters at 209 East Cawson Street in Hopewell. The other will be held on June 17th from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at The Cameron Foundation at 24 West Old Street in Old Towne Petersburg. For more information on these two pre-application information sessions or to R.S.V.P. for one of them, please call Najmah Thomas at (804) 732-8900 or email her at najmaht@thecameronfoundation.org.

Last year, the Hopewell-Prince George Chapter of the American Red Cross was honored with this award. Petersburg Urban Ministries and Southside Virginia Emergency Crew, Inc. were each awarded honorable mentions.

The Foundation reported that it was pleased with the level of positive response it received for both new recognition awards last year. It anticipates that now that the awards have greater name recognition and the public and nonprofit organizations understand the award processes better, that participation will be even greater this year.

The Cameron Foundation is an independent, not-for-profit organization formed in April 2003 with the proceeds of the sale of Southside Regional Medical Center. The Foundation’s mission is to promote and provide support for programs and activities that benefit the residents in its service area, which includes those areas historically served by the hospital.

More information about the Foundation, its grant opportunities and these two recognition award programs can be found on its website, www.thecameronfoundation.org, or via telephone at (804) 732-8900.