Presentation of the “Jean Rudd Strategic Partner Award”

          Two years ago, at the NLA in Chicago, the Gamaliel Foundation honored for the first time a person and an institution that had advanced the movement of community organizing.

          The Gamaliel Foundation was born in Chicago, many of its first affiliates were in Chicago, its primary support came from Chicago Foundations.  Ms. Jean Rudd, then President of the Wood Fund of Chicago, was honored because of the pivotal role she and the Woods Charitable Fund played in providing seed money and continuous support of our Illinois and Indiana affiliates.  This recognition, which we now give annually, is called the Jean Rudd Strategic Partner Award.

          Last year we chose Ms. Cris Doby and Mr. Ron White of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation to receive this award.  Ron White secured multi year funding for the general operating budget of the Gamaliel Foundation.  Ms. Doby increased the amount of general operating support, made a major multi year grant to our regionalism campaign and was a key player in organizing the funders conference last year that introduced the Gamaliel Foundation to a whole new set of allies in the philanthropic community.

          The first two award given were to truly worthy recipients.  Without diminishing the important, even essential support given by these allies, the recipient of this year’s award goes to the executive director of an institution that has almost been synonymous with community organizing.  There are presently 200 faith based organizations in the United States and many more neighborhood organization.  The Catholic Campaign for Human Development has been a key initial funder in almost every one of these groups.  The support of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development over the past 30 years has been unequaled by any other funding source in the country.  Without exaggeration it can be said that the strength, the depth, the growth and the endurance of the movement of community organizing simply would not be anywhere close to what it is today without the Catholic Campaign for Human Development.

          Five years ago, CCHD made a three hundred thousand dollar grant to the Gamaliel Foundation to create its department of regionalism.  The CCHD for Human Development has granted more than 7 million dollars to you, the affiliates of the Gamaliel Foundation.

          The present director of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, Fr. Robert Vitello, has brought a lifelong commitment to the work of justice to his present position.  He has been a true friend to the Gamaliel Foundation and to all of its affiliates.  He has always lent a helping hand to every endeavor we have asked him to support.  He has been at several National Leadership Assemblies.  This year he participated in and helped to organize our meeting of judicatory executives.

          It is with a sense of great gratitude that the leadership of the Gamaliel Foundation and the leadership of this year’s National Leadership Assembly present the Jean Rudd Strategic Partner award to Rev. Robert Vitillo, executive director of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development.