Nominations Open for the 2006 Virginia A. Hodgkinson Research Prize
Nomination Deadline: June 30

(Washington, D.C., April 18, 2006) – Independent Sector is now accepting nominations for the 2006 Virginia A. Hodgkinson Research Prize.  The Hodgkinson Prize was established by Independent Sector in 1995 to recognize outstanding published research that fosters the understanding of philanthropy, voluntary action, charitable organizations, and civil society in the United States and around the world.

The prize is named in honor of Virginia Ann Hodgkinson, who is renowned worldwide as a driving force behind the development of research on the charitable sector and voluntary action. Dr. Hodgkinson served as Independent Sector's vice president for research from 1983 to 1996, during which time she inaugurated groundbreaking studies to measure giving and volunteering trends and to document the size of the charitable sector.

The Hodgkinson Prize is awarded to researchers and practitioners who work in or with the voluntary sector and through their work have achieved local, national, or international impact and recognition. The research article, report, or book must have been published within the last three calendar years.

Anyone can nominate an author for the award. A nomination form can be found at www.independentsector.org/programs/
research/vah_research_prize.html. Nominations must also include: a formal nomination letter; six copies of the article, report, or book in English; a short biography of the author(s); and two letters of support from independent references. The nomination deadline is June 30.

Award recipients will be honored at the 2006 Independent Sector Annual Conference in Minneapolis/St. Paul, October 22-24.

The 2005 Hodgkinson Prize was awarded to Pippa Norris and Ronald Inglehart for their book, Sacred and Secular: Religion and Politics Worldwide. Two works shared last year's honorable mention. Richard Chait, Bill Ryan, and Barbara Taylor were recognized for Governance as Leadership: Reframing the Work of Nonprofit Boards, and Steven Dubb and Gar Alperovitz of The Democracy Collaborative were honored for Building Wealth: The New Asset-Based Approach to Solving Social and Economic Problems.

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Independent Sector is a nonprofit, nonpartisan coalition of approximately 600 charities, foundations, and corporate philanthropy programs, collectively representing tens of thousands of charitable groups in every state across the nation. Its mission is to advance the common good by leading, strengthening, and mobilizing the nonprofit community.