🔒HBJ spotlights community excellence, nonprofit awards winners

Hartford Business Journal’s Giving Guide is a go-to resource for connecting businesses and nonprofits.

So, this year we thought there was no better place than this publication to showcase our second annual Community Excellence and Nonprofit Awards, which spotlight the important role of nonprofits, and the businesses that support them.

The awards identify outstanding companies and leaders who have supported nonprofit organizations, along with nonprofits and nonprofit executives who have made a significant impact on the community over the last year.

Whether it’s dealing with food insecurity, workforce development, educating underserved communities or even creating a sense of community through the arts, nonprofits are major players and contributors to the region’s economy.

Our independent judges — Eric Daniels, a partner at Robinson & Cole LLP, and Nancy J. Wheeler, president of WheelerConnect — selected the winners, who were nominated by the public in six different categories ranging from corporate citizenship and volunteer of the year to nonprofit and nonprofit leader of the year.

We will be celebrating our winners at a breakfast event Nov. 21, at Infinity Hall in Hartford.

Their stories are not only meant to inform our readers of the diverse array of services offered by nonprofits, and the good works they are doing, but also highlight the importance of private-sector community engagement, which means more than simply writing a check. It means being active in the communities in which companies operate.

Corporate social responsibility these days isn’t just a boardroom buzzword; it’s considered an important tool to recruit a next-generation workforce, particularly Millennials, who want their companies to serve a higher purpose.

These awards spotlight some companies that excel in this area. Is yours doing enough?

Greg Bordonaro, Editor, Hartford Business Journal

2018 Judges