MacArthur Honors 15 Nonprofits for Creativity and Effectiveness

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation announced today the winners of its annual award for “creative and effective institutions,” a counterpart to the fund’s “genius” prize for individuals.

Fifteen nonprofits received grants ranging from $350,000 to $2.5-million.

The winners—nine from the United States and six from other countries—included organizations dedicated to analyzing Russian politics, pursuing investigative journalism, and supporting laws worldwide that enable civil-society groups to thrive.

As with the “genius” awards, the foundation does not seek or accept nominations. To qualify, groups must have received a previous grant from MacArthur.

Recipients must spend the money on ensuring their long-term success.

The Center for Responsible Lending will use its $2-million award to build an endowment and tackle new areas of consumer finance such as student loans. The Durham, N.C., nonprofit has been a crusader in the fight against predatory lending, helping to advance passage two years ago of a bill that expanded regulation of the financial system.

A Ugandan environmental charity, the Albertine Rift Conservation Society, will use its $350,000 prize to build an environmental training and information center that will serve Central and Eastern Africa.

The Moth—the nonprofit storytelling program that shared Malcolm Gladwell’s tale of a wedding toast gone bad and Ishmael Beah’s recounting of his time as a child soldier in Sierra Leone—will spend its $750,000 prize to expand its radio show and create an archive to share older content.

Other winners of the MacArthur prize are:

• Business and Professional People for the Public Interest, a Chicago organization that fights poverty
• Carnegie Moscow Center, a think tank that studies Russia
• Center for Investigative Reporting, a nonprofit that produces investigative journalism
• Community Investment Corporation, which assists developers of rental houses in Chicago’s low- and middle-income neighborhoods
• Conservation Strategy Fund, which trains environmental activists in economics and policy analysis
• Crisis Action, an organization with headquarters in London that promotes peace and human rights
• Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy at New York University, which seeks to improve public policy on housing and economic development
• Girls’ Power Initiative, a Nigerian organization that empowers and educates girls about their reproductive health
• International Center for Not-for-Profit Law, which monitors and seeks to improve the legal environment for nonprofits worldwide
• Moscow Helsinki Group, Russia’s oldest human-rights advocacy group
• National Juvenile Defender Center, a group dedicated to protecting children’s rights
• Red Nacional de Derechos Humanos “Todos los Derechos para Todos” (Red TDT) (National Human Rights Network “All Rights for All”), which monitors human-rights violations in Mexico