DENVER, CO (April 27, 2010) — The Hitachi Foundation and Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE: HIT), announced that earlier today The Hitachi Foundation played a leading role in three awards presented by the Council on Foundations. The awards shine a spotlight on the Foundation's efforts to improve the lives of low-wealth Americans.
The Council's highest honor, the Distinguished Grantmaking Award for Collaboration, was awarded to the National Fund for Workforce Solutions, which The Hitachi Foundation co-founded. The Critical Impact Award, another of the most important honors bestowed by the Council, was awarded to The Hitachi Foundation for its role as co-founder of Jobs to Careers. Both initiatives seed innovation across America to help employers and employees succeed in a post-recession economy.The Distinguished Grantmaking Award was presented to the National Fund for Workforce Solutions, currently chaired by The Hitachi Foundation's president and CEO, Barbara Dyer. A partnership bringing together more than 200 funders, the National Fund is investing millions of dollars in local communities across the country and forging cross-sector collaboration with employers to devise new solutions to solve America's workforce challenges.
"At a time when the Council brings all elements of the philanthropic field together to see ourselves as a movement, there is no better example of leadership than the National Fund for Workforce Solutions," said Steve Gunderson, president and CEO of the Council on Foundations. "The vision and leadership that has brought together hundreds of funders nationwide in an unprecedented effort to help low-income Americans build careers and businesses compete, represents our collective work for the future."
Dyer accepted the Distinguished Grantmaking Award on behalf of the National Fund at the ceremony in Denver. "We are honored to accept this recognition on behalf of the hundreds of funders, employers and community leaders who are working together to achieve unprecedented alignment of purpose in philanthropy: providing avenues to economic opportunity for low-wealth individuals while helping businesses across America to succeed," she said.
Barbara Dyer (center), President & CEO of The Hitachi Foundation, is joined by just some of the 200 funders that make up the National Fund for Workforce Solutions as she accepts the Distinguished Grantmaking Award for Collaboration
The Council on Foundations' award recipients are selected by an independent panel of experts from within the field of philanthropy.
The Critical Impact Award, recognizing innovative leadership and significant impact in grantmaking, was presented to The Hitachi Foundation and its partner the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for their role as co-founders of Jobs to Careers. This national initiative is working at 17 sites across America to address the impending health care workforce shortage by creating avenues for career advancement for frontline health and health care workers.
Finally, the Wilmer Shields Rich Award for Excellence in Communications was presented to The Hitachi Foundation for its 2009 State of Corporate Citizenship Report entitled Weathering the Storm. The State of Corporate Citizenship series was created to spark discussion to advance the field of corporate citizenship.
The Council on Foundations is a national nonprofit association of approximately 2,000 grantmaking foundations and corporations. As a leader in philanthropy, the Council strives to increase the effectiveness, stewardship, and accountability of the philanthropic sector while providing its members with the services and support they need for success.
About The Hitachi Foundation:
The Hitachi Foundation was established in 1985 by Hitachi, Ltd. to help build a bridge of understanding between Japan and the United States and to enable Hitachi to express its values as a good corporate citizen in the context of North American culture. The Foundation's mission is to forge an authentic integration of business actions and societal well-being in North America. The Foundation achieves this by discovering and expanding business practices that measurably improve people's lives and enhance business value, within the Hitachi group of companies, and in enterprises beyond Hitachi. The Hitachi Foundation's strategic focus through 2013 is on discovering and expanding business practices that create tangible and enduring economic opportunities for low-wealth Americans, their families, and the communities in which they reside.
About Hitachi, Ltd.:
Hitachi, Ltd., (NYSE: HIT/TSE:6501) is a leading global technological and industrial company with total revenues of 10,000 billion yen ($102.0 billion) for the year ended March 31, 2009. Hitachi's business is highly diversified, encompassing operations in the following seven segments: Information & Telecommunications Systems; Electronic Devices; Power & Industrial Systems; Digital Media & Consumer Products; High Functional Materials & Components; Logistics, Services & Others; and Financial Services. For more information on Hitachi, please visit Hitachi's website at http://www.hitachi.com.
