The Dr. Russell G. Mawby Award for Philanthropy was established by CMF and the Michigan Nonprofit Association (MNA) in 1995 upon the retirement of Dr. Mawby as chairman and CEO of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The late Dr. Mawby was a founder and former chair of both CMF and MNA and led creation of the Michigan Community Service Commission.
This award honors an individual or family who have encouraged private action for the public good through philanthropy and demonstrated leadership in championing collaborative solutions for communities.
Nomination Guidelines and Process
To qualify, the nominee must be a living individual or family with at least five years of philanthropy experience or active engagement connected to CMF or a CMF member organization. CMF trustees are not eligible for nomination.
To nominate an individual or family please submit this online form, which includes request for the contact information of the nominator and nominee, along with a brief narrative describing the nominee's commitment to collaborative solutions for communities and their efforts to advance the public good through philanthropy.
You do not need to complete this nomination form in one sitting; you can save your progress and re-access the form by choosing the "Save and Continue" option shown at the top of the survey window once the first page is complete. You will then receive an email from "noreply@alchemer.com" inviting you to re-access the form via a custom link.
Nominations are due June 30, 2025, by 5 p.m.
The team of peer reviewers who are reading the nominations may request additional information to support the selection of final candidates, including contact information for two individuals who can serve as references for the nominee.
Selection and Recognition
A volunteer peer panel will review all nominations and select the award winner. We will contact all nominators with the results of the selection process by mid-August.
Honorees will be notified of their nomination and selection as the award recipient via special call (or video call) hosted in collaboration with the nominator.
This year’s recipient will be honored during CMF's 53rd Annual Conference taking place October 14-16, 2025, in Kalamazoo.
For More Information and Accessibility Support
Questions about this award or requests for accessibility support may be directed to Sue Cuddington, executive assistant to the CMF president and CEO, at scuddington@michiganfoundations.org.