As Mutual of America celebrates the 25th anniversary of the Community Partnership Award, here are some of the honorees and milestones that have helped to build and shape the CPA into a prestigious competition honoring the nation’s outstanding nonprofit organizations.
25 Years of Honoring America’s Best
1996
1996
Getting Started
The Mutual of America Community Partnership Award (CPA) is established to recognize innovative work of nonprofits.
Pictured: William Flynn, former Chairman, Mutual of America, and Frances Hesselbein, Mutual of America Board member and founding member of the CPA Selection Committee.
The Community Partnership Award was the idea of many beautiful minds who believed that cross-sector partnerships transform the community…that collaborations, partnerships and alliances are the mark of great organizations. When leaders move beyond their own walls, find the right partner and collaborate, lives are changed, and healthy communities are built.”
Frances Hesselbein, Chairman,
The Frances Hesselbein Leadership Forum;
Founding Member of the CPA Selection Committee;
and a Mutual of America Board member
1999
The Perfect Host
Thomas Gilliam, Chairman and CEO, Mutual of America Foundation, presides over the fourth annual CPA Awards Dinner, held at Mutual of America’s Home Office. Gilliam has served as the event’s master of ceremonies for the past 24 years.
2001
Out of Tragedy, Hope
Events of September 11 and their aftermath help refocus the nation on the importance of the social service sector.
Pictured: Mutual of America employees hold the National 9/11 Flag.
2005
We’re Honored
The documentary film for the CPA national award-winning program StreetWorks Collaborative of Minneapolis earns Mutual of America its first Telly Award. By 2020, the Company will have won more than two dozen Tellys, including three Gold Awards.
2006
A Milestone Event
The CPA celebrates its 10th anniversary by producing a retrospective film hosted by Bill Moyers, the multiple Emmy Award-winning journalist who has spent decades producing documentaries and news journal programs for public broadcasting.
The collaborative effort and practical approach of these public, private and social sector organizations are empowering others to replicate these programs, creating a better future for all.”
Dr. LaSalle D. Leffall, Jr.,
founding member of the CPA Selection Committee (B. 1930 – D. 2019)
2007
First of Two
100 Black Men of Atlanta, Inc., is recognized by Mutual of America for its national award-winning program Project Success. The organization also earned the national award in 2020 for its 100 Scholars Robotics Alliance.
2009
Closing Time
Mutual of America and individuals representing this year’s CPA-winning programs ring the closing bell at Nasdaq MarketSite in New York City.
2012
Real Heroes
CPA video crew interviews Sergeant Oz Sanchez, U.S. Marine Corps, Retired, from Challenged Athletes Foundation’s Operation Rebound program, which uses sports as a path to recovery for active-duty service members, veterans and first responders who suffered life-changing injuries during their service.
2016
Two Decades Strong
The CPA celebrates 20 years of honoring nonprofit organizations that are making a difference in the communities they serve.
Pictured (from left to right): Elie Wiesel, Nobel Laureate and founding member of the CPA Selection Committee, and Theodore Herman, former Vice Chairman, Mutual of America Foundation.
2018
We Will Never Forget
Thomas Von Essen, former Commissioner of the New York City Fire Department (1996–2001) and current CPA Selection Committee member, shares his remembrances of the tragic events of 9/11 with CPA guests at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum in New York City.
2019
Finding Solutions
Actress and activist Freida Pinto participated in the 2019 Mutual of America-produced documentary about the Survivor Advocate Program, which addresses the issue of human trafficking.
Pictured: Freida Pinto
Pictured (from left to right) at the 2019 Community Partnership Award Dinner: Thomas Gilliam, Chairman and CEO, Mutual of America Foundation; Kay Buck, CEO, Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (Cast); LaDoverick Huggins, Senior VP, Special Markets, Mutual of America; John R. Greed, Chairman, President and CEO, Mutual of America.
2019
A Fitting Tribute
The Community Partnership Award for the national award-winning program is renamed in honor of Thomas J. Moran, Mutual of America’s longtime former Chairman, President and CEO, who passed away in 2018. Moran helped found the CPA in 1996.
The Community Partnership Award is a crucial acknowledgment of the remarkable impact that can happen when passionate, caring and committed individuals come together for the greater good and help transform lives in the process.”
Thomas J. Moran,
Mutual of America Chairman Emeritus (B. 1952 – D. 2018)
2020
Silver Anniversary
The Mutual of America Community Partnership Award celebrates its 25th anniversary of annually honoring the outstanding contributions that nonprofit organizations, in partnership with public, private and other social sector organizations, make to society.
