Two Philanthropy Leaders Receive Rosso Lifetime Achievement Award

Higher education leader Claire L. Gaudiani and former Boston Foundation President Anna Faith Jones were honored for their philanthropic service as the 2005 recipients of the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University's most prestigious award.

The awards were presented at a dinner on Thursday, August 25 at the University Place Hotel.

The Henry A. Rosso Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Ethical Fund Raising recognizes lifelong dedication to emphasizing philanthropy's ethics and values, acting as a mentor to perpetuate and invigorate philanthropic traditions, and noted leadership in a long, productive career of distinction. The award was created in 1990 to honor Henry A. "Hank" Rosso (1917-1999), a founder of the Center on Philanthropy and founding director of The Fund Raising School at the Center.

"Claire Gaudiani has a distinguished record of fund raising, both for institutions she has served and in communities where she has lived. Her experience, her speaking, and her writing speak volumes about her commitment to philanthropy," said Timothy L. Seiler, director of public service and The Fund Raising School.

A former Indianapolis resident, Gaudiani currently is a professor at The George H. Heyman, Jr. Center for Philanthropy and Fundraising at New York University's School of Continuing and Professional Studies.

"Anna Faith Jones is an important leader in the foundation world," said Dwight Burlingame, Associate Executive Director of the Center on Philanthropy. "She changed the shape of the Boston Foundation and developed a number of innovative programs in Boston to fight poverty and support the arts."

Jones chaired the national Council on Foundations from 1998-2000. She was president and chief executive officer of the Boston Foundation, one of the oldest and largest community foundations in the country, for 16 years.