CLA Awards: Ten finalists receive $5,000 for their charities

“Often, disaster relief is either uncoordinated or over-coordinated (analysis paralysis). It’s a fine line. Our small teams can jump in and quickly do a comprehensive assessment, and then coordinate with other agencies to get the necessary help.”
Larry Agee

Financial adviser

True North Asset Management

Lake Charles, La.

Disaster Aid USA


“Our American doctors train local health workers in two significant ways: how to solve medical problems, such as malaria, and how to document and publish their findings.”
Bob Condon

President and CEO

Foundation Investment Group

Berkeley, Calif.

Community Partners -International


“There are kids out there with post-traumatic stress disorder — that shocked me to learn. It’s not just in urban areas, where kids grow up witnessing violence and dealing with drugs. We have dozens of kids … waiting for mentors.”
David L. Grey

Owner

Grey Investments LLC

Beverly, Mass.

Children’s Friend and Family -Services
“We decided — as businesspeople, not educators — to hire school operators to run the different sites, and we manage the operators. This gives us flexibility to try different educational approaches. We provide immediate feedback to parents, teachers and students to show how much growth is being achieved.”
Craig W. Henderson

President and chief investment officer

C.W. Henderson & Associates Inc. in Chicago

Chicago International Charter School
“There’s a lot of money going to research, but we need to help the families survive this horrible experience” of caring for a child battling cancer.
John L. McKeever III (and team)

Financial adviser

Financial Advisors of Delaware Valley

Conshohocken, Pa.

Committee to Benefit the Children at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children
“I came to the EMS with a 10-page business plan” for how to make the emergency service solvent. “It surprised them. From my own experience, I knew businesses want promotion, so I created a magazine and a billboard where I could sell ads.”
Brian Keith Moon

Financial adviser

West Texas Investment Advisors/SCF Securities Inc.

Plainview, Texas

Hale Center Emergency Medical Service
“Seeing is believing. When the kids see how we live every day — watching surgeries, learning about the stock market, meeting a judge — it makes the future tangible for them.”
Jeffrey L. Rotsky

Senior VP

Morgan Stanley Wealth Management

Cleveland

Rotsky Foundation for Mentors
“I have a double duty to do this” — building a volunteer community to help the institute with education, fundraising, etc. “First, as a member of the community, and secondly, I appreciate this country, and I want to give back.”
Hatim Smouni

VP

Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Little Rock, Ark.

Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute
“Social innovation is addressing problems in a new way — convening people with different backgrounds, and providing funding and mentors to startup nonprofits that want to solve social problems. We have defined gaps in education, health and income in our region, and we are targeting those areas.”
Debra Brennan Tagg

Managing partner

Brennan Financial Services

Addison, Texas

United Way of Metropolitan Dallas


“We began to wonder about the low-income kids and the parents who don’t have the money for the same [deafness] programs that have allowed [my son] to flourish. If a kid can’t hear, they can be held back mentally, emotionally and educationally. They can’t hear life.”
Amy Treat

Partner and chief operating officer

StoneRidge Wealth Management

Portland, Ore.

StoneRidge Foundation