Axelson Center for Nonprofit Management

Alford-Axelson Award

Congratulations to Girls on the Run-Chicago, winner of the 2023 Alford-Axelson Award for Nonprofit Managerial Excellence. Established in 2002, the Alford-Axelson Award is given to established organizations that exemplify managerial excellence.

For over 20 years, Girls on the Run Chicago has bolstered the mental and physical health of adolescent girls through dynamic lessons and physical activity. As part of a new ambitious and comprehensive strategic plan, Girls on the Run has transformed how they define programmatic success. While serving over 4,000 girls annually, instead of focusing on the sheer scale of programmatic participation, they aim to significantly increase the proportion of girls from low-income communities. Starting at 50%, and averaging a 5-10% increase per year, Girls on the Run is aiming for a minimum of 85% of girls to come from low-income communities by 2027. To accomplish this shift, Girls on the Run waived program fees, hired an Impact Manager, significantly expanded their philanthropic and corporate partnerships, recruited staff and board members from the communities they serve, responded to community feedback, and implemented a totally re-vamped comprehensive communication strategy.

Girls on the Run Chicago operates out of a philosophy of abundance and human-focused HR practices. They have given significant attention to their hiring practices and how staff are compensated—performing an annual pay equity analysis, publishing internal salary bands, providing all staff with a flexible $500 stipend to use on professional development or personal mental health, and establishing a policy that the highest paid employee can’t make more than 4x the lowest paid employee. Girls on the Run Chicago’s practices reflect an organizational priority that life-thriving wages are necessary for all its staff. And even amid the struggles of the pandemic, in 2022 Girls on the Run emerged financially stronger than ever. Girls on the Run Chicago endeavors to create a world where every girl knows and activates her limitless potential, and they are taking strategic and thoughtful risks that are helping them fulfill their mission in creative and equitable ways.Girls on the Run Chicago operates out of a philosophy of abundance and human-focused HR practices. They have given significant attention to their hiring practices and how staff are compensated—performing an annual pay equity analysis, publishing internal salary bands, providing all staff with a flexible $500 stipend to use on professional development or personal mental health, and establishing a policy that the highest paid employee can’t make more than 4x the lowest paid employee. Girls on the Run Chicago’s practices reflect an organizational priority that life-thriving wages are necessary for all its staff. And even amid the struggles of the pandemic, in 2022 Girls on the Run emerged financially stronger than ever. Girls on the Run Chicago endeavors to create a world where every girl knows and activates her limitless potential, and they are taking strategic and thoughtful risks that are helping them fulfill their mission in creative and equitable ways.

Excellent Emerging Organization Award

The Excellent Emerging Organization Award recognizes up-and-coming organizations that exhibit current and future leadership in their sector. This year’s winner, Organized Communities Against Deportations (OCAD) through undocumented-led organizing, civil litigation, policy advocacy, direct action, and cross-movement building, fights against deportations, detention, criminalization, and incarceration, of Black, brown, and immigrant communities in Chicago. As a radically egalitarian and collaborative organization, Organized Communities Against Deportations’ structure deeply aligns with their values and strategic vision. Instead of a traditional management structure, all staff members are paid the same salary, and instead of supervisors, they have mentors. Rather than a consolidated decision-making process, their alternative governance structure involves a participatory budgeting process with membership input, organization-wide voting on programmatic and strategic priorities, and a restrained set of responsibilities for their board members. Decentralized knowledge and skills are core of their collaboratively implemented anti-deportation campaigns, as they are led by the impacted individual and communities.

Organized Communities Against Deportations believes that liberation is a collective activity and prioritizes giving those most affected all the tools that they need to pursue justice and healing. Their egalitarian structure enables them to provide holistic support around their campaigns—from mutual aid to community leadership development, and general political education. Furthermore, this community-led process enables Organized Communities Against Deportations to be responsive to real needs, empowering them to emerge as a sector leader by becoming the first organization in Illinois to fight against deportations of individuals with some kind of criminal charge. Working for a future full of dignity by defending their communities and challenging dehumanizing institutions, Organized Communities Against Deportations’ managerial excellence is evidenced by their ongoing growth in funder relationships, implementation of an imaginative and mission-aligned organizational structure and increasing financial strength.