(Washington, DC, June 8, 2004)—INDEPENDENT SECTOR will honor Raul Yzaguirre, president and CEO of the National Council of La Raza, with the 2004 John W. Gardner Leadership Award, commemorating his lifelong work in reducing poverty and discrimination and improving life opportunities for Hispanic Americans.

The award and $10,000 will be presented to Mr. Yzaguirre during INDEPENDENT SECTOR’s Annual Conference, which will be held from November 7 to 9 in Chicago.

Raul Yzaguirre is one of the most widely recognized figures in the civil rights community. He has been described as one of this country’s most eloquent and influential leaders on matters of concern to Hispanic Americans.

A lifelong community activist, Mr. Yzaguirre has spent the last two decades as president of the National Council of La Raza, spearheading its emergence as the nation’s leading Hispanic advocacy organization and the largest constituency-based national Latino organization.

“As a builder, mobilizer and unifier of people and institutions working together to safeguard the rights of all people living in this country, Raul embodies the spirit of this award,” said Diana Aviv, president and CEO of INDEPENDENT SECTOR. “Because of his extraordinary efforts, Hispanics in America have more political clout and more opportunities than at any time in our history. He is not only a major force behind the progress thus far, but the leadership he has nurtured will continue the work that remains.”

Mr. Yzaguirre was born in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas. He began his civil rights career at the age of 15 when he organized the American G.I. Forum Juniors, an auxiliary of the American G.I. Forum, a Hispanic veterans organization. In 1964, he founded NOMAS, the National Organization for Mexican American Services. A proposal he wrote for NOMAS led to the creation of what is now National Council of La Raza, which he joined in 1974. In 1969, Mr. Yzaguirre founded Interstate Research Associates, the first Mexican-American research association, which he built into a multimillion-dollar nonprofit consulting firm.

Mr. Yzaguirre has been a force for unity in the Hispanic community throughout his life and career. He helped establish several key national groups that have brought together a host of organizations in the Hispanic community including the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA), the New American Alliance (NAA), and the Hispanic Association for Corporate Responsibility (HACR). He has also been successful in bringing together diverse leaders in other communities through his work in the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, the National Neighborhood Coalition, the Committee for Concerns of Blacks and Hispanics, the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, and INDEPENDENT SECTOR.

Mr. Yzaguirre’s efforts have resulted in significant advancements for underrepresented and impoverished communities throughout the United States. Through his hard work, he has proven that by coming together diverse communities can create social change.

We are pleased to offer an opportunity to pay tribute to this year's John W. Gardner Leadership Award honoree, Raul Yzaguirre, president and CEO of the National Council of La Raza. Your message will be featured in a special tribute program at this year's gala event on Monday, November 8.

The John W. Gardner Leadership Award was established in 1985 to honor outstanding Americans who, in their own way, exemplify the leadership and the ideals of John W. Gardner (1912-2002), founding chairperson and chairperson emeritus of INDEPENDENT SECTOR. Honorees are individuals working in or with the voluntary sector who build, mobilize and unify people, institutions or causes to raise the capacity of others to improve society nationally or internationally.

The award, which includes a replica of an original relief bust of John Gardner by the late sculptor Frederick Hart, is sponsored by the William Randolph Hearst Foundations.

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Independent Sector is a nonprofit, nonpartisan coalition of approximately 600 charities, foundations, and corporate philanthropy programs, collectively representing tens of thousands of charitable groups in every state across the nation. Its mission is to advance the common good by leading, strengthening, and mobilizing the nonprofit community.