Inaugural BCG Awards, Honoring Those Who Give Back; Vote Online Until January 16th, 2012!

BlackCelebrityGiving.com™ is proud to announce the finalists for the Inaugural BCG Awards, Honoring Those Who Give Back; Online Voting to take Place January 2nd – 15th, 2012! Dawned from a strong desire to honor everyday people, doing extraordinary things around the world, BCG is proud to announce the finalists for the Inaugural BCG Awards. “The impetus behind the BCG awards is simple; I saw an excellent opportunity to honor nonprofit organizations, celebrities and community leaders alike, who are striving on a daily basis to bring about social change in our communities!” says Jasmine Crowe, BCG Founder.

The nomination process yielded over 1,100 nominations for organizations, celebrities, causes and everyday people doing extraordinary things from across the United States and Canada. Nominations for the BCG Awards were accepted throughout the month of November, all nominations were reviewed by the BCG Awards council which included leaders both in the black community and nonprofit sectors. “Narrowing down 1100 nominations to 55 finalists was very challenging, but we were looking for that special something in each nomination that we reviewed, and I believe we made some phenomenal choices. Every nomination was truly worthy of recognition and that’s what we are here for to honor those who give back,” says Crowe.

The BCG Awards voting will kick off on Monday, January 2nd. The online voting platform is slated to generate hundreds of thousands of impressions across the web as readers will vote online through a custom social media platform, developed exclusively for BCG by web-developing company Hustle and Code. All winners will be readers choice, voting will be calculated by the online voting system. BCG Award winners will be announced via live webcast on BlackCelebrityGiving.com and on the BCG Twitter Page @BlkCelebGiving on Monday, January 16th, 2012 AT 8PM EST in honor of the Martin Luther King, Jr. day of service.

All votes will be based on BCG Reader Voting Polls. Winners of the 2012 BCG Awards will receive an official BCG crystal award trophy, website badge, bragging rights for one year and other sponsored products from BCG partners: Flat Out of Heels, OMG-Rx and Black Diamond Sanctuary. The nonprofit organization with the most votes out of all of the five regions will also win a $1,000 grant for their cause and an event held in their honor courtesy of BlackCelebrityGiving.com. Vote January 2nd-15th, 2012 by visiting www.BlackCelebrityGiving.com/BCGAwards

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The Inaugural BCG Awards Finalists Are:

Best Cause Campaign
Red Pump Project- Cause: HIV/AIDS
Get Schooled- Cause: Staying in School
Black and Missing Foundation- Missing People of Color
Poverty Tour with Tavis Smiley and Dr. Cornell West- Cause: Poverty
The Global Wellness Project- Cause: Black Men’s Health

Celebrity Giver of the Year
Holly Robinson Peete- Autism, Family Time and Parkinson’s Disease
Chris Paul- After School Zone, Feed the Children, Winston Salem Giving and NBA Cares
Steve Harvey- Mentoring Weekend for Boys and Girls and Disney Dreamers
Alicia Keys – Keep A Child Alive Foundation
Braylon Edwards- Advance 100 Sending 100 kids to College

BCG Change-Maker of the Year (Community Leader)
Tony Lewis Jr.- Rebuilding DC
Yodit Gebreyes – Spin in the City DJ Program
Joshua Williams -Fighting Hunger with the Joshua’s Heart Foundation Fighting Hunger
Ahndrea Blue – Creating Goodwill with the Making a Difference Foundation
Diane Latiker – Keeping Kids Safe – Kids Off the Block Program

Best Non-Profit Organization Northeast
PDC Foundation
Harlem School of the Arts
Geri’s Closet
Opportunities PA
Women Conquering Cancer

Best Non-Profit Organization Southeast
The Society for Girls
Focal Point Global
Fellaz Youth Mentoring Program
Overtown Youth Center
Fashion Empowering Women

Best Non-Profit Organization Midwest
Emmett Till Legacy Foundation
Rubies,Inc.
YOUTH WITH A POSITIVE DIRECTION Teen REACH
Ad-Hoc Group Against Crime
DO Foundation

Best Non-Profit Organization Southwest
No More Victims, Inc.
Quest for a Cure
Purple Wings
Say It Loud
Positive Atmosphere Reaches Kids (P.A.R.K)

Best Non-Profit Organization West
SEM Link
The Ella Baker Center for Human Rights
On a Mission, Inc.
Magic Johnson Foundation
South Central Youth Empowered Thru Action

Best Charity Event of the Year
Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter Foundation Carnival
St.Jude Soul Gala Featuring Ne-Yo, Elise Neal and Terri Vaughn
Steve and Marjorie Harvey Foundation Girls Rule the World Mentoring Weekend
Big Kidz Foundation- Eyes Wide Shut- Annual Costume Party Benefit
Wade’s W3Weekend- Chicago’s Got Talent

Best Non-Profit PR and Event Planning Firm
Commun PR The Terrie Williams Agency
Branded PR
Emagi Consulting
Simone Smalls PR

Best Giving Circle & Foundation
A Legacy of Tradition
Black Women for Black Girls
Black Benefactors
Mitchell Kapor Foundation
New Generation of African American Philanthropists- Charlotte (NGAAP-Charlotte)

GIVE BACK

Voting Starts on January 2nd!

Remember voting starts on Monday and you can vote as often as you'd like! Spread the word as we honor those who give back.