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4th Annual Classy Awards

The Eagle Nature Foundation has been selected as a Regional Winner in CLASSY Awards

Final Round of Judging for the Largest Philanthropic Award Ceremony in the Country is Now Open, Culminating in Red Carpet Awards Ceremony in San Diego on Saturday, Sept. 22, 2012

Apple River, IL) The Eagle Nature Foundation was selected as a Regional Winner in the 4th Annual Classy Awards, in the Environmental Protection category for the 5th region. The Classy Awards, hosted by StayClassy, is the largest philanthropic awards ceremony in the country. Recognizing the top charitable achievements around the world. This year, more than 2,400 nominations were submitted for nonprofit organizations, social entrepremeurs, and volunteers. The awards culminate in philanthropy’s biggest night, the Classy Awards red carpet award ceremony on Saturday, September 22, 2012 in San Diego, CA.

“We are excited and proud to share in the recognition of the most dynamic and effective charitable achievements in the country through our annual CLASSY Awards,” says Scot Chirholm, CEO of StayClassy, host of the CLASSY Awards. “The achievements that the 64 Regional Winners have made in their industry are undeniable and we are honored to be a part of sharing their story.”

The Eagle Nature Foundation (ENF) has been fighting for over 50 years to save the bald eagle and its vital habitat that seems to be constantly in danger of being destroyed—many times by our own government agencies that should be protecting this habitat. One of the biggest challenges ENF faces is public awareness of the presence of the bald eagle and how it will be affected by the proposed actions, whatever they are. ENF sponsored the nation’s first bald eagle day event at Cassville, WI in 1967 and since then has moved the event around the nation to spread the word and to help local researchers develop and awareness of what they are doing and what is happening to the bald eagles in their areas. Today, there are more than 60 Bald Eagle Day events held each year across the nation as people emulate the event. The Bald Eagle population has recovered from where it was in the 1960’s and peaked around the year 2000. But today the bald eagle immature survival rate in the Midwest is back to where it was in the mid-1960’s. To determine what might be happening to the survival of the young bald eagles ENF is sponsoring another International Bald Eagle Days in Rochester, MN on Oct. 26-28, 2012.

The National Winners in each category will be determined by the CLASSY Awards Leadership Council, a 30-person panel comprised of industry leaders and experts, including:Adam Braun, Adam Garone, Alvaro Rojas, Amy Smith, Barrington Irving, Bob Ottenhoff, Brian Sirgutz, Charles Best, Clam Lorenz, Darian Rodriguez Heyman, David Risher, Elizabeth Gore, Emily Davis, Jacob Wood, Jason Rzepka, Jeff Shuck, Jim Gibbons, Jim Moriarty, Katya Andresen, Meg Garlinghouse, Meghan Murphy, Natalie Spilger, Pat Walsh, Premal Shah, Rod Arnold, Ryan Scott, Scot Chisholm, Stephanie Kurzina, Walter Philips, Yael Cohen.

Each of the 64 Regional Winners receives one (1) round-trip flight to San Diego to participate in the CLASSY Awards Weekend, courtesy of Southwest Airlines, the official Airline Sponsor of the 4th Annual CLASSY Awards. The 16 National Winners will be featured in a Charity Auction on eBay Giving Works, appear for one (!) week in the eBay Giving Works Give @ Checkout section, receive digital marketing audits from eBoost Consulting, and a one year free subscription to StayClassy fundraising solutions.

New this year to the CLASSY Awards weekend is a two-day lineup of events, including the Collaborative, an exclusive networking event, on Friday, September 21 and the award ceremony Saturday, September 22. Tickets are available at: http://www.stayclassy.org/classy–awards/weekend. The Eagle Nature Foundation is a 501(c)3 organization that is devoted to preserving habitat, conducting research, education and developing an awareness on the part of the public for all endangered species, especially the bald eagle.

About the Classy Awards

The CLASSY Awards, presented by eBay and PayPal, is the largest philanthropic awards ceremony in the country, celebrating the greatest charitable achievements by nonprofit organizations, socially conscious businesses, and individuals worldwide. In 2012, more than 2,400 nominations were cast in sixteen categories, and the nominees’ collective efforts impacted the lives of more than 346,000,000 people in 134 countries worldwide. The CLASSY Awards were created and hosted each year by StayClassy, a leader in online fundraising solutions for nonprofit organizations.

About StayClassy

StayClassy is an easy and affordable way for organizations to raise funds and manage donor relationships online. Based in San Diego, CA, the company develops easy-to-use web-based fundraising software for nonprofit organizations.. StayClassy launched its new platform in May 2012, and now powers the fundraising campaigns of more that 3,000 non-profits. StayClassy also organizes and hosts the annual CLASSY Awards, the largest philanthropic award ceremony in the country, now in its fourth year.

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For more information contact: Terrence N. Ingram, Exec. Director, Eagle Nature Foundation, 300 East Hickory St., Apple River, IL 61001 Phone 815-594-2306