In Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, mom Brittany is forced to choose between new shoes and a proper meal for her two young boys. Eight hundred miles away in El Paso, Texas, United States, a navy veteran named Priscilla is left out of the workforce because she can’t afford childcare for her preschool-aged daughter.

Meet two of the millions of parents across the United States who are struggling to provide the basic necessities for their kids, even as the economy looks, to outward appearances, like the picture of health.

During the first quarter in 2019, the economy grew at an annual pace of 3.2 percent, which was its best start in years. The job market has shown similarly impressive results, with unemployment dropping to just 3.6 percent in April.

Yet the turnaround is leaving an alarming number of Americans behind. These people are either struggling to find work or are forced into low-paying jobs that can’t even cover life’s basic necessities. As a result, nonprofits like Feeding America are busier than ever and are giving poverty-stricken households a desperately needed helping hand. Feeding America is a network of 200 food pantries.

Last year, the company, which is based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, provided meals to 46 million adults and children. The organization estimates that one in eight people struggle with food insecurity or the inability to obtain enough food to maintain a healthy, productive lifestyle.

“Some might believe there’s a hunger crisis in other parts of the world—not in America,” says Allison Weber, a Feeding America spokeswoman. “However, the fact is that 40 million people face hunger in the United States. That’s more people than the entire population of Canada.”

A Lingering Challenge

Several factors contribute to the problem of undernourishment.

“High housing costs, rising food prices, and unexpected expenses have left millions unable to stretch their dollars far enough,” says Weber. “Sometimes they can put a warm meal on the table after a long day, and sometimes they go to bed hungry.”

Despite the recovery after the 2007–2008 financial crisis, food insecurity rates held steady through 2014.

“Only in the last few years did they [food insecurity rates] decline," Craig Gundersen, a professor of agricultural and consumer economics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, told USA Today in April. “The levels today are still higher than they were in 2007. While in many dimensions the United States recovered from the Great Recession, the most vulnerable among us still haven't recovered.”

According to a 2019 Feeding America analysis, children are disproportionately affected, especially those in rural and southern parts of the country.

“There isn’t a single state or county in America free from child hunger, and it is within our collective power to change that and to ensure today’s children are tomorrow’s leaders,” Kate Leone, chief government relations officer, said in a statement.

In the meantime, groups like Feeding America, which recently picked up a Silver Stevie® Award for Best Annual Report among nonprofits, have had to fill in gaps in order to address the food shortage.

Interested in winning publication awards like Feeding America? Request your entry kit for The 2020 American Business Awards® to begin.

Nonprofits Forced to Step Up

A retired businessman named John van Hengel started the idea of food banks in the late 1960s. While volunteering at a soup kitchen in Phoenix, Arizona, United States, van Hengel met a desperate mother who was forced to rummage through trash cans in order to obtain food for her children. He recognized that, instead of throwing out excess food, there needed to be a place where it could be stored and distributed to those in need.

Van Hengel established the nation’s first food bank in his home city, and by 1977, he saw the creation of similar facilities in 18 cities across the United States. Two years later, he founded a national organization called Second Harvest, which eventually became Feeding America.

With food insecurity continuing to affect a large segment of the population and with government support at risk, Weber says the undernourished might have to rely on Feeding America and similar organizations even more.

“Federal programs that bridge the gap for people facing tough times are under threat,” she says. “More and more, nonprofits and individuals are being called upon to support people in need.”

There’s nothing more aggravating for a healthcare patient than driving to a pharmacy to pick up a prescription and then learning his or her insurance company won’t cover the cost.

It’s a frustrating scenario for retailers and doctors, too. A significant portion of the medications the pharmacy staff fill won’t be taken home by the patient. Providers then have to go back to the beginning, contacting insurance providers to see if another drug will be covered by the patient’s insurance plan.

The shift toward electronic prior authorization, or ePA, is trying to put the brakes on those system inefficiencies. This trend has been steadily gaining momentum, thanks to wider electronic health record (EHR) usage and new state-level laws aimed at cutting medical costs and improving patient outcomes.

For those who work in the health care industry, it can be hard to keep up with all those developments. Each year, the technology firm CoverMyMeds works with an advisory group of industry experts to publish the annual ePA National Adoption Scorecard, which highlights the progress of ePA in the United States. Readers get up-to-date information on individual state mandates involving prior authorization, as well as updates on what’s happening at the federal level.

The 2018 edition of the scorecard also includes sections on two new areas of opportunity: real-time prescription benefits (RTPB) and solutions geared toward specialty medications.

“As electronic prior authorization implementation continues to increase, the industry is looking for new ways to enhance ePA functionality to benefit industry stakeholders, to continue fueling adoption from pharmacists and providers, and to benefit the patient,” says Perry Lewis, VP of industry relations at CoverMyMeds, whose main offices are in Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio, United States.

The latest version of the innovative report earned the company a Gold Stevie® Award for the Best Annual Report in the Online/Electronic category at The 16^th Annual American Business Awards..

“The Stevie Award validates all the hard work we put together on our scorecard,” said the CoverMyMeds VP of industry relations, Lewis, at the awards ceremony.

Automating the Process

Even today, many prior authorization requests to the pharmacy and health plan are completed manually—usually by phone or fax. This time-consuming process often leads to patients to abandoning their prescriptions at the pharmacy 36 percent of the time, according to CoverMyMeds.

That creates perils for the patient, who sees an increased risk of future health complications by not taking a prescribed medication. It also means the various players in the health care industry—providers, pharmacies, and insurance plans—allocate unnecessary resources to getting a drug approved. The scorecard notes, for example, that providers who rely exclusively on electronic preauthorization spend 2.5 fewer hours a week on these tasks.

It’s no wonder, then, the sector is quickly gravitating toward ePA, a trend that the proliferation of electronic health records has aided over the past several years. ePA streamlines the process by allowing a physician or other provider to initiate the approval while using the e-prescribing feature of the EHR.

“The most successful ePA strategies also connect the pharmacy to initiate an ePA that was missed at the point of prescribing, and they allow the provider to complete a pharmacy-initiated PA electronically in their EHR or in a designated ePA web portal,” the scorecard says.

Today, 90 percent of insurance payers use ePA, and 96 percent are committed to implementing the method soon. Meanwhile, virtually every pharmacy chain in the country has expressed an intention to use ePA. A growing number of states are adopting ePA language aimed at speeding up the usage rate.

Since its inception in 2008, CoverMyMeds has been at the forefront on this industry change, offering a platform that incorporates nearly every payer and prescription drug on the market. The company, which McKesson Corporation acquired in April 2017, now works with more than 500 EHRs, 62,000 pharmacies, and 700,000 providers in the United States.

The organization launched its yearly National Adoption Scorecard in 2015 as a way to help key stakeholders stay current on legislative updates and other news involving ePA implementation.

The Stevie win not only gave CoverMyMeds a valuable accolade but helped motivate the company to build on the scorecard’s success.

“Since learning about the award,” Lewis says, “the team decided to create a second report that provides an objective overview of real-time benefit check, a technology innovation that surfaces patient-specific prescription benefit details at the point of prescribing.”

References: https://www.covermymeds.com/main/insights/rtbc-scorecard/ 

We all benefit when a child succeeds in school, when someone finds a job that will help them provide for their family or when more people are able to access quality, affordable healthcare. United Way Worldwide fights for the health, education and financial stability of every person in every community.

United Way is the world’s largest privately-funded nonprofit, supported by 2.8 million volunteers, 9.8 million donors worldwide and more than $4.7 billion raised every year. So it’s no surprise they received the Gold Stevie Award for Best Annual Report and for “New Product of the Year, Education, K-12 Course or Learning Management Solution” in The 2017 American Business Awards.

Anyone Can Help Everyone

Providing a platform to make a bigger, deeper difference is what Southerlyn Worsham, Director of Public Relations at United Way Worldwide, says is a top priority when getting involved with United Way Worldwide.

“We’re engaged in nearly 1,800 communities across more than 40 countries and territories worldwide to create sustainable solutions to the challenges facing our communities.”

United Way partners include global, national and local businesses, nonprofits, government, civic and faith-based organizations, along with educators, labor leaders, health providers, senior citizens, students and more.

The Importance of Celebrating Lasting Change

It’s hard to quantify the value of helping people around the world, especially at United Way’s scale. But lives being changed for the better can be acknowledged and celebrated with awards that represent the hard work people do day in and day out. Southerlyn enjoys sharing these stories as testaments to the difference that communities can make when we come together to create lasting change.

“Our team is awed by the awards and the double victory. Our entire office is so proud of the two awards and have been congratulating each other. It has been amazing for morale and pride. These victories have reignited our passion to fight for the health, education and financial stability of every person in every community.”

The Gold Stevie Award in The 2017 American Business Awards for Best Annual Report was given to United Way Worldwide for their multi-media annual report about their efforts and results, including 1,800 locations, 40 countries, six continents, served by 2.8 million volunteers and 9.8 million donors. The annual report details individual efforts, collective results and large-scale impact in childhood success, youth success, financial stability and access to healthcare.

The Versatility of Giving

Giving money to fuel community solutions, volunteering your time or lending your voice to a cause that matters to you are just some of the ways people can get involved. United Way also allows people to gift stock with stock transfer instructions provided.

In keeping with the times of constant innovations for sending money, you can now even donate using Bitcoin, by giving to the United Way Worldwide’s Innovation Fund. The Innovation Fund drives the development of new technology and new strategies to expand their reach and impact in communities around the world. Also, every year, millions of employees around the world launch campaigns to support local United Way solutions that improve education, financial stability and healthcare.

The 2015 Annual Report of CLP Holdings Limited, in Hong Kong, China, won the Gold Stevie® Award for Innovation in Annual Reports in the Annual Report & Other Publications Awards categories of the 2016 Asia-Pacific Stevie® Awards.

The 2017 (4th Annual) Asia-Pacific Stevie® Awards is now accepting entries.

REVIEW THE ENTRY KIT HERE.

We asked Geert Peeters, Executive Director & Chief Financial Officer at CLP Holdings, for some insight into how the Stevie® Award-winning 2015 Annual Report was created, and what winning a Stevie® Award has meant to the people who created it.

Geert Peters, Executive Director & Chief Financial Officer at CLP Holdings, was delighted that his company’s 2015 Annual Report had won a Gold Stevie® Award in the 2016 Asia-Pacific Stevie® Awards.  He told us: “We are deeply honored to have won the Stevie Award for Innovation in Annual Reports. As an organization that prizes innovation, we are delighted by the recognition of our excellence in this regard.”

Encapsulating guidelines by the International Integrated Reporting Council and the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants, CLP’s 2015 Annual Report is the company’s fifth integrated annual report. Structured around the theme of CLP’s “unwavering commitment to the communities we serve,” the Report presents a connected view of the social, environmental, operational, and financial aspects of CLP’s overall performance in an integrated and innovative manner.

Innovation

Explained Geert: “We entered the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards for continuous learning: every year, our colleagues across different departments and countries work very hard to put together an annual report that makes us proud, so winning the Stevie Award is definitely a strong recognition of these efforts.”

“We have benefited immensely in the process, because innovation is a continuous undertaking and we are still learning how to do better,” continued Geert.  “For example, we are an early adopter of integrated reporting, which means we report our business achievements alongside our environmental, social, and governance performance. Such an approach has provided us a holistic picture of what we do and what values we deliver to our stakeholders.

“The awards we have received motivate us to innovate and try new ideas, like designing a posting bag that can double up as a recyclable shopping bag. We also make use of a feedback form to drive donations for selected NGOs. Through these channels, we are able to better engage with our different stakeholders, and deliver values to them in ways that we never could before.”

Design and Format

“Electricity is an indispensable part of modern life,” explained Geert. “It powers the machines that keep our communities safe, and allows us to live and work comfortably and with convenience. To highlight the close relationship between CLP and our stakeholders, this year we decided to create a relaxing home feel, reflected in our Annual Report’s vivid and colorful illustrations, well-designed diagrams, intuitive infographics and selective use of photographs. To provide an at-a-glance look at our business performance, we captured and visualized all key information with figures, graphics. and tables in the opening six-page section of ‘A Snapshot of CLP in 2015’.”

Accessibility and Interactivity

To expand CLP’s reach to broader audiences, the print version of its Annual Report went live with an online multimedia Snapshot and Sustainability Report. As Geert put it: “Our Snapshot presents an overview of our business using multimedia tools such as videos, whilst our Sustainability Report provides a more detailed account of our sustainability principles, strategies, and efforts. Together with our website and other CLP literature, we aim to enable our stakeholders to have a more informed assessment of our company.”

Charitable Donations

In addition, Geert stated: “We have also developed an innovative way to strengthen our interaction with readers by pledging to make charitable donations of HK$60 for each feedback that we receive on our Annual Report, online Snapshot, and Sustainability Report, with a cap of HK$350,000 in total.”

In conclusion, Geert told us that “being recognized by such a well-regarded organization is a strong vote of confidence on the work we do. It gives us the motivation to strive for the best.”

Environmental Concerns

With energy and its impact on the environment a topic of major concern, we asked Geert what plans CLP had for 2017.  He commented: “We are fully aware of the impact of the activities of the energy industry on environment.  That’s why we decided about a decade ago that we would shoulder our responsibility to address the risk and effect of climate change. Adopting the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong’s ESG Reporting Guide is a part of that commitment. In fact, we were one of the few companies that began to report on environmental and social performance way back in the 1990s, and this later evolved and became our Sustainability Report which is available online. So we are no strangers to ESG reporting.”

Reducing the Carbon Footprint

To play its part in reducing the carbon footprint, CLP encouraged e-communication by donating HK$60 for each shareholder’s request to switch to its electronic publications. For the mailing of hard copies, the company specially designed a posting bag which could be converted into a reusable carrier bag in order to promote conservation and reduce waste.

Sustainability Principles

Added Geert: “In our 2015 annual report, we already disclosed ESG information that fell under the ‘comply or explain’ provisions. In our 2016 annual report, which will be published in March 2017, we plan to do more. But for us to be able to report, first we must have the action. Last year, the United Nations adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aimed at tackling poverty, hunger, climate change, and other global problems by 2030. The SDGs have provided the international community with a clear direction on the transformative steps that are urgently needed for sustainable development. They also inspired us to develop our own Sustainability Principles, which set the foundation for articulating our sustainability priorities in support of our longer-term business strategy. This signifies our willingness to play a role in helping the world achieve the SDGs, especially those on combating climate change and affordable electricity.”

Inspiration for the Future

Geert is optimistic about the future.  “CLP’s goal is to meet Asia Pacific’s energy challenge in a sustainable way–from one generation to the next,” he explained.  “This means we want to be able to supply our customers with electricity that is reliable and safe, and to make sure it is done in an environmentally friendly manner and at a reasonable price.”

Continued Geert: “We recognize the world is changing rapidly, however. We need to have a clear vision of tomorrow and be able to harness the power of innovation so that we are well equipped and ready for change. To become the utility of the future, we need to transform to become a customer-centric energy company that can compete in a low carbon world.

“This opens up a whole new vista of possibilities. Renewable energy is definitely one of them. It has been exciting to see that more and more countries in Asia are generating energy through renewable means, be it solar or wind. This is especially true in Mainland China and India, CLP’s two growth markets, which both have ambitious clean energy targets. Over the years, CLP has developed more than 3,000 megawatts of renewable projects, mostly in these two markets. And we have plans to do more.

“Meanwhile, our presence in these markets is inspiring on another level. We have seen the emergence of private savings in these emerging markets. Through the issuance of local currency bonds, including green bonds, we are thrilled to be able to help people to channel their hard-earned savings into infrastructure projects that will ultimately advance their home lands. And I am excited to be able to contribute to this adventure.”

About Geert Peeters:

Geert Peeters has been the Group Director & Chief Financial Officer since 1 April 2014, responsible for Group financial control & reporting, Group treasury, Group tax, Group corporate finance, risk management, and investor relations for CLP Holdings Limited. He was appointed the Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer of CLP Holdings with effect from 1 January 2016.

Mr. Peeters has over 25 years of experience in the energy industry. Prior to joining CLP, he was the Deputy Chief Financial Officer of GDF SUEZ (now known as ENGIE) Group based in Paris. Mr. Peeters was with GDF SUEZ from 1997 to 2013, gaining extensive experience in senior financial and operational roles in Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and North America. He also served as the Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer of International Power plc, a GDF SUEZ subsidiary listed on the London Stock Exchange and part of the FTSE 100 index until July 2012. Before joining GDF SUEZ, he worked for KBC Bank in Brussels and New York and for Tractebel Energy Engineering at the Doel Nuclear Power Plant in Antwerp (Belgium). He also served as a Reserve Officer in the Belgian Air Force.

In the past three years, Mr. Peeters has served on the boards of several listed energy companies, including International Power plc, E-CL, listed in Chile, and Glow Energy in Thailand. He is a member of the CNBC Global CFO Council.  Mr. Peeters is a Knight in the Order of King Leopold. He has a Master of Science in electro-mechanical engineering from Ghent University, Belgium, a postgraduate degree in business and IT administration from ICHEC Brussels, Belgium, and he attended executive business training at INSEAD Paris, France

About CLP Group

CLP Holdings Limited, a company listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, is the holding company for the CLP Group, one of the largest investor-owned power businesses in Asia Pacific. Through CLP Power Hong Kong Limited, it operates a vertically integrated electricity supply business providing a highly reliable supply of electricity to 80% of Hong Kong’s population.

Outside Hong Kong, CLP holds investment in the energy sector in Mainland China, India, Southeast Asia, Taiwan, and Australia. Its diversified portfolio of generating assets uses a wide range of fuels including coal, gas, nuclear, and renewable sources. CLP is one of the largest external investors in the Mainland’s renewable energy sector. In India, it is one of the biggest renewable energy producers and among the largest foreign investors in the electricity sector. In Australia, its wholly owned subsidiary, EnergyAustralia, is one of the largest integrated energy companies, providing gas and electricity to over 2.6 million households and businesses.

CLP is listed on the Global Dow–a 150-stock index of the world’s leading blue-chips, the Dow Jones Sustainability Asia Pacific Index (DJSI Asia Pacific), the Dow Jones Sustainability Asia Pacific 40 Index (DJSI Asia Pacific 40), Hang Seng Corporate Sustainability Index Series, and MSCI Global Sustainability Index Series.

We invite you to meet The 2016 American Business Awards Annual Reports & Publications Judging Chair and Committee.

Now through the end of April, the professionals listed below will determine the Stevie Award winners in five categories for annual reports, e-books, sales kits, and more. See the full list of categories they will be reviewing at the end of the post.

It's not too late to submit your 2016 American Business Awards nominations - the entry deadline was extended to April 19. All organizations operating in the U.S.A. are eligible to submit nominations -- public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small. The 2016 awards honor achievements since the beginning of 2015.

REVIEW THE ENTRY KIT HERE.

Meet the judging chair and committee:

Chair:

Justin Bell, CEO
Lion Agency, Miami, Florida, USA

Justin Bell is an experienced marketing executive and brand strategist residing in Miami, Florida. Justin is CEO of Lion Agency, a multinational digital agency with offices in Buenos Aires, Miami and São Paulo. Lion Agency is an award-winning agency (earning five American Business Awards in 2015), and works with leading brands including American Express, Celebrity Cruises, Elizabeth Arden, FANIA Records, Tío Gazpacho, and the University of Miami.

Justin joined Lion Agency in 2015 when Lion Agency acquired Arc+Arrow Creative Group. Justin founded Arc+Arrow in 2013 after working his way through various senior leadership roles at Omnicom Group where he worked with brands including Best Buy, Costco, Motorola, Wal-Mart, and Samsung, as well as Carphone Warehouse, Dixons Retail, and John Lewis in Europe.

Justin is a graduate of The Ohio State University and Ashland University with degrees in marketing.

Committee:

Alex Breitman, Marketing Director
National LGBTQ Task Forc, New York, New York, USA
As Marketing Director for the National LGBTQ Task Force, I handle awareness efforts including advertising, branding, merchandise and event production Lead on all marketing aspects of our annual events, ranging from the annual Creating Change Conference, a skill-building conference for the LGBTQ community in January, to Winter Party Festival, a weekend of dance and social events, in March. Oversee various campaigns within the organization to raise awareness around issues affecting the LGBTQ community.

Jessica Fish, Senior Strategist
Leader Networks, Amherst, New Hampshire, USA
Jessica Fish is a skilled community and social media marketing practitioner. At Leader Networks she develops focused and actionable social business strategies for clients with a keen eye to both their needs and the capacity for their products and services to make the most impact possible. Jessica often teaches, facilitates workshops, and speaks on the areas of inclusion, social justice, and mindfulness.

Kyle Johnson, Principal & Creative Director
BlkMrkt. Cr8tiv Labs, Houston, Texas, USA

Jeannine McHenry, Art Director
One17 Creative, Marina Del Ray, California, USA

Ruth Moyte, Wordmaker
Red Dandelion Creative, Temecula, California, USA
Ruth Moyte has over 23 years of experience in the global event and marketing industry, writing for and producing events for many of the world’s leading brands. She is a past member of the International MarCom Committee for the International Special Events Society and the Advisory Board of Special Events Magazine.

Fabi Preslar, President
SPARK Publications, Matthews, North Carolina, USA
Fabi Preslar is president of SPARK Publications, a creative firm specializing in publication design for magazines, books, and catalogs in print, digital, and interactive media for niche and professional audiences.

Marilyn Schultz, President & Publisher
Big Deal Media/Marketing Projects, Inc., Barrington, Illinois, USA
Founder, president and publisher of Marketing Projects, Inc. and Big Deal Media, with a 35+ year track record in educational publishing and marketing. During her career, Marilyn has worked with hundreds of companies in the education market including technology companies, textbook publishers, supplemental materials publishers, equipment manufacturers and service providers, for which she has developed award-winning materials and content-driven websites.

Tim Smith, Partner
Eagle Print Dynamics, Orange, California, USA

Michelle Thorsell, President
SMT Architects, P.C., Lombard, Illinois, USA
Michelle is president and owner of SMT Architects in Lombard, Illinois established in 1994; client base consists of public and private with a special interest in public housing. Activities include LWV Board member; past activities include Village Trustee, County Stormwater Committee member, Environmental Commission Chairman, Children's Ministry Director, youth leader.

Annual Report and Publications categories include:

F01. Best Annual Report
            a. Online/Electronic
            b. Print

F02. Best Marketing or Sales Brochure or Kit
            a. Online/Electronic
            b. Print

F03. Best Newsletter or House Organ/Publication
            a. Online/Electronic
            b. Print

F04. Best E-Book: All e-books published by persons or organizations in the U.S.A. since January 1 2015, dealing with a subject related to business - finance, careers, professional education, training, business journalism, corporate history, personal growth, etc. - are eligible to be nominated.

F05. Best Business Book: All books published by persons or organizations in the U.S.A. since January 1 2015, dealing with a subject related to business - finance, careers, professional education, training, business journalism, corporate history, personal growth, etc. - are eligible to be nominated.