Kardon, executive director of the Center for Excellence in Nonprofits in San Jose.

FORBES: They Want Your Founder's Stock

Frederic Fransen is executive director of the Center for Excellence in Higher Education in Indianapolis, which assists donors with their higher education philanthropy.

FORBES: Give To Your Alma Mater, But Do So With Open Eyes

Dave Adamson, chief executive of the Centre for Regeneration Excellence Wales which was part of the team which helped set up in Communities First in 2001, said the programme was only one part of the strategy to tackle poverty.

BBC: Communities First anti-poverty scheme shake-up concerns

The paper's editors "view the wonderful bounty of prizes as a real tribute to the newsroom's excellence and dedication, " Executive Editor Jill Abramson told the staff.

WSJ: Online nonprofit InsideClimate News wins Pulitzer

President Obama signed an executive order establishing the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans.

WHITEHOUSE: Blog Posts Related to the African American Community

"These colleges, by really paying close attention to what comes next, are aligning what they do to that kind of success, " said Josh Wyner, executive director of the Aspen Institute's college excellence program, which awards the prize.

WSJ: Community colleges in Wash., Calif. win top prize

Scantlebury Award for Excellence in Federal Financial Management, and the Presidential Rank Award of Distinguished Executive.

WHITEHOUSE: The White House

"That is the future, " said Gavin Smith, executive director of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Coastal Hazards Center of Excellence.

WSJ: Shore Shifted by Storm

The White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans, housed within the Department of Education, will work with the Executive Office of the President and Cabinet agencies to identify evidence-based best practices to improve African American student achievement in school and college, and to develop a national network of individuals, organizations, and communities that will share and implement these practices.

WHITEHOUSE: The White House