Prize Rewards Innovation

`THE bottom line for nonprofit organizations is changed lives," says Frances Hesselbein, president of the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management.

The foundation, created in 1990, offers seminars and conferences for leaders of nonprofit groups. Funding comes from private gifts and royalties from Mr. Drucker's 1990 book "Managing the Nonprofit Organization" and "The Nonprofit Drucker" series of audiotapes. Mrs. Hesselbein works for no salary. "That's my contribution," she says.

To encourage nonprofits to "manage for innovation," the foundation awards an annual $25,000 prize. The first Peter F. Drucker Award for Nonprofit Innovation was awarded last year to the Judson Center of Royal Oak, Mich., for its "Living in Family Environments" program.

The LIFE program provides women with the opportunity to exchange public assistance for a salary while also giving homes to children in need of foster care. Women on welfare are given training and then matched with disabled children who need homes.

The second Drucker Award will be announced on Nov. 9 in Los Angeles. The foundation has received 375 applications for the award.