In the News

Orange County’s top philanthropists, business leaders and individuals will be honored at the 36th annual National Philanthropy Day Awards Program and Celebration, on Wednesday, November 17, 2021.

Produced by the Orange County Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, National Philanthropy Day has become the most prominent philanthropic recognition event in Orange County, with more than 1,000 honorees since its inception in 1986. Orange County Business Journal is the presenting Sponsor, PBS SoCal | KCET is the Broadcast Media Sponsor and the Orange County Register is the Community Media Sponsor.

Orange County’s top philanthropists, business leaders and individuals will be honored at the 35th annual National Philanthropy Day Awards program and celebration, an interactive virtual event, on Thursday, Nov. 19, 2020, from 12-1 p.m.

Produced by the Orange County Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, National Philanthropy Day has become the most prominent philanthropic recognition event in Orange County, with more than 1,000 honorees since its inception in 1986. Orange County Business Journal is the Presenting Sponsor, Public Media Group of Southern California is the Platinum Broadcast Media Sponsor and the Orange County Register is the Community Media Sponsor.

Special guest speaker for this year’s ceremony is Wyland, an internationally renowned artist/conservationist and philanthropist, and hosting the affair will be PMGSC’s Maria Hall-Brown. Sue and Ralph Stern, 2019 Legacy Award honorees, return this year as honorary chairs.

Orange County top philanthropists, business leaders and individuals will be honored at the 35th annual National Philanthropy Day Awards Program and Celebration, an interactive virtual event, on Thursday, November 19, 2020.

National Philanthropy Day Virtual Awards: Noon – 1:00p.m.

Produced by the Orange County Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, National Philanthropy Day has become the most prominent philanthropic recognition event in Orange County, with more than 1,000 honorees since its inception in 1986. Orange County Business Journal is the presenting Sponsor, Public Media Group of Southern California is the Platinum Broadcast Media Sponsor and the Orange County Register is the Community Media Sponsor.

Every November, hundreds of philanthropists, business people and volunteers come together at a special National Philanthropy Day Orange County luncheon to honor those who have demonstrated philanthropy and enhanced their communities and the world. This year marks the 35th Annual National Philanthropy Day Awards Program and Celebration, but instead of hosting the luncheon in a large ballroom, this year’s event will be a virtual one to be held on Thursday, November 19, 2020, from Noon to 1 p.m.

“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” The words of Mahatma Gandhi resonate in each human being committed to a purpose larger than oneself.

Charitable deeds are in fact so much greater than the act of giving. Even the smallest gesture of kindness can be transformative. Have you ever been the recipient of a free meal paid for by the person in the car in front of you at a fast food drive-through? Such a simple act of generosity can change one’s perspective on life, if just for a day.

Moreover, kindness has a ripple effect called “paying it forward.”

In Orange County this holiday season that so-called ripple effect reached givers across the local spectrum of philanthropy. The 2019 National Philanthropy Day honors were celebrated and bestowed upon individuals and businesses dedicated to being Gandhi’s instruments of change.

The Orange County Community Foundation (OCCF) recently announced that Laguna Beach resident Keith Swayne, board member and chair from 2017 to 2019—was honored as Orange County Philanthropist of the Year at the OC Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals’ National Philanthropy Day Awards luncheon on Nov. 14.

“With a warrior’s heart for the most vulnerable in our community, Keith has been a vanguard of Orange County philanthropy,” said Shelley Hoss, OCCF president and chief executive officer.

Though he retired from his position as CEO of the now-closed sauce and seasoning developer Case Swayne Co. in 2000, Laguna Beach resident Keith Swayne still works wiht various businesses and nonprofits. This dedication garnered him nominations for National Philathropy Day from six different OC-based nonprofits, including the Boys & Girls Club of Laguna Beach and Orange County Community Foundation. Subsequently, Swayne was named this year’s Outstanding Philanthropist and will be honored at the annual awards luncheon, to be held Nov. 14 at the City National Grove of Anaheim.

Honorees have been announced for the 34th Annual National Philanthropy Day Awards Luncheon to be held on Nov 14 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at City National Grove of Anaheim.

Produced by the Orange County Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, National Philanthropy Day has become the most prominent philanthropic recognition event in Orange County, officials wrote in a press release. More than 1,000 philanthropic individuals and businesses have been honored since its inception in 1986.

This year, of the nine different categories, Newport Beach individuals and businesses are being honored in five categories.

Philanthropist on a mission to help others turns $150,000 into $20 million effort to fight disease at UCI MIND

Keith Swayne has a magic touch when it comes to fundraising.

“I guess I could go to anyone and get them to write some kind of check just so I would go away,” he says, laughing. “However, that’s not what I want to accomplish. I want to connect people to causes and needs that they can relate to and then help them find a way to help out.”

Swayne is so adroit at soliciting donations, in fact, that a campus project he undertook has left people shaking their heads in amazement: His efforts led to a $20 million windfall for investigators at the UCI Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders.

“Keith’s passionate commitment to supporting our research has been tireless and nothing short of transformative,” says Joshua Grill, director of UCI MIND.

It all started with a $150,000 gift the Laguna Beach philanthropist made to the research facility in honor of his late wife, Judy, whom he lost to Alzheimer’s disease in 2014. He also issued a challenge to the community at the time that boosted the donation to $300,000.

The UCI MIND team then leveraged that seed money to secure a total of $20 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health.

“Our research is blazing new trails into understanding the genetic, molecular and cellular underpinnings of disease and is poised to lead to identification of new treatment targets and candidates,” Grill says. “Keith’s initial challenge-gift enabled an exponential impact in terms of research support.”