Independent Sector has announced that Alberto Ibargüen, president and CEO of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, will be honored with the 2014 John W. Gardner Leadership Award.

Established in 1985 to honor IS founding chair John W. Gardner, the annual award recognizes individuals whose leadership in the nonprofit community has been transformative; who have mobilized and unified people, institutions, or causes that improve the lives of others; and who exemplify the leadership and ideals of the award's namesake.

Ibargüen will be honored for his leadership in the fields of journalism, community engagement, and the arts as well as for the foundation's original and innovative approach to grantmaking, which often involves open contests and working with grantees to craft problem-solving strategies. Ibargüen’s bottoms-up approach to transformative change is grounded in the notion that people should be empowered to govern themselves — a central belief that has guided his career.

Before joining the Knight Foundation in 2005, Ibargüen was the publisher of the Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald, where his leadership reflected his belief that journalism not only is a craft and a business but a public service. At Knight, Ibargüen has helped lead and shape the digital transformation of journalism in the service of civic participation and democracy, experimenting with and supporting new programs and initiatives designed to engage local communities. The foundation also has worked to foster the growing nonprofit journalism movement, with many Knight-funded organizations using new technologies to share vital information with their communities. In the arts, Ibargüen has advocated a two-pronged approach involving major institutions and grassroots contests to build support for the arts and foster community identity through shared cultural experiences.

"Alberto has demonstrated a deep understanding that funding alone cannot solve social problems," said Wendy Puriefoy, a member of the IS board of directors and chair of the 2014 John W. Gardner Leadership Award Committee. "To succeed in the long term, philanthropy must empower citizens with the tools to build for themselves a better community, a better nation, and a better world. Alberto's creative, bottom-up approach to driving social change makes him a striking example of the kind of leadership the sector needs right now."