Ronald Grzywinski, chairman and CEO of ShoreBank Corporation, has been named the recipient of the 2005 John W. Gardner Leadership Award for Public Service in recognition of a career that has transformed underserved neighborhoods around the country into vibrant communities and inspired a community-development banking movement worldwide.

Administered by Independent Sector and sponsored by the William Randolph Hearst Foundations, the Gardner Award was established in 1985 to honor an outstanding American who exemplifies the leadership and ideals of John W. Gardner, Independent Sector's founding chairperson. After purchasing the South Shore National Bank on Chicago's South Side, Grzywinski and his colleagues opened ShoreBank in 1973 to better serve neighborhood residents who were ignored by more established banks. By providing African Americans, low-income workers, and inner-city businesses with access to financial resources and information previously unavailable to them, ShoreBank helped spur the revitalization of Chicago's distressed South and West Side neighborhoods.

In the years since, Grzywinski has been recognized as the inspiration for the community-development industry, which has invested nearly $2 trillion to transform neglected urban and rural areas into strong, vital communities. In the mid-1970s, Gryzwinski served as an adviser to the founder of Grameen Bank, the pioneering micro-credit institution founded in Bangladesh, and in 1977, despite opposition from the banking industry, he was the only commercial banker to testify before Congress in support of the Community Reinvestment Act.

"Through his innovative and creative leadership, Ronald Grzywinski has demonstrated that the goals of the private, public, and nonprofit sectors can be effectively advanced in partnership," said Independent Sector president and CEO Diana Aviv. "Ron has shown that it is possible for a for-profit institution to operate in the interest of the public benefit, serving community and environmental goals while also satisfying investor and customer expectations. ShoreBank's positive impact in underserved neighborhoods has transformed communities around the world."