In the spirit of our founder, the Claire Friedlander Family Foundation is pleased to support the 5th Annual NYC Imagine Awards with the Claire Friedlander Family Foundation Arts and Culture Award. The NYC Imagine Awards was created to offer formal acknowledgement to some of NYC metro’s most effective and innovative nonprofit organizations. 250 of the region’s top nonprofit and corporate executives attended the event where the winner in each category was announced LIVE at the 5th annual awards gala on Tuesday, October 28, 2025 at Guastavino’s. WABC-TV reporter Sonia Rincón served as the events Emcee.
$5,000 was awarded in each of the following six categories: Arts & Culture; Innovation; DEIA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and/or Accessibility); Leadership Excellence; Rising Star; & Social Impact. All finalists were entered into our Fan Favorite award where the public votes for their favorite finalists, the winner of the Fan Favorite Award received $3,000. In addition, each of the 24 finalists, 4 in each category, received a professionally produced video, which was showcased the night of the event.
Courtney Klein and Kelly Klein, foundation board members, were proud to be in attendance and present the check to the winners. Additional information about the event is here www.NYCimagineawards.com.
The 5th Annual NYC Imagine Awards Winners are:
- The Claire Friedlander Family Foundation Arts & Culture Award: Building Beats
- Alliant Insurance Services, Inc. Leadership Excellence Award: New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA): Michael Royce, Chief Executive Officer
- Cerini & Associates, LLP Social Impact Award: The Marcy Lab School
- DEIA Award sponsored by Chase for Business: Special Olympics New York
- OneGroup Innovation Award: Anthos Home
- YPTC Rising Star Award: City Living NY
- Nonprofit Resource Hub Fan Favorite Award: Special Olympics New York
(L-R) NYC Imagine Awards Founder Ken Cerini, CPA, Cerini & Associates LLP, The Claire Friedlander Family Foundation Arts and Culture Award winners Bianca Perez and Sam Lee , Building Beats, Courtney Klein and Kelly Klein, board members, The Claire Friedlander Family Foundation.