New York, NY -- (ReleaseWire) -- 02/11/2009 -- The Fast Pitch! Business Awards committee has named The Apogee Foundation “Top Non-Profit” in the First Annual Fast Pitch! Business Awards.

The Apogee Foundation is an international philanthropy that helps gifted emerging artists achieve their full potential and that celebrates their achievements on the world stage. Fast Pitch!, one of the fastest growing business networking communities, established the Fast Pitch! Business Awards to recognize and honor businesses demonstrating best practices and attaining highest distinction in their fields.

In evaluating and selecting the inaugural Fast Pitch! Business Award winners, Fast Pitch! assembled a panel of experts with over 200 years of relevant experience to review more than 1,000 nominees in nine award categories. Employing criteria that included the results of public voting as well as in-depth evaluation of each nominee's organization and operations, the Fast Pitch! Business Awards Committee conducted a thorough analysis of all candidates during a rigorous 45 day process and publicly announced the Fast Pitch! Business Award winners on February 4, 2009, naming The Apogee Foundation "Top Non-Profit."

Bill Jula, CEO and Co-Founder of Fast Pitch! said: "We are honored to highlight Kenneth Schneider and his team at The Apogee Foundation as this year's Top Non-Profit. Fast Pitch! shares The Apogee Foundation's core values for improving the way people worldwide realize their true potential both personally and professionally."

Apogee Foundation President Kenneth Schneider said: "We are thrilled that Fast Pitch! has honored Apogee’s global family of dedicated personnel, and we will continue striving to merit this distinction by sustaining the highest standards of performance in everything we do."

To listen to a podcast interview with Kenneth Schneider on Fast Pitch! Radio discussing The Apogee Foundation's evolution, with an integrated slideshow (requires Quicktime or iTunes) please visit:

http://www.apogeefoundation.org/audio/interviews/apogee_foundation_top_nonprofit.m4a
or (for audio interview only, in MP3 format):
http://www.apogeefoundation.org/audio/interviews/apogee_foundation_top_nonprofit.mp3

Kenneth Schneider, Apogee's founder, was working as an international financial attorney in Moscow during the 1990's, when he responded to the radical deterioration of the nation's performing arts training resources by galvanizing public and private support for their revitalization.

Recognizing the potential global value of this work, Schneider and his colleagues incorporated The Apogee Foundation in New York in 2004. Since then, Apogee has vastly broadened the reach and impact of its vision through innovative programs designed to discover, develop and celebrate artistic excellence worldwide.

To view the live, online version of this article, visit: http://apogeefoundation.org/media/2009/apogee_foundation_top_nonprofit.php

About The Apogee Foundation ®

The term "apogee" means "the highest point, the culmination." The Apogee Foundation believes in the power of the performing arts to embody and inspire the pursuit of human excellence. By virtue of its innovative approach to implementing this vision, the Foundation has become an internationally recognized platform for the promotion of humanity’s greatest vision of itself.

Contact
Kenneth Schneider, President of The Apogee Foundation
1001 Avenue of the Americas, 12th Floor
New York, NY 10018-5460 (USA)
+1.646.224.6960 or +1.888.APOGEE.8
http://www.apogeefoundation.org