Please share your mission. 
CEL provides educational, recreational & social programming so people with developmental disabilities can be fully included in the community, achieve personal success & enjoy a good quality of life.
Describe how your organization lives/realizes its mission.
The mission of Make it Better is to identify and amplify the work of outstanding nonprofits while growing a network of well-informed, committed philanthropists; social entrepreneurs; and sponsors. The organization serves those in our communities with the greatest needs; as an organization serving people with developmental disabilities, CEL has a unique perspective on a population with truly great needs. For 48 years CEL has been witnessing personal milestones of individuals with developmental disabilities on a daily basis through our programming. CEL enhances and enriches the lives of people with developmental and intellectual disabilities – from youth through adulthood. We provide a space for our members to grow and learn new social, educational, and independent living skills as well as have equal opportunities to fulfill their dreams and become vital participants within their communities. We would be so honored to be a recipient of the Make it Better 5th Annual Philanthropy Awards and we hope that your Committee will consider this nomination. Due to changing guidelines and/or geographic priorities, people with developmental disabilities are not a priority for many funders. Winning this award would help to further connect CEL to local funders and highlight our presence in the community.
