DETROIT, May 5 /PRNewswire/ -- The DTE Energy Foundation has announced the finalists for its 2006 Achieving Excellence Awards, Michigan's largest corporate grant competition for nonprofits. The competition recognizes the state's exemplary nonprofit organizations with awards of up to $100,000 each in four categories: Special Achievement, Leadership, Collaboration and Sustainability. Finalists for the 2006 Achieving Excellence awards are: * Special Achievement: Detroit Association of Black Organizations, Detroit; Guidance Center, Southgate; Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, Bloomfield Hills; Lighthouse of Oakland County, Pontiac; Mel Trotter Ministries, Grand Rapids; Northern Homes Community Development Corporation, Boyne City; Vista Maria, Dearborn Heights. * Leadership: Girl Scouts of Macomb County-Otsikita Council, Clinton Township; Warren/Conner Development Coalition, Detroit. * Collaboration: Detroit Eastside Community Collaborative, Detroit; Detroit Zoological Society/Detroit Zoological Institute, Royal Oak; Manistee County Community Foundation, Manistee; Three Lakes Association, Bellaire; Traverse City Area Chamber Foundation. * Sustainability: Habitat for Humanity - Oakland County, Pontiac; HP Devco, Inc., Highland Park; National Conference for Community and Justice of Michigan, Detroit; Southwest Solutions, Detroit; Think Detroit, Detroit. Winners will be announced June 13. To be considered for the Achieving Excellence Awards, organizations must be tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and be located within DTE Energy's service area. Past recipients of Achieving Excellence Awards include the Detroit Science Center, the Southwest Detroit Business Association, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan, the Lansing-based Michigan Nonprofit Association, and the Inland Seas Education Association in Suttons Bay. The DTE Energy Foundation is the philanthropic arm of DTE Energy, continuing the legacy of community support and involvement of its principal operating subsidiaries, Detroit Edison and MichCon. The Foundation directs its contributions and involvement to support initiatives dedicated to developing the human and economic potential of the communities it serves. DATASOURCE: DTE Energy CONTACT: Eileen Dixon, +1-313-235-9154, or Lorie Kessler, +1-313-235-8807, both of DTE Energy Web site: http://www.dteenergy.com/

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