Awards and Honors

2009

June 3: Massachusetts General Hospital "The100 award" recognizes 100 extraordinary individuals and groups each year working to vanquish cancer

2007

December 16: Andy Rooney featured me in his "60 Minutes" commentary "If Rooney Was Rich." He said he liked me! How can you beat that?

2006

Sep 28: Environmentalists of the Year 2006/7 (from Santa Clara League of Conservation Voters)

2004

Sep 18: Duveneck Humanitarian Award (9th annual at Hidden Villa)

2003

Nov 11: Legacy Award winner (San Jose Magazine/Wells Fargo)
Nov 16: National Caring Award (Caring Institute)

Philanthropists Steve & Michele Kirsch will receive a National Caring Award on Nov. 16 from the Caring Institute in Washington, D.C. The award celebrates those special individuals who, in transcending self, devote their lives in service to others, especially the disadvantaged, the poor, the disabled and the dying.

2002

December: Ranked #5 on the list of the "Top 10 Givers by Dollars", Worth magazine (cover story) December: "25 Most Generous Young Americans," Worth magazine (cover story)

After surveying hundreds of individuals and nonprofits, Worth Magazine staff selected 25 people who give significantly, not only of their wealth, but also of their time and energy. Steve and Michele Kirsch are highlighted as the fifth most generous in this list.

November 15: "Leadership in Action award," PACT, Santa Clara County
May: Named as one of "The Power 100 of Silicon Valley" by San Jose Magazine
February: Forbes Midas List: Ranked #2 in Profit

2001

April: Named as one of "The Power 100 of Silicon Valley" by San Jose Magazine
April 26: Named to the Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame

2000

December: Cover story in Worth

November: "Inspiration Award" at  Reaching for Stars 2000 Annual Awards Dinner (San Jose Chamber of Commerce and Tech Museum)

September: Named as one of the "Top 10 Entrepreneurs of 2000" by Red Herring magazine.

August: Profiled in IEEE Spectrum.

April: Ranked #96 in Worth magazine's annual list of the "100 Most Generous Americans"; cover story in Silicon Valley Magazine

May 12: "Outstanding Leadership Award" for promoting the use of Zero Emission Vehicles from the American Lung Association of the Bay Area as part of the 2000 Annual Clean Air ENVY Awards. Also included were Certificates of Recognition from the California Senate (Sher), California Assembly (Cunneen), and US House of Representatives (Anna Eshoo).

June 6: "Visionary Award" from the Software Development Forum.

Visitors to our home in 2000 included California Governor Gray Davis, Intel Chairman Andy Grove, and CNN founder Ted Turner.

1999

June 15: "Heart of Silicon Valley Award" from the City of Sunnyvale for making a $1M donation to United Way in a time of urgent need.

Outstanding Philanthropist of the Year by the Silicon Valley chapter of the National Society of Fund Raising Executives.

Ranked #100 on the 1999 Forbes ASAP list of High Tech's Wealthiest 100

Ranked #8 on the 1999 Slate 60: The 60 largest American charitable contributions of 1999. 

Visitors to our home in 1999 included MIT President Charles Vest, 3Com founder Bob Metcalfe, World Wide Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee, sculptor Richard Erdman, Assemblyman Jim Cunneen, and astronaut Buzz Aldrin.

1998

Ranked #63 on the Forbes ASAP list of High Tech's Wealthiest 100

1997

Captain and co-MVP of the victorious West Coast team in the 1997 Computer Bowl sponsored by the Computer Museum. 

Named an Aspen Institute Crown Fellow. The purpose of the Henry Crown Fellowship program is to promote community-spirited leadership in the next generation of business leaders. The program honors the career of Chicago industrialist Henry Crown, a strong proponent and practitioner of ethical values in business.

1995

Named one of the most 50 influential people in cyberspace by Newsweek magazine. 

1992

Finalist in the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award program.

1987

Ranked #17th most successful entrepreneur under age 30 in the United States by the Association of Collegiate Entrepreneurs.