“It’s not a bunch of dirty hippies, these are real people,” said Philebrity's Joey Sweeney during a recent radio appearance on The Dom Giordano Program, referencing the panel who nominated this year's nonprofits. 

The proudly snarky all-things-Philly blog will be announcing the winner of this, and other categories, including Break Out Musical Act Of The Year and Phoodie Of The Year at their 2011 Philebrity Awards and Non-Denominational, Totally Secular Xmas Pageant this Thursday night at The Trocadero. 

For each category, a secret panel of nominators at Philebrity created a long list from respected peers, and after readers weighed in with suggestions, the staff narrowed the pool to five nominees in each category. 

Keeping it real as always ("saluting our friends who make even less money than we do"), this year's five nominees for nonprofit organization of the year include:

Women’s Way (@WomensWay)
Juvenile Law Center (@JuvLaw1975)
The Bicycle Coalition (@bcgp)
The Food Trust (@thefoodtrust)
The Sports Complex Special Services District

The ultimate winner is being picked by the public, so it's up to you to show some love before Thursday for the cause you're passionate about.

When we asked the nominated nonprofit heads who they thought would tough it out in the ring, Rocky-style, they were all too kind to insinuate any potential knockouts. The nominees may have been as humble as they are heroic, but we know they secretly want to win, so we’ve compiled a who’s who guide of why you should vote for them:

• Women’s Way uses the power of grant-making, public education, and advocacy to respond to women’s needs within communities.
  
  [Bragging rights] “Women’s Way has a very long history here in Philadelphia and we’re about to celebrate our 35th anniversary,” said Director of Development & Marketing Sarah Friedman. “We really are an organization that continues to evolve and remain relevant. We’ve made some real changes recently to send a better impact in the community, including launching a new website and grantmaking program along with outstanding new work with our advocacy program.”
  
  
   
• Juvenile Law Center works to protect and advance children’s rights in courts, legislatures, and executive agencies.
  
  [Bragging rights] The Juvenile Law Center contributed to the Supreme Court ruling to eliminate the juvenile death penalty in 2005, eliminated juvenile life-without-parole in non-homicide cases in 2010, and this year finding that age is relevant in determining whether minors can reasonably believe they are "in custody" and therefore subject to a Miranda warning. 
  
  
  
  
• The Bicycle Coalition is the biggest advocacy organization for bicycling in this region. The membership organization always looking to speak for and reach out to people who care about bicycling in the city.
  
  [Bragging rights] “There are some terrific organizations on the list and there’s a tremendous number of incredible organizations in Philadelphia that aren’t on the list, who are doing great work for the city. We feel flattered to be included in the competition,” said Communications Coordinator Nicholas Mirra, who mentioned the Bicycle Coalition was previously nominated in the 2009 Philebrity Awards. 
  
   
   
• The Food Trust’s mission is to make sure everyone has access to affordable, nutritious food. The Trust works with schools to provide more nutritious food for their students, runs nutrition education initiatives, and operates a ton of farmers markets.
  
  [Bragging rights] “We're in the lead, thanks to our faithful supporters who are just as dedicated to our mission as we are, and hope to take it to the finish line tomorrow," said Executive Director Yael Lehmann.
  
  
  
  
• The Sports Complex Special Services District serves 9,000 residents living in 4,200 households surrounding the Sports Complex venues in South Philadelphia. The SCSSD is engaged in a mission to protect community interests, improve neighborhood quality of life, and promote efficiant operation of adjacent sports venues. 
  
  [Bragging rights] In addition to helping the communities with public safety, maintaining clean neighborhoods, and donating to schools, the SCSSD donates to youth sports to help with league fees, facility improvements, and more.
  

Polls are open through Thursday, December 15th at 3pm, so cast your votes today for your favorites. Let us know in the comments section who you're voting for this year!