This award recognizes a collaborative effort by two or more nonprofit organizations that have partnered to address a compelling problem affecting an underserved community or population. The collaborative work will include a creative approach that resonates with and positively impacts the underserved community/population it supports. The compelling problem addressed could not have been solved as effectively by the individual organization(s).


Nominations will effectively convey the following criteria about how the organization approaches and prioritizes this best practice award category:

1. Identified an approach to respond to, and address a pressing need or problem which could be better resolved by working collectively.
2. Collaborative work has taken into consideration diverse community perspectives and is focused on positively impacting the needs of that same community.
3. Achieved goals through effective communication, information sharing, clearly defined roles for participating organizations, and a clear process for accountability.
4. Demonstrated effective allocation and use of combined resources in a way that furthered the missions of all involved organizations.
5. Achieved meaningful and measurable outcomes supporting an underserved community or population that were made possible through collaborative efforts.

This award recognizes a nonprofit organization that exhibits an outstanding commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). What has the organization done to establish and maintain diversity and equity while continuing to foster an inclusive culture?


Nominations will effectively convey the following criteria about how the organization approaches and prioritizes this best practice award category:

1. The staff, board, and volunteers are diverse, equitable, and inclusive at all levels of the organization and reflect the community(ies) or population(s) they serve.
2. Diverse, equitable, and inclusive service, outreach, recruitment, and hiring policies and practices are integral to the organization’s operations, governance structure, leadership, and personnel.
3. The organization regularly assesses how diverse, equitable, and inclusive staff, board members, other stakeholders contributes to achieving the organization’s mission.
4. The organization has included a plan for continued sustainability of the new model, solution, or strategy.

This award recognizes a nonprofit organization that has planned, developed, and implemented an innovative program, for the community(s) it serves. How has the organization utilized new models, solutions or strategies to adapt to a changing environment and/or to find new ways of solving problems faced by the organization or the populations it serves?

Nominations will effectively convey the following criteria about how the organization approaches and prioritizes this best practice award category:

1. The organization has instituted and delivered an innovative program/service model, solution, or strategy to address an identified need or challenge with in order to better support the population(s) it serves.
2. The innovative program/service has successfully addressed a compelling need or challenge in ways that would not have been addressed by using more conventional approaches.
3. The organization’s innovative program/service has taken into consideration diverse community perspectives and needs.
4. The organization has collected and analyzed (or has formal, developed plans to collect and analyze in the near future) demographic information on clients/constituents and has used the information to inform program/service planning, creation and implementation.
5. The organization has included a plan for continued sustainability of the new model, solution or strategy.
6. The program/service exhibits a high level of ethical integrity.
7. The program/service has achieved meaningful and measurable outcomes.