Tips for Preparing an IMPACT Award Nomination

The IMPACT awards highlight the success and contributions of our staff. The awards are designed to recognize team and individual impact on the various communities, beneficiaries and clients we serve. Hundreds of nominations are reviewed before selections are made. As you compose your nomination, keep the following tips in mind:

• Make sure you understand the evaluation criteria. The brief descriptions for each award outline the specific areas of emphasis for evaluation and the different aspects of performance, depending on the award being sought. Be certain your nomination touches on the criteria stated for the award.
• Spell out the details of the person's or team's accomplishments. Remember that the Selection Committee uses your submission as the main element in its overall evaluation. Be specific and complete in describing what the individual or person has accomplished. Do your best to help the committee understand accomplishments. Remember to include any strong or compelling testimonials available from clients, partners, or collaborators.
• Be clear and give specific examples that support each of the awards' criteria that you think your nominee represents. It's best to give examples for each one of the awards' criteria. The more examples you give, will provide the committee with a better understanding of the nominee's achievements.
• Use data to support your case/nomination. Make sure to include quantifiable results where you can. For example,"40% of children reach their 5th birthday as a result of the project's intervention; the project realized an 18% increase in adoption of a select behavior, resulting in lives saved; 25% increase in school attendance; 500 participants trained; 70% increase in brand recognition; 20% increase in revenues of small or micro enterprises due to project support; tangible evidence that the project contributed to the passage of a groundbreaking statute/regulation/policy, etc." We recognize that not all impacts can be readily quantified. Feel free to use qualitative examples, including testimonials from clients, partners and beneficiaries as proxies to demonstrate results.
• Use specific and descriptive wording. Don't just say that "Sara did a good job of planning the proposal," but be detailed! For example, "Sara's work on the proposal was very effective because she was so organized. She met with the team individually, called update meetings and developed a detailed plan so that the team stayed on track and on target." In other words, explain the behavior or actions you observed that led you to the conclusion that this person (or team) should be awarded and IMPACT award.
• Proofread your nomination prior to submitting. Proofread your nomination carefully for readability and clarity.
• Stay within the word limit. The nominations have a word range of 100-300. It's important that you provide enough information so that that Section Committee can get a sense of the nominee and how their work is representative of the award but more words are not necessarily better in helping the committee understand the nominee's accomplishments; be clear and specific.
• Collaborate with others when it makes sense. This process is not influenced by the number of nominations a nominee may receive. Each nomination will be evaluated on its individual merit. Therefore, if you are aware of other colleagues who may be making the same nomination, feel free to work with others to submit a nomination.
• Meet the deadline. The committee may only review applications submitted by the deadline.