Late Entry Was Deadline: August 13

• Advocacy Campaign and Lobbying Efforts - This category recognizes a campaign or ongoing initiatives utilizing a wide range of strategies (e.g. media, special events, web content,) where outcomes demonstrated change (e.g. legislation passed, funds raised, key support and/or endorsements from other groups, legislators, etc.)
• Annual Publication or Brochure - Submissions will be judged on design and content, and success at connecting with target audience and producing desired results.
• Blog/s - Recognizing an outstanding, influential business-related weblog or online journal written by a representative of the organization with the goal of espousing the cause or a certain message and written with flair and personality.
• Branding/Re-Branding Campaign - Entries should be clear in stated goal of branding/re-branding and show measurable results proving that these efforts resulted in more donations or increased corporate involvement or more community/employee involvement, etc.
  
• Corporate/Nonprofit Partnership/s - Recognizing outstanding alliance/s with a corporate entity in the past 12 months, with an eye towards exceeding the stated mission of the partnership. Note: It is recommended that you enter partnerships separately, not as a single entry. 
• Crisis Management - Communications surrounding any crisis, from an industry crisis to internal executive malfeasance, are eligible in this category.
• Digital PR and Marketing - The winner of this category will have shown outstanding use of digital media (Web, email, etc) to communicate a message/s. This can include a marketing campaign on your Web site or a partner’s; outstanding email communications and other capitalization of digital media for PR/marketing.
• Employee Communications - Recognizing outstanding internal PR efforts at nonprofits/associations, including employee communications campaigns and ongoing initiatives to motivate, inspire and retain employees.
• Event PR - Entries should include PR conducted at an industry, association or other event/conference, or a series of events conceived and implemented by your organization (for instance, awareness of an issue). Note: this can include the entering nonprofit’s annual conference, for example, or a public relations efforts at an industry event. 
• External Publication or Report (online or print) - This category recognizes an external publication produced by or for a nonprofit. Publication can be a one-time effort or an ongoing publication. Hard copy and electronic publications are eligible; please include 5 hard copies of the publication with your entry. Also include pertinent information from our standard campaign entry.
• Fundraising Campaign - Recognizing outstanding communications surrounding a single or ongoing drive to raise funds or increase membership. Must demonstrate the role of PR in the outcomes.
• Green PR/Marketing - Entries will be judged on originality of green PR/marketing initiative, how closely aligned it is with an organization's overall goals, and measurable, desired results.
  
• Internal Publication (online or print) - This category recognizes an internal publication produced by or for a nonprofit. Publication can be a one-time effort or an ongoing publication. Hard copy and electronic publications are eligible; please include 5 hard copies of the publication with your entry. Also include pertinent information from our standard campaign entry.
• Marketing - Recognizing proven success with PR and marketing techniques for a nonprofit organization – judges will look closely at how well you integrated PR and marketing into your communications plan in general or for a specific campaign.
• Media Relations Campaign - Recognizing outstanding strategies and outcomes with either a singular media relations campaign surrounding an issue or a proven media relations strategy whose outcome improved the nonprofit’s standing among its stakeholders.
• Member Communications - This category salutes outstanding public relations efforts to an association’s membership year-round or for a particular campaign.
• New Member Campaign - Recognizes creativity of a new member campaign and quantifiable results of campaign.
  
• Member Retention Campaign - Recognizes timing of campaign, originality in reaching out to membership, quantifiable results and positive feedback resulting from campaign.
  
• Natural Disaster Communications - Entries will be judged on breadth of cross-platform communications, timing of communications, success at reaching the desired audience, overall usefulness of communications and feedback from target audience.
  
• Nonprofit Partner of the Year - Recognizes corporation that has forged a deep and creative partnership with a nonprofit in an alignment that enhances the reputation of both parties.
  
• PR on a Shoestring Budget - Recognizing outstanding examples of a nonprofit achieving success with limited funds/budget, whether it’s for a single campaign or ongoing PR/public affairs. While “shoestring” is subjective, the winners in this category are those who have done more with less, and have been creative with the limited PR dollars they have.
• Press Release - Recognizing one or multiple press releases for how well it’s written and the desired results: ie, hits to Web site; responses to a call for action; inbound inquiries stemming from the release, etc.
• Promotional Items/Merchandise - Recognizes successful results of using merchandise to promote the aims of a nonprofit organization or initiative.
  
• Public Affairs/Issues Management - Recognizes successful promotion of a cause or social issue via public sector organizations and political channels.
  
• Public Service Campaign - This category recognizes effective television, print, online and radio PSAs for a nonprofit, or produced by a nonprofit. PSA must have run in the past 12 months.
• Social Media Campaign - This category recognizes campaigns that connect people and allow them to be integrated into a product or company. Social media campaigns can include: Internet forums, message boards, weblogs, wikis, podcasts, pictures and video. Technologies such as blogs, picture-sharing, vlogs, email, instant messaging, music-sharing, group creation and voice over IP.
• Social Responsibility Campaign/Initiatives - This category recognizes a particular campaign in which the associations initiatives/brand is aligned with a cause.
• Use of Twitter -  Unique use of Twitter to communicate aims of a nonprofit organization or campaign; winning entry will also be judged on focused, stated aim of Twitter use and measurable results.
  
• Video and/or Podcast Program - Entries in this category should focus on the PR efforts surrounding a podcast and/or videocast, whether in the consumer or business-to-business arena.
• Volunteer Program - Either a new or ongoing volunteer program from an organization (corporate or nonprofit); entries should be clear in stated aim of program and in number of volunteers involved, as well as results of volunteer efforts.
  
• Web Site - Recognizing outstanding Web sites among nonprofits, from a design, communications and navigation standpoint. Entrants must demonstrate the Web site’s effectiveness in building membership, raising issue awareness and the ways that PR has played a role in the site’s success.

People Categories

• Nonprofit Communicator of the Year - we will bestow several awards in this category based on job title and experience. 
• Association/Nonprofit Team of the Year