Here are answers to frequently asked questions about the Meaningful Impact Awards:

You can apply now and potentially win soon. Unlike other award programs with annual deadlines, Meaningful Impact award entries are usually reviewed every two weeks. You won’t have to wait up to one year for an award decision — as is the case with annual competitions which pit entrants against each other. Instead, Meaningful Impact evaluates nominated projects based on the amount of good that they do relative to the size of the entrant’s company or department.

An award-winning Meaningful Impact project can be any one of the following activities:

  • a product or service marketing campaign which also supports a cause
  • an education, advocacy, or outreach initiative which enhances your brand and reputation while also supporting a cause
  • an employee volunteer or philanthropy initiative
  • an innovative product or service which has both a for-profit and social-good purpose
  • a corporate initiative which gives back to the community
  • an internal initiative to improve sustainability or equity practices

Meaningful Impact offers awards to four categories of nominees:

  1. Individual
  2. Project Team
  3. Company
  4. Multi-Organization Partnership

The primary award levels are Purpose-Driven Leadership and Outstanding Achievement in Corporate Citizenship. In rare instances, Meaningful Impact may also confer the special designation of: ‘Trailblazer’ (for paradigm-shifting innovation), ‘Cause Champion’ (for motivating industry-wide adoption of CSR best practices which advance a cause), or ‘Laureate’ (for lifetime achievement).

Nominees selected as award winners will receive one boardroom-quality trophy at no additional cost.

Yes, award winners can order additional copies of their custom-engraved trophy from the Winner’s Store. The store also provides options to order trophies for additional members of winning project teams.

Review of the ‘Tips for PR Pros’ in the Award Entry Kit and Success Guide. The most important tip is to include specific outcomes which demonstrate a triple win:

  1. a win for the cause
  2. a win for the company
  3. a win for the individual(s) who led the project

Award-winning projects do more than increase awareness of their cause. So, rather than highlight awareness-building, Meaningful Impact encourages award entrants to focus on measures of engagement and the ways in which their project:

  • improved the lives of the cause beneficiaries
  • increased value for the company’s stakeholders
  • benefited the project team personally and professionally

There is no minimum word count. You are encouraged to provide compelling supporting evidence concisely.

For most responses, the maximum length is technically limited to 500 words. But. such long answers are usually unnecessary since there are no points awarded for flowery prose. In fact, we recommend writing in ‘talking point’ format, by summarizing each highlight as a separate bullet point.

Yes, if you want them to be. As part of your award entry, you will be given three options to choose from regarding confidentiality and publicity:

  • Option 1: “This entire Award Entry is confidential and should not be disclosed publicly even if the nominee wins a Meaningful Impact Award.”
  • Option 2: “All monetary data in this Award Entry should remain confidential, but I grant permission to Meaningful Impact to announce the award publicly if the nominee wins.”
  • Option 3: “All details in this Award Entry may be published if the nominee is selected for a Meaningful Impact Award.”

Unlike many other award programs, Meaningful Impact nominees are not disclosed publicly unless they win and grant permission.

An objective scoring system is consistently applied by a professional reviewer with expertise in corporate responsibility. The scoring system reflects Meaningful Impact’s philosophy of mutually-beneficial corporate citizenship, which is outcomes-oriented and places highest value on projects which achieve a triple win:

  1. a win for the cause
  2. a win for the company
  3. a win for the individual(s) who led the project

No, informal collaborations are also welcome, including all cause-related joint efforts between:

  • a for-profit company and a non-profit organization
  • a trade association and its participating members
  • two or more for-profit companies; e.g., a vendor and its customer, or industry ‘competitors’ working together for a shared cause

Yes. Award entries are welcome for projects implemented anywhere in the world.

However:

  • All award entries must be written in English.
  • An English translation is required for project materials originally produced in a language other than English.
  • A surcharge is applicable if winners ask for their trophies to be shipped outside of the United States.