It’s that time of year again - nominations are open for the Pillar Community Innovation Awards! If you’d like to nominate an individual or organization in London, Middlesex, Oxford or Elgin Counties who are making a difference in their community, please send in your nomination by June 8, 2020.
If you’re not familiar with the Awards, this annual event hosted by Pillar is our region’s largest storytelling event sharing stories of positive community impact and inspiring attendees to action in the process. We tell stories because they have immense power to shine a light on inequities, and to share the positive steps being taken towards change for the better.
Who is eligible to be nominated? You can read the full details here, but generally, anyone in the regions listed above whose work is focused on bettering their community. Nominees across nonprofit, charity, business, social enterprise, education or government sectors are eligible. There are four categories of recognition: Innovation, Impact, Collaboration and Leadership.
You may be wondering: Why should we take the time to celebrate the good that’s being done at a time like this? Why should I submit a nomination for the awards?
In these times, we need these stories now more than ever to set the tone for how we can all help to transform society and address systemic issues that sorely need our attention. Here are the top 4 reasons you should submit a nomination for the Pillar Communication Innovation Awards.
- Express your gratitude – Have you or a loved one benefitted from the work of a community serving individual or organization, or have you admired their work from afar? When you submit a nomination, you have to run it past the person you’re nominating, so they’ll see first-hand how much you appreciate their efforts!
- Help the nominee gain exposure – Each year our selections committee picks 12 finalists who are revealed at our Finalist Launch in August. Each of these folks gets to create a video sharing their story which is screened at our Awards ceremony in November. Finalists are also be mentioned on our website and social media. PCIA gets a lot of airtime in the press and many finalists end up being profiled in local media. The recipients are revealed on the big night in November, and get their name engraved on a commemorative plaque outside of the London Central Library. With all of this exposure, you never know what opportunities or connections will result for the finalists and recipients!
- Help further the mission of local charities – All award recipients are granted a $2,000 donation to contribute to a registered charity of their choice. This is just one small way that we are able to help further the mission of local charities.
- Inspire our region – How many times have you heard a story of someone helping others that has made you want to give back? How many times have you heard a challenging story in the news that made you say – that’s it, I have to do something. That’s the idea behind the Pillar Community Innovation Awards. There is no limit to what we can achieve in our communities if we just have the courage to step out and start somewhere. Maybe sharing the nominee's story will be the push someone needs to take that first step!
Find all the information you need on the Pillar Community Innovation Awards website under Nomination Guidelines. If you have any questions please reach out to Kaleigh at events@pillarnonprofit.ca.
NOTE: In case you’re wondering about how we’ll proceed with our Launch Event and Awards evening, we’re planning for hybrid events, some people in person, and most guests tuning in online. Stay tuned for details as we monitor government and public health guidelines for best practices, but rest assured the events will still be happening!