Untitled design (11)

 

Schwartz Prize Nomination Packet  

Beginning in 2024, the Schwartz Prize Nomination Process will be managed through the Federation’s new online portal. (See more details below in the submission process section.)  

In 2024, up to three awards will be given in two categories, 1) council-conducted 2) grant-supported. 

The nomination deadline is Friday, August 2, 2024.

Nominating Recommendations

Characteristics of programs, grants, or initiatives that result in a prize-winning nomination include the following:  

  • Unique collaborations that broaden the footprint of your council’s impact  
  • Capacity-building efforts  
  • New uses of technology  
  • Demonstrated sustainability  
  • Creative and successful integration of public and academic programs/audiences  
  • Demonstrated commitment to diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible programming 

 

Nomination Questions

Please answer ALL the questions below in your Nomination Statement to give an in-depth understanding of your project.  

  1. What are the council’s aims in funding or undertaking the project? 
  2. Which category the council is submitting to: council-conducted or grant-funded? 
  3. What is the project’s public impact  
  4. What is the project’s financial structure? 
    1. For Council-conducted projects: project budget, funding sources, plans for sustainability  
    2. For Grant-funded projects: elements of the project funded by the Council
  5.  If you had to describe your project’s impact on all involved in three words, what would they be?  
  6. What did your council staff learn from taking on this project, and how will that inform future projects?   
  7. Fast forward three years into the future: where do you see this project? Has it evolved? If it was intended to have a shorter lifespan, what was its impact?  
  8. What partners or collaborators would you like to acknowledge, and what was their impact on this program?  
  9. How does this project fulfill a need within your community?  
  10. Please also provide a pre-approved quote from your Council’s ED or Program Director that summarizes the significance of the program in their own words (for promotional purposes)  

 

Submission Process

We are only accepting submissions through the online portal. Council profile administrators should upload the nomination packet(s) as a single pdf through the private Council File Cabinet, selecting the “2024 Schwartz Prize Nomination form within the “Uploads/Downloads” tab. If you are nominating more than one program, please combine the two submissions into one PDF. See instructions below for more details. 

Please note: only Executive Directors or assistant council profile admins who they appoint have access to the Schwartz Prize submission link 

  1. Please combine the materials (show below) in a single PDF:   
    1. Answers to application questions  
    2. Clear indication if you are submitting in council-conducted or grant-supported category
    3. Electronic image(s) and/or links to media. All image(s) should be hyperlinked within your nomination packet via Google Drive or a similar sharing tool.    
    4. Link to program information online (either council, partner, or program-specific webpage)  
    5. OPTIONAL: pre-approved testimonials from participants (partners, program attendees, staff)  
    6. OPTIONAL: Up to 10 Media and/or Partner Organization contacts to send announcements to on your behalf, should you win 
  2. A council profile administrator should log into the online portal. 
  3. Once logged go to the Council File Cabinet. 
    1. You also access the Council File Cabinet by clicking your council under Membership Info. Then it will be right under account actions.  
  4. Click “Uploads/Downloads” and scroll down to 2024 Schwartz Prize Nomination.  
  5. Next click “Chose File” and upload your single pdf nomination.  
  6. Lastly click the red “Save” button. 

More Questions? 

Please visit the FAQs pages: 

For any other questions, please contact Kara Hendren. 

Publicity   

The Federation intends to collaborate with the winning councils to make an announcement to local media about these projects. Nominees for the year 2024 will be contacted with more information regarding publicity.   

Should you win the Schwartz Prize, please reach out to Kara Hendren at khendren@statehumanities.org to coordinate the timing of announcements. If we don’t hear from you, we do plan to send a press release to your local outlets. 

Please note: by submitting a program to the Federation and Schwartz Prize, you consent to the use of the nomination packet information, images, and content in Federation promotion and publishing. Please include proper photo citations, attributions, and permissions as required of the assets. Nomination packets will be published and shared on the Federation website and photos and information will be used to promote the Schwartz Prize on social media and in other forms of communication unless the use of these assets is explicitly denied by the council.  

After Submission  

Once all submissions are received, the Federation may contact nominees to obtain optional audio, additional images, or video related to the nominations leading up to and during the 2024 National Humanities Conference. These materials would be used for promotional and archival purposes. Councils should plan to have one representative available onsite at the conference who can participate in a 3-minute video interview. Councils should also prepare to have at least one representative present at the Schwartz Prize presentation to receive the award. 

You will receive:  

  • Timeline  
  • Publicity options - deadline for knowing whether or not we need a contact list  
  • Ceremony expectations