2016 Keep America BeautifulNational Community Improvement Awards Application

Deadline: Oct. 1, 2016

Keep America Beautiful is the iconic nationalnonprofit organization that inspires and educates people to take action every day to improve and beautify their community environment. We envision a country where every community isa clean, green, and beautiful place to live.

Keep America Beautifulinvites you to compete for our National Community Improvement Awards. We encourage you to compete for national recognition by honoring your business, nonprofit organization, or government agency for a relevant program/project that has taken place within the last 12 months. Affiliates are encouraged to nominate partners.

Awards will be offered in up to four categories. Applicant canonly enter a program/project in one category. When entering, answer the specific questions related to that category in the Background Section:

  • End Littering. (Includes cleanup, education, prevention, and community engagement related to litter and illegal dumping.)
  • Beautify Communities. (Includes planting and/or maintenance of landscape areas, graffiti removal and education, and blight, in addition to education and community engagement related to beautification and community improvement.)
  • Improve Recycling. (Includes events, collections, education and/or community engagement related to recycling and/or waste reduction.)
  • Overall Community Improvement. (Includes a combination of two or more of thecategorieslisted above.)

Executive Summary Guidelines:

  • Microsoft Word document.
  • Summaries must be typed and answers should highlight the number andheader included below, e.g.,1. Background, before answering questions in that section.
  • Identify which eligible group you consider yourself:
  • Business/Professional Organizations: Including small and large businesses, corporations, and professional organizations.
  • Nonprofit, Civic, Community and Service Organizations: Including litter prevention committees, garden clubs, women’s clubs, civic clubs, beautification groups, or Phi Theta Kappa Service Chapters.
  • Government Agencies: Including city, county, state, and federal government agencies, or subdivisions within these agencies.
  • Include your business, nonprofit organization or government name and state in the header of each page.
  • Do not exceed four pages and be sure to number the pages.
  • Use no less than one-inch top, bottom, and side margins.
  • Use minimum 11-point font.
  • Double-space your summary.
  • Do not use clip art or colored ink in this portion of your entry.

Executive Summary Questions:

  1. Background (15 points)
  • Describe the applicant include demographics about your business, e.g., number of employees, nonprofit, e.g., service area and budget) or government agency, e.g., population served.
  • Briefly describe the program or project? What was the motivation for your project/program?
  • Project is defined as a one-time event or activity carried out in the short-term, e.g., restoring a playground or park, litter-free event, electronic recycling drop-off.
  • Programis defined as an ongoing series of events or activities carried out in the long-term, e.g., year-round school recycling, enforcement program, liberty garden.

Answer the questions below specific to the category in which you are applying. You may only apply in one category. (10 points)

End Littering Questions:

  • Describe the current litter and/or illegal dumping situation in your community.
  • How is litter measured in your community?

Beautify CommunitiesQuestions:

  • Describe the current beautification and greening situation/efforts in your community.
  • Are there any measurements for beautification/community greening? For example, the amount of tree canopy in your community or the required landscaping in an area.

Improve Recycling Questions:

  • Describe the current recycling and waste reduction situation/efforts in your community.
  • Is there a waste diversion and/or recycling rate goal? If so, what is it? Is there a mandated requirement for recycling? What are requirements for businesses, nonprofits, or institutions?

Overall Community Improvement Questions:

  • Describe the community improvement efforts including litter prevention, beautification, and/or recycling initiatives.
  • Does your community have measurements tools for Community Improvement (e.g. Community Appearance Index)?
  1. Execution (20 points). Describe your project/program using thequestions below as a guide.
  2. How did you getthe facts about the project/program?
  3. Who was involved in planning and organizing?
  4. What was included in the implementation plan? What activities were involved?
  5. What tools and technologydid you use? (e.g.,did you use specific types of bins, containers, equipment, or structural changes in an area to change behavior?)
  6. What were the education methods or materials used? Did you use any specific prompts, messages, commitments, or pledges?
  1. Results: Describe your Outputs(20 points)

Outputs are often described in numbers; outputs are measurable and easily determined.

For example, if you conducted a litter prevention event how many people were involved and how many bags of litter were collected? Or, if you planted a community garden an output would be the number of fruit and vegetable plants, trees, flowers, etc.,that were planted.

  • Who did your project/program reach? How? Describe the volunteers, number of volunteer hours, etc.
  • What was your budget and how was it funded? Include any in-kind donations, goods, or services you received.
  • What recognition did your project/program receive or give to volunteers?
  1. Impact: Describe your Outcomes (20 points)

An outcome is the beneficial effect your program/project produces on the people or issues your project/program serves. An outcome is a change that occurred because of your project/program. Outcomes are the difference made by outputs. Keep in mind that outcomes might be in the future. For example, if you planted a school native garden an outcome would be that the students now have understanding of plants that are grown in their area.

  • What community benefits did your project/program achieve?
  • What were the consequences associated with the program/project? Were incentives provided or enforcement implemented?
  • Describe the impacts ofthe project/program:Environmental Impact; Economic Impact and/or Social Impact.
  1. Sustainability (10 points).
  2. Is the project/program a continuing effort? Or a one-time project?
  3. Does it demonstrate the need for ongoing action? If so, did you create a sustainability plan?

6.Summation (5 points). Provide 2-3 sentences summarizingyour project/program and explaining how your efforts have made your community a cleaner, greener, more beautiful place to live.

Supplemental Materials: Up to three pieces of supplemental material to substantiate the responses in the written executive summary.

Material may include:

  • Photos (that illustrate engagement or impact) PLEASE NOTE: photo collageswill not beaccepted.
  • Press clips.

Awards Submittal: Email Executive Summary and Supplemental Materials (no more than 3 pieces) to by close of business onOct. 1. Compress photos and supplemental materials so the total size of the email is under 20MB. Include in the Subject Line the Award Category for which you’re applying.

Judging: Winners will be selected by a volunteer panel of current and past affiliate and Keep America Beautiful leaders, and when applicable Keep America Beautiful National Staff.Based upon entries and judges’ discretion, judges may select more than onewinner in each category and there may be categories in which winners are not selected. Judges may request additional materials. All winners will be notified by Dec. 1, 2016. Awards are presented at Keep America Beautiful’s Annual National Conference January 24-26, 2017 in Washington, D.C.

Keep America Beautiful reserves the right to use, reproduce, edit, or publish the submitted information. By submission of this form, you agree that Keep America Beautiful has the right to use any portion of your entry, name, and likeness.