Frequently Asked Questions

The primary value of participation in the Awards for Excellence program is—for the winners—national recognition. The AAMC highlights the award-winning entries on its website, notifies each institution’s leaders, and recognizes the winners during the AAMC Conference for Institutional Advancement each spring.

The act of preparing an award submission is a valuable exercise too.  Consider a team approach to crafting your submission narrative, starting with a conversation and review of: the overall strategy and goals, the approach you took, the tools you selected, and the evaluation of the outcomes.

A significant benefit of participation in the Awards for Excellence program is constructive feedback.  Every submission to the awards program is evaluated by a set of experienced advancement professionals, whose comments are shared with the submitter.  Program participants have said that they value this honest feedback and use it to improve future programs and projects.

Additionally, award recipients, recognized for their expertise or innovation, are often tapped to share their successful programs and projects at conferences, and may serve as future award program judgThe act of preparing an award submission is a valuable exercise too.  Consider a team approach to crafting your submission narrative, starting with a conversation and review of: the overall strategy and goals, the approach you took, the tools you selected, and the evaluation of the outcomes.

A significant benefit of participation in the Awards for Excellence program is constructive feedback.  Every submission to the awards program is evaluated by a set of experienced advancement professionals, whose comments are shared with the submitter.  Program participants have said that they value this honest feedback and use it to improve future programs and projects.

Additionally, award recipients, recognized for their expertise or innovation, are often tapped to share their successful programs and projects at conferences, and may serve as future award program judges.

Call for Entries Opens: September 16, 2019, 10 a.m. EST
Entry Deadline: October 21, 2019, 5 p.m. EST

Yes, all submissions entered into the 2020 Awards for Excellence Competition must have been placed between April 1, 2018 and June 30, 2019.

The entry fee is $50 per submission in the competition. Entry fees must be paid online via MasterCard, Visa, American Express or Discover. The AAMC does not accept entry fee payment by check. Entry fees are nonrefundable.

Yes, all narratives should be no more than three (3) pages in length, double-spaced, Times New Roman 12-point font. Judges have a brief amount of time to review each entry, so please be concise.

All entries must first be submitted online. You may also locate the online portal, and other valuable information about the competition, via the GIA Awards for Excellence website. Submissions, unless otherwise noted in the Guidelines and Instructions, must then be mailed to AAMC headquarters.

No, in order for your entry to be evaluated by the judges it must be mailed to AAMC headquarters. Electronic Communications and Electronic Publications may be submitted online or files may be mailed to the AAMC on a flash drive. Submissions in all categories* must be placed in a 3-ring binder and mailed to the AAMC headquarters address:

AAMC
655 K Street, NW
Suite 100
Washington, DC 20001-2399
Attn: Madalyn Hemminghaus, GIA Awards Program
202-862-6075

*The Robert G. Fenley Writing Award submissions, for which both the entries and the narratives can be uploaded into the online system; it is not necessary to mail any documents related to Robert G. Fenley Writing Award category submissions to the AAMC.

*Electronic Communications and Electronic Publications for which both the entries and the narratives can be uploaded into the online system or files may be mailed to the AAMC on a flash drive; it is not necessary to mail any documents related to Electronic Communications and Electronic Publications for category submissions to the AAMC.

All binders must be time-stamped by October 21, 2019, to be eligible for the competition.

No, to keep things fair to all contestants, we are unable to extend the deadline. The online submission system closes at 5 p.m. EST on October 21, 2019; entries cannot be entered after the deadline.

You will be notified in writing in January 2020 of the judges’ decision about the status of your submission. Regardless of the decision, all participants will receive constructive comments from the judging panel.

Congratulations! All Awards for Excellence winners will receive a prize* and an award certificate, plaque, or trophy. An Honorable Mention in any category receives a certificate. Prizes for specific tiers are:

• Gold winners will receive a free AAMC Conference for Institutional Advancement registration for the conference that year (winners will be notified in January—ahead of the early bird deadline).
• Best in Show will receive a free AAMC Conference for Institutional Advancement registration for the following year.
• Institutions will decide for themselves who can use the free registration, which will be facilitated by the official points of contact of the award-winning submissions.
   

Winning entries will be showcased throughout the 2020 AAMC Conference for Institutional Advancement. So make sure you save the date, April 1 – 4, 2020, to join us in New Orleans. AAMC Leadership will also send a letter to your Dean or CEO recognizing your accomplishment. Additionally, you could consider using your Award for Excellence to recognize and motivate a team, to demonstrate value to others within your organization, and to benchmark your work against that of other institutions.