Nonprofit News Awards Entry Instructions

On this page, you’ll find everything you need to know about entering the 2024 Nonprofit News Awards — from entry fees to judging criteria.

The 2024 Nonprofit News Awards were open for entries from Monday, May 13, through 11:59 p.m. ET on Wednesday, June 5. The 2024 awards recognize work published, broadcast or produced between June 1, 2023 and May 31, 2024.

Divisions, categories and entry fees

Some categories are separated into divisions — micro, small, medium, large. When entering those categories, choose the division that corresponds with your organization’s most recent fiscal year expenses.

Micro – most recent fiscal year expenses of $250,000 or less
Small – most recent fiscal year expenses of between $250,001 and $999,999
Medium – most recent fiscal year expenses of between $1 million and $3 million
Large – most recent fiscal year expenses of more than $3 million

Members should enter only the category for their division. If you have questions about your division, please contact membership@inn.org.

New in 2024! The same project may be submitted in up to three categories. There is no overall limit on how many categories a member may enter, but the same work may only be entered in up to three categories.

Entry fees are per entry, based on division unless otherwise noted. Entry fees will not be refunded.

Micro – $10
Small – $15
Medium – $20
Large – $25

Journalism categories

Each INN member organization may submit up to three entries per Journalism Category. One winner will be selected per division in each of the following categories. Please note the judging criteria listed and their relative importance (e.g. 7 out of 20 points) to the judges’ evaluation when crafting your entry.

Important: Entries should be accompanied by a letter or note describing the work, how it was produced and its significance or impact. (500 word count limit)

Best Investigative Journalism Award ($500 prize to each division winner)

Honors a single story or series that uncovered significant and impactful news based on the reporters’ own investigation and which advances and serves the public interest. Judges will consider:

Criteria	Maximum Points
Impact of the work through subsequent coverage or resulting policy changes	7
Quality of writing	6
Originality of approach	4
Difficulty of reporting	3
TOTAL	20

Insight Award for Explanatory Journalism ($500 prize to each division winner)

Honors a single story or a series of explanatory reporting that provides insight and understanding of a significant and complex subject. Entries may include stories/images/multimedia that are part of a single series, or up to three stories and accompanying images/multimedia from coverage of a single beat. Judges will consider:

Criteria	Maximum Points
Clarity of explanation	7
Potential for greater understanding of the subject to advance the public good	6
Innovative approach	5
Quality of writing	2
TOTAL	20

Breaking Barriers Award ($500 prize to each division winner)

Honors reporting that brought new understanding to an issue or topic affecting people or communities that are historically underrepresented, disadvantaged or marginalized, resulting in impactful change. Entries may include single stories, stories/images/multimedia that are part of a series, or up to three stories and accompanying images/multimedia from coverage of a single beat. Judges will consider:

Criteria	Maximum Points
Impact of the work	7
Does the impacted community qualify as historically underrepresented, disadvantaged or marginalized?	6
Originality of approach	5
Quality of writing	2
TOTAL	20

Community Champion Award ($500 prize to each division winner)

Honors an INN member organization that made a significant contribution to the well-being of its community through a journalism-centered project or service. Judges will consider:

Criteria	Maximum Points
Impact of the work	7
Size and scope of the community need being addressed	6
Originality of approach	5
Replicability of project or service to other INN member organizations	2
TOTAL	20

INNovator Award (previously the Game-Changer Award) ($500 prize to each division winner)

For an organization that produced an innovative idea or practice that had a positive financial impact on the newsroom and will help the newsroom serve its community or audience into the future. Entries should include an explanation of the magnitude of impact. Judges will consider:

Criteria	Maximum Points
Innovative approach	7
Impact of work on newsroom sustainability	6
Whether the practice will be continued into the future	5
Magnitude of impact (audience growth, financial, or otherwise)	2
TOTAL	20

Insight Award for Visual Journalism ($500 prize to each division winner)

Honors a single story or a series of stories that uses photography and/or other visual media to more accurately portray a community that has traditionally been underrepresented or misrepresented in news media. Judges will consider:

Criteria	Maximum Points
Quality of the visuals	7
Impact the visuals had on raising the profile and improving understanding of the portrayed community	7
Advancement of the overall storytelling via the visuals	6
TOTAL	20

Overall categories

Each INN member organization may submit one entry to each of the Overall Categories. One winner will be named per category below. The entry fee for these categories is $15 unless otherwise noted.

Startup of the Year ($2,000 prize)

Honors a young organization (operating for less than three years) for establishing strong support of their journalism throughout the community and the revenue growth to sustain it. A successful entry includes a letter describing specific successes in regards to revenue, audience and any additional accomplishments that it wishes to highlight in service of its mission. Judges will consider:

Criteria	Maximum Points
Evidence of strong community support	10
Whether revenue growth since launch and future plans for growth seem sustainable	6
Evidence of audience engagement	4
TOTAL	20

Journalism Collaboration of the Year ($2,000 prize)

Honors a news-oriented project or ongoing partnership that exemplifies the culture of sharing and cooperation in nonprofit news and expands the impact of its journalism. Nominations may include a member’s partnership with other newsrooms (regardless of INN membership) or other organizations, or its work to share data, specialized reporting or other shared reporting resources with other members.

Please note that, to avoid duplicate entries, collaborating organizations should coordinate regarding which organization will submit the entry.

Judges will consider:

Criteria	Maximum Points
How clearly the collaborative structure of the reporting significantly contributed to achievements in the quality of the reporting, impact and/or reach	10
The significance of the reporting for the public interest	6
The clarity of the information presented	2
Quality of writing	2
TOTAL	20

Nonprofit Newcomer of the Year ($1,000 prize)

Honors an individual who is new to the field of nonprofit news (less than two years) and is contributing to the success of their organization through innovation. Nominees can serve in any role (fundraising, operations, communications, journalism, etc.) at an organization of any age. Nominations should be submitted with comments or an attached document in support of the nomination from the member’s executive director, publisher or similar executive leader. If possible, also include a headshot of the nominee.

Please note: This award is not intended for individuals serving in executive leadership roles. Nominations for executives should be made in the “Emerging Leader of the Year” category.

Judges will consider:

Criteria	Maximum Points
Impact the individual has had on their organization	7
Impact the individual has had on the field of nonprofit news	7
Individual’s potential to advance their leadership in the field in the future (if relevant)	6
TOTAL	20

Emerging Leader of the Year ($1,500 prize)

Honors an individual with less than five years in executive leadership who is an emerging luminary in the field. Nominations should be submitted with comments or an attached document in support of the nomination from the member’s executive director, publisher or similar executive leader. If possible, also include a headshot of the nominee.

Please note: Nominees are not required to have participated in INN’s Emerging Leaders Council.

Judges will consider:

Criteria	Maximum Points
Sustainability of organizational model	6
Demonstration of strong commitment to equity and inclusion	6
Demonstration of positive and innovative leadership	4
Demonstration of deep commitment to serving their community	4
TOTAL	20

INN Service to Nonprofit News Award ($1,500 prize)

Please note: The deadline to submit a nomination for this category closed on March 25, 2024.

Honors an individual who has made significant, innovative and lasting contributions to the field of independent, nonprofit news, reflecting the spirit of INN’s creation. Nominations should include an attached document describing the nominee and their contributions to the field. INN members may nominate any person of their choosing; affiliation with the nominating member organization is not required. The Service to Nonprofit News Award is presented at the discretion of the Institute for Nonprofit News. No entry fee.

Rules

Eligibility

The contest is open to all INN members in good standing. Work created by INN members is eligible. Newsrooms must be members of INN in good standing on the date of submitting their entries.

Please note regarding freelance entries: Work created by freelancers for an INN member is eligible for submission and may be submitted by the freelancer only if the INN member does not plan to submit it themselves and gives permission (please coordinate). If an entry is submitted by a freelancer, the freelancer is responsible for the entry fee, but any award money will be paid to the publishing INN member.

Important dates:

Works published or broadcast from the dates of June 1, 2023 to May 31, 2024 may be submitted. A series published between those dates that starts before or ends after the contest period is eligible.
All entries must be submitted through the online awards platform by 11:59 p.m. ET / 8:59 p.m. PT on June 5, 2024.

Divisions and entry fees

The Journalism categories will be separated into four divisions:
- Micro – most recent fiscal year expenses of $250,000 or less
- Small – most recent fiscal expenses of between $250,001 and $999,999
- Medium – most recent fiscal expenses of between $1 million and $3 million
- Large – most recent fiscal expenses of more than $3 million
Unless otherwise mentioned for a category, Micro-division members will pay $10 per entry; Small-division members will pay $15 per entry; Medium-division members will pay $20 per entry; and Large-division members will pay $25 per entry. Entry fees will not be refunded.
If a news organization collaborates with a larger news organization, the entry belongs in the division of the larger group.

Judging

Entries will be judged by a panel of representatives of INN members, INN staff, and current or former journalists selected by INN staff.
Judges of a category reserve the right to move an entry from one category to another if they agree the entry is better suited for the new category.

Entry Instructions

Submissions to the INNYs will be entered through nonprofitnewsawards.awardsplatform.com.

Below are directions for preparing and submitting entries. If you have questions, please contact membership@inn.org.

Logging In

1. Go to nonprofitnewsawards .awardsplatform.com.

2. Please log in using an existing Award Force account or create a new account in the “Log in or register” section.

3. If you are creating a new account, you will receive an account confirmation email (if you don’t receive this email, please check your spam folder, and if it’s not there, please contact membership@inn.org). Please confirm your account via the confirmation email link, then answer the additional questions to complete your profile.

Submitting Entries

Entry Guidance:

Important: Entries in the Journalism Categories should be accompanied by a letter or note describing the work, how it was produced and its significance or impact. (500 word count limit)
Scripts for audio or video entries published in English are optional, but recommended. If not originally published or broadcast in English, entries must include an English transcript or English subtitles.
All entries in all categories must be submitted through the online awards site.
An organization may submit no more than three entries per journalism category.
New in 2024: The same project may be submitted in up to three categories. There is no overall limit on how many categories a member may enter, but the same work may only be entered in up to three categories.
Online links for submissions should be kept accessible until at least Oct. 31, 2024.
Up to four (4) individuals may be named on a team entry, otherwise the entry must be made in the name of the staff of the member organization.
INN reserves the right to use any part or the whole of any entry for publicity or educational purposes.
Entries may be edited until the entry deadline passes, even if they have been submitted and paid for.

How to enter:

1. Click the orange “Start Entry” button

2. From the Category drop down:

Select a Division based on your most recent fiscal year expenses (if you are entering a Journalism category). If you are entering an Overall Category, please select Overall Categories (Overall Categories are not broken down into Divisions).
Select a Category

3. Create a name for your entry, then click the orange “Save + next” button

4. Add entry content via the Attachments tab (requested content will vary by category)

IMPORTANT: Please be sure that items are not behind a paywall or a password-protected area. If they are, you must provide username/password info in the Comments section of your attachment.

TIPS: To add web/audio/video content, select the blue “Add link or video” button. To host your content online, either upload it to a free streaming content website (e.g.YouTube) or talk to your IT person about adding it to your website. Make sure the content will be accessible online throughout the duration of the contest and awards process.

Here are some examples of free streaming content websites where you can upload audio and video content:

Audio: www.kiwi6.com, www.soundcloud.com
Video: www.youtube.com, www.vimeo.com

Judges may disqualify your entry if work samples are inaccessible.

5. Click the orange “Save + next” button

6. Enter the information of any contributors to your entry in the Contributors tab (if this is a nomination, the name of the nominee will go here). Please help us honor all that contributed to this work by including a phonetic pronunciation of their name, as well as their email address, so they can be informed of any awards they may receive.

7. When your entry feels complete, click the blue “Submit entry” button.

Please note that entries may be edited until the entry deadline passes, even if they have been submitted and paid for.

Paying Entry Fees

1. After an entry is submitted, it will appear in your cart.

2. After all desired entries have been submitted, please click the Cart button at the top of the page.

3. Double check that all desired entries appear in your cart. If any desired entries do not appear in the cart, please navigate back to your My Entries page, open each missing entry, and click the blue “Submit entry” button at the bottom of the entry.

4. From the cart, complete your payment information to pay for your entries via credit card. Entries that are not paid for by the entry deadline may not be included in the judging process.