The Knight Swan Award is based on outstanding leadership and commitment in the Community Futures program to those who go above and beyond their own CF responsibilities to promote and enhance the CF program as a whole. This award is given to a staff member who freely shares advice, expertise, and resources both within his/her CF organization and with peers in other CFs to enhance the CF program as a whole.
All staff and volunteers are encouraged to make submissions to recognize a staff person from your CF organization or from another CF who has shared their knowledge and expertise in this way.
CRITERIA FOR THE KNIGHT SWAN AWARD FOR STAFF:
- Can be awarded to a person in any CF position – staff member or manager
- Should be involved with Community Futures for at least 3 years
- The nominee must work within his/her CF and with peers in other Community Futures offices, freely providing advice, expertise, and resources
JUDGING AND AWARD NOTIFICATIONS:
- Winners are selected by a committee made up of one manager from the north, one manager from the south, one board member from the CFNA Board, and one representative from WD.
- It will be the responsibility of the CFNA to forward submission forms to the judging panel; however, CFNA will not take part in the judging process.
- The selection process will be impartial and will remain confidential until the deadline, at which time announcements of the submissions will be made. However, winners will be personally notified prior to the event.
- Award recipients will be announced at the Gala Banquet and Awards on October 2, 2015.
DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES:
Please emailapplication forms in Word or PDF formatto no later than May 25, 2015.
Knight-Swan Staff Award
Application Form
- Name, position and Community Futures organization of the person being nominated
- How long has the person been involved with Community Futures?
- Provide at least 1 example of how the nominee works with staff and/or volunteers from his/her own Community Futures office. Describe the kinds of advice, expertise, and resources provided by this nominee.
- Provide at least 1 example of how the nominee works with staff and/or volunteers from other Community Futures offices. Describe the kinds of advice, expertise, and resources provided by this nominee.
- Provide at least 1 example of how the nominee goes above and beyond their own CF responsibilities to promote and enhance the CF program as a whole.
The Volunteer of the Year Award is based on outstanding leadership and commitment in the Community Futures program to those who go above and beyond their own CF responsibilities to promote and enhance the CF program as a whole.
All staff and volunteers are encouraged to make submissions to recognize a Community Futures volunteer who stood out in their organization.
CRITERIA FOR THE VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR AWARD:
- To be awarded to a Community Futures volunteer
- Should be involved with Community Futures for at least 3 years
- The nominee should have shown outstanding and on-going leadership and achievement in the CF world.
JUDGING AND AWARD NOTIFICATIONS:
- Winners are selected by a committee made up of one manager from the north, one manager from the south, one board member from the CFNA Board, and one representative from WD.
- It will be the responsibility of the CFNA to forward submission forms to the judging panel; however, CFNA will not take part in the judging process.
- The selection process will be impartial and will remain confidential until the deadline, at which time announcements of the submissions will be made.However, winners will be personally notified prior to the event.
- Award recipients will be announced at the Gala Banquet and Awards on October 2, 2015.
DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES:
Please emailentries in Word or PDF to no later than May 25, 2015.
Alberta Community Futures: Volunteer ofthe Year Award
Application Form
- Name, position and Community Futures organization of the person being nominated
- How long has the person been involved with Community Futures?
- Please describe at least two of the nominee’s major achievements.
- Provide at least two examples of how the person shows leadership, dedication and commitment to the CF program both within and beyond his/her own CF.
- Provide at least one example of how the nominee has involved and included individuals or groups who would not otherwise be involved in CF programs.
The Unsung Hero Award has been developed in memory of Evelyn Arlidge who worked for nine years with Western Diversification and Human Resources Development Canada. Evelyn worked “behind the scenes”, quietly, with little fan fare. Her on-going dedication to a job well done provided a sound base for the smooth administration of the Community Futures program. Evelyn’s commitment to Community Futures was appreciated by all who knew her. The Evelyn Arlidge Award is intended to recognize the contributions of individuals in administrative or support roles, who achieve an outstanding level of performance and ensure the successful operation of the Community Futures office.
CRITERIA FOR THE UNSUNG HERO AWARD:
- Must be awarded to a Community Futures staff member in an administration or support role
- The nominee should have been involved in Community Futures for a minimum of 3 years
- The nominee must show outstanding dedication and commitment to the CF program
JUDGING AND AWARD NOTIFICATIONS:
- Winners are selected by a committee made up of one manager from the north, one manager from the south, one board member from the CFNA Board, and one representative from WD.
- It will be the responsibility of the CFNA to forward submission forms to the judging panel; however, CFNA will not take part in the judging process.
- The selection process will be impartial and will remain confidential until the deadline, at which time announcements of the submissions will be made. However, winners will be personally notified prior to the event.
- Award recipients will be announced at the Gala Banquet and Awards on October 2, 2015.
DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES:
Please emailentries in Word or PDF to no later than May 25, 2015.
Ev Arlidge Unsung Hero Award
Application Form
- Name, position and Community Futures organization of the person being nominated
- How long has the person been involved with Community Futures?
- Provide at least three examples of how the person shows dedication and commitment to his/her Community Futures office
- Provide at least one example of how the person shows dedication and commitment to the Community Futures program either in the community or beyond
The On Target award is intended to recognize a CF organization whose loan portfolio has resulted in enhanced economic diversification in the region. Community Futures organizations who want to create economic diversification will develop a strategic plan to identify the region’s strengths and opportunities and use their investment fund to assist entrepreneurs and growth-oriented businesses to be innovative and more productive. Community Futures organizations may also provide business counselling and expertise to assist in economic diversification.
CRITERIA FOR THE DIVERSIFICATION LOAN PORTFOLIO AWARD:
- Demonstrate that the CF has developed an operational plan targeted at economic diversification
- Provide evidence that the loan portfolio is consistent with economic diversification targets as identified in Operational Plan.
- Provide examples of types of loans that lead to economic diversification
- Describe the economic impact on the community
- Preference given to projects that lead to
i)Commercialization of new products/services of the business or
ii)Identified and/or captured new markets or
iii)Projects that enhanced the productivity of the clients business
JUDGING AND AWARD NOTIFICATIONS:
- Winners are selected by a committee made up of one manager from the north, one manager from the south, one board member from the CFNA Board, and one representative from WD.
- It will be the responsibility of the CFNA to forward submission forms to the judging panel; however, CFNA will not take part in the judging process.
- The selection process will be impartial and will remain confidential until the deadline, at which time announcements of the submissions will be made. However, winners will be personally notified prior to the event.
- Award recipients will be announced at the Gala Banquet and Awards on October 2, 2015.
DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES:
Please emailentries in Word or PDF no later thanMay 25, 2015.
On Target Loan Portfolio Award
Application Form
- Contact information of the CF
- Provide evidence that your CF has created targets for economic diversification in your Operational Plan. For example, your Operational Plan may say that your goal is to have 20% of your loan portfolio targeted at entrepreneurs or growth-oriented businesses in specific sectors like tourism, agriculture value-added, and manufacturing. Alternatively, your Operational Plan might set a goal of 10% of your loan portfolio invested in high-tech or innovative businesses.
- Show how your loan portfolio has met these targets.
- Please provide at least 3 short descriptions of client businesses that have helped your CF meet its targets around economic diversification. These could be loan clients or clients that your CF has provided businesses advisory services to.
- Describe the economic impact that the diversification loans within your portfolio have had in your community. This could include jobs created, new products or services, increased level of local purchases, development of a local supply chain, increased exports, spin-off businesses, etc.
- Please attach any materials or web site links that provide additional context or details to this submission.
The Excellence and Innovation is awarded to recognize the efforts, innovation, and initiatives of Community Futures organizations for economic development projects that lead to economic diversification. Examples could include:
- working with a targeted cluster of business (like agricultural producers or small manufacturers or artisans) to develop their industry through training, targeting new buyers or suppliers, or building a value chain.
- providing a market development program for entrepreneurs
- increasing access to investment capital for entrepreneurs and growth-oriented small businesses
- assisting with a business retention and expansion project in your region
CRITERIA FOR THE EXCELLENCE & INNOVATION AWARD:
- Projects must have been in operation for at least one year
- Projects must have demonstrated economic diversification outcomes
- Projects should be transferable – that is another CF should be able to adopt or adapt the project, aspects of the project, or lessons learned from the project
JUDGING AND AWARD NOTIFICATIONS:
- Winners are selected by a committee made up of one manager from the north, one manager from the south, one board member from the CFNA Board, and one representative from WD.
- It will be the responsibility of the CFNA to forward submission forms to the judging panel; however, CFNA will not take part in the judging process.
- The selection process will be impartial and will remain confidential until the deadline, at which time announcements of the submissions will be made.However, winners will be personally notified prior to the event.
- Award recipients will be announced at the Gala Banquet and Awards on October 2, 2015.
DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES:
Please emailentries in Word or PDF to no later than May 25, 2015.
Alberta Community Futures: Excellence & Innovation Award
Application Form
Insert Award Name here
Submission Form: (Please Note that all entries will be judged solely on the material provided.)
CF Identification:
(If more than one CF be involved in the initiative, please list all CFs involved.)
Name of yourCF:
Address:
Phone: Fax:
Email:
Contact Person: Title:
Contact’s Email:
Initiative Description: Name of the Initiative:
Brief description:
1. Relevancy to the CF Program:
Describe the relevancy of this initiative to the goal of the CF Program;
2. Transferability
Explain how the initiative is transferable to another CF. If not transferable, Explain why.
3. Track record
Inform the judging panel of the length of time this initiative has been in place and describe how the initiative is considered a success.
4. Impact on the Community:
Explain the performance measures used to determine success and elaborate on the economic impacts this initiative has on the community.
5. Innovation Aspect of the Initiative:
What makes this initiative, innovative, unique and or distinctive:
6. List of Complementary Materials attached to the submission.
(Maximum 10 pages or 6 items, eg. Business cards, Videos, Portfolios, Newspaper articles, etc.)