Social Sector Hero of the Year Award

Apply today for your chance to win a prize package valued at over $20,000 USD!

Social Sector Hero of the Year Award Logo 2025 Is your organization or an organization you know doing an exceptional job focused on measurable impact? Are you doing an exemplary job in at least one of the eight core strategies laid out in the book, Social Sector Hero: How Government and Philanthropy Can Fund for Impact? Download it for free here.

Submit your application today for the Social Sector Hero of the Year award! Submissions are due by January 8th, 2025.

One winning organization will receive $5,000 USD to use for themselves or a charity of their choice. They will also receive one year of Clear Impact Suite (a $9,000 value), three Results-Based Accountability Certification courses, an invitation to speak on the Turning Curves Podcast, and recognition on the Clear Impact website and social media! This brings the total prize value to over $20,000 USD!

Submit your application below. If you would like to nominate another organization to apply, please fill out this nomination form, and we will send them an invitation to apply.

You can read more about the eight core strategies by downloading Social Sector Hero or watching the videos below.

About the Social Sector Hero of the Year Award

About the Social Sector Hero of the Year Award:

The Social Sector Hero of the Year Award, presented by Clear Impact, recognizes exceptional organizations creating measurable impact in their communities. Inspired by the eight core strategies outlined in Social Sector Hero: How Government and Philanthropy Can Fund for Impact by Adam Luecking, this prestigious award highlights organizations that embody the values of data-driven decision-making, continuous improvement, shared accountability, and transparency. The award’s $20,000 prize package includes funding, software tools, professional development, and other opportunities designed to help the winner maximize their impact.

Award FAQ

Any public or social sector organization is invited to apply. This includes government agencies, nonprofits, foundations, nonprofit collaboratives, and networks. This contest is international — any eligible organization from anywhere in the world is invited to apply. Organizations featured in Social Sector Hero are not eligible to apply at this time.

While we recognize that organizations are made up of many individual Social Sector Heroes, only agencies or organizations are eligible to be recognized for the Social Sector Hero of the Year Award. Prizes will be awarded to the entire organization rather than individual employees. It is up to the winning organization’s decision-making team to decide how to spend or donate their winnings.

Yes. Any public or social sector organization is invited to apply, whether or not it is a current, past, or future customer of Clear Impact. We are focused on fairness and recognizing the most compelling applicants. Being a customer of Clear Impact does not increase the odds of winning the Social Sector Hero of the Year award.

One winner will receive all of the following, with the total prize value exceeding $20,000 USD:

**The winner will receive the base subscription of Clear Impact Suite. They will have the ability to add additional measures or participants or upgrade to an unlimited subscription at an additional cost. Please visit our pricing page for details about what is included in a base Suite subscription.

Yes, you may choose to keep each prize for yourself or donate all (or a portion) to another organization. If you are the winner and wish to donate any portion of your prize to another organization, please indicate this in your award application.

One of the prizes is a free Clear Impact Suite subscription ($9,000 USD value). If the winner already has a Clear Impact software subscription, they can apply the prize value to a future billing cycle (or cycles).

The eight core Social Sector Hero strategies include:

  1. Align with a Common Purpose
  2. Sustain Alignment Throughout the Journey
  3. Practice “Less is More”
  4. Disaggregate Data
  5. Practice Consistency AND Flexibility
  6. Never Report Data Without the Story
  7. Support Effective Dialogue
  8. Report Data Publicly

Learn more about each strategy in a free download of Social Sector Hero here.

Award Timeline (exact dates are subject to change):

  • October 17th, 2024 — Submissions Open
  • January 8th, 2025 — Submissions Close
  • January 9th – January 25th, 2025 —  Submission Review and Winner Selection
  • Last Week of January 2025 — Winner Notified and Public Announcement Made

There are two different forms depending on your goal. If you want to apply for your own organization, please fill out this form. If you want to nominate another organization to apply, please fill out this form. For the latter option, we will send your nominee an invitation to apply via email.

No, you don’t have to read Social Sector Hero to apply or be eligible to win this award. However, your application will be more compelling if you have a deeper understanding of the eight core strategies. At the very least, we strongly suggest reading the chapter corresponding to the core strategy you’re seeking recognition for (and skimming the rest). You can download the book for free and watch the quick chapter summary videos below. If you do choose to read the full book, we promise it is a fast and entertaining read! We know you’ll love the personal anecdotes and Social Sector Hero Spotlight stories!

Please contact kara@clearimpact.com with any questions about this award.

social sector hero mockup

Download Social Sector Hero for Free

Learn more about the eight core strategies and prepare for your award application!

Network Supporters

Clear Impact would like to thank the following organizations for supporting the Social Sector Hero of the Year Award.

Common Approach to impact measurement logo
institute for educational leadership
inclusive action logo
Nonprofit Montgomery Logo
Policy Link
SETSI Logo
uwnco logo

Media Supporters

Clear Impact would like to thank the following organizations for supporting the Social Sector Hero of the Year Award.


Hear from the 2025 Grand Prize Winner

Learn more about the 2025 Grand Prize Winner: Furniture Bank.

Read the 2025 winner press release >>

Quick Video Overview of the Eight Core Strategies

Click here to watch more explainer videos for each chapter.

Social Sector Hero of the Year Featured on The Nonprofit Show

Learn more about the award process and the eight core Social Sector Hero Strategies.

Need More Help, Hero?

Please contact kara@clearimapct.com with any questions about the Social Sector Hero of the Year award.