Conrad N. Hilton Foundation: Humanitarian Prize

Overview

The Prize is not only intended to recognize and advance the efforts of the recipient organisation, but also to call attention to the worldwide need for humanitarian aid and to encourage others to expand their support.

Every year, they receive hundreds of nominations from around the world for the Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize.

Nominations are carefully vetted and reviewed which leads to a shortlist of finalists. The final selection is made by an independent international panel of distinguished jurors.

Nominations for the Hilton Humanitarian Prize are open year-round. The Prize year for which the organisation will be considered is determined by when they receive the organisation’s nomination.

Nominee Eligibility

• Nominees must be organisations, not individuals.
• Nominees must be established, nongovernmental, publicly supported charitable organisations. U.S. Internal Revenue Service tax-exempt status—or the equivalent for international organisations—will determine eligibility. (International nominees will be contacted by the Foundation for appropriate documentation.)
• Nominees must be legally established for at least five years in order to be considered.
• Nominees must have their own audited financial statements for at least five consecutive years.
• Nominees must have expenditures greater than U.S. $750,000 in their most recent audited fiscal year of operation.
• Nominees may not be a Hilton Humanitarian Prize Laureate or a local office or member organisation of a Prize Laureate.
• Nominees may not be local offices or member organizations of parent organisations or fiscally sponsored organizations.
• Nominees may not be specific programs within organisations or university-based projects.
• Nominees may not be academic institutions, such as colleges or universities that provide educational degrees, however, nominees may be an affiliate of academic institutions so long as they maintain an independent tax-exempt status, or equivalent for international organisations, and produce their own audited financials.

Nominator requirements and guidelines

• The Nominator should have direct knowledge of the nominated organisation’s work.
• The Nominator may not be an officer or employee—or any other individual receiving remuneration for their services from the nominated organisation. Board members may nominate providing they receive no payment for their service.
• The Nominator may not be a family member of an officer or employee of the nominated organisation.
• The Nominator may not be a founder of the organisation.
• The nominator may not be a Conrad N. Hilton Foundation employee, board member, Prize juror or a family member of a Foundation employee, board member, or Prize juror.
• The nominator may not be a Hilton family member.

Evaluation Considerations

The nomination letter should emphasize the organization’s accomplishments rather than future goals. Both historic and recent performance should be addressed. Following are elements to consider in describing your nominee’s work:

• Extraordinary contributions toward alleviating human suffering.
• Significance of the issue(s) the organisation is addressing.
• Established record of achievement in significantly contributing to solutions.
• Demonstration of a compelling programmatic approach to make a lasting impact.
• Organisational capacity and administrative efficiency to address the issue(s) at hand.
• Demonstration of effective partnerships to leverage further impact.
• Prioritisation of evaluating programmatic approach for continual improvement.
• Impact the Prize would have on the organization and the issue(s) the organisation focuses on.