FAQs

The nomination period for the 2024 Prize is now open. To nominate an organization please visit the Hilton Humanitarian Prize nominations portal and submit your nomination by Wednesday, September 27, 2023. We also encourage you to sign up for updates to be notified of Hilton Prize news.

The Hilton Humanitarian Prize is awarded based on achievements, rather than future goals. Therefore, the letter of nomination should focus on what the organization has accomplished. Key areas that are considered include: extraordinary contributions toward alleviating human suffering; significance of the issue(s) the organization is addressing; established record of achievement in significantly contributing to solutions; demonstration of a compelling programmatic approach to make a lasting impact; organizational capacity and administrative efficiency to address the issue(s) at hand; prioritization of diversity, equity and inclusion in strategies, programs and operation; demonstration of effective partnerships to leverage further impact; innovation in program design; prioritization of evaluating programmatic approach for continual improvement; and impact the Prize would have on the organization and the issue(s) on which the organization focuses.

The nomination letter itself should be addressed to the “Hilton Humanitarian Prize Jury” and uploaded online. The letter must include a handwritten or electronic signature.

You may log in to the Hilton Humanitarian Prize nominations portal at any time to see the status of your nomination. The final status you will see is “submitted,” which indicates that we have notified the nominee of your nomination. Our independent international jury will meet during the following summer to select the Prize recipient. All nominators will be notified via email of the outcome of the Prize selection in the summer of the year the Prize is awarded.

You may nominate an organization for which you serve on the board, provided that you do not receive compensation for your services. However, you may not nominate an organization if you are its founder or an employee.

Nominations must be for 501(c)(3) organizations or the international equivalent. Nominations for individuals are not accepted for the Hilton Humanitarian Prize.

All eligible nominees must have their own 501(c)(3) status with accompanying audited financial statements. A program or project initiative of a larger institution, regardless of whether it has its own budget, is ineligible for the Prize. The institution would need to be the nominee.

Nominators can only nominate one organization per year.

No. An individual can nominate the same organization year after year if they wish.

Once the Prize team receives a nomination, we notify the organization via email with a request for additional information to be submitted through an online portal. We contact the organization using the contact information provided by the nominator. If you know that you have been nominated but have not received a notification email, please contact our office.

A board member of your organization can be a nominator, provided that they do not receive compensation for their services. However, an organization’s founder or employee may not nominate its own organization.

Each organization can only have one nominator. However, if you are aware of several people who wish to nominate you, we recommend identifying the person you wish to be the main nominator and having that individual submit the nomination. Once the nomination letter is submitted and you are sent the link requesting more information, there will be a place to upload additional documents. This would be the place to upload additional letters of support if you have them and would like them added to the nomination. These additional letters of support (up to four letters) will be placed in your file.

Yes, former and current Foundation grantees can be nominated for and receive the Prize. However, Hilton Foundation employees are not eligible to nominate organizations for the Prize, and the recipient organization is selected by an independent jury, so any organization’s status as a current or past grantee of the Foundation has no influence on the jury’s selection of the Hilton Humanitarian Prize recipient.

No. Each year we receive nominations for eligible organizations that work in anywhere from one to more than 100 countries. Even an organization that works in a single country may present a model for humanitarian work that merits visibility and replication in other parts of the world.

Nominees may not be local offices or member organizations of parent organizations, or fiscally sponsored organizations. However, if your organization has a parent organization, we request that it be the nominee.

Unfortunately, all eligible nominees must have their own 501(c)(3) status. A program or project initiative of a larger institution, regardless of whether it has its own budget, is ineligible for the Prize. The institution would need to be the nominee.

For the finalist review, shortlisted organizations will be invited to submit additional information. These organizations will be evaluated by the independent jury for the Hilton Humanitarian Prize in the summer.

Our independent international jury meets each summer to select the Prize recipient. All nominees will be notified via email as to the outcome of the Prize selection in the summer of the year the Prize is awarded.

However, please note, due to the volume of nominations received, if your organization submits materials incorrectly or submits an application but does not meet the eligibility criteria, the organization will be removed from consideration without being contacted for verification.

Typically, over 300 organizations are nominated for the Hilton Humanitarian Prize each year.