Top Ten Tips for Successful Prix d'Excellence Entries

Has your advancement shop produced innovative, exemplary work in the past year, with results that met high expectations? Do you envision a 2020 Prix d'Excellence as recognition of your work?

To increase the odds of success for your entry, peruse this list of Top Ten Prix d’Excellence Tips:

1. Organize. Flag great advancement work throughout the year, track your past and potential submissions, and brainstorm with other advancement shops at your school to select Prix-worthy work. Designate one person to compile and proofread all submissions.
2. Review. The Prix d’Excellence website contains useful resources. Comb through the past Prix d'Excellence recipients for ideas, and to ensure you are submitting a unique, innovative entry. Check the Frequently Asked Questions list for guidance.
3. Strategize. Select the best category for your submission. Your odds may increase if your work fits in a less-populated category.
4. Examine. Look at the judging rubric and take care to follow all criteria for your entry. Read through all the 2020 categories, as there are changes from previous years.
5. Persuade. Go with your best data, both qualitative and quantitative. Your entry should answer not just what and how, but also “so what?”
6. Contextualize. Don’t assume judges are familiar with jargon or your school’s / shop’s culture and context.
7. Summarize. Be succinct. Limit your entry form to three pages, and do not provide the judges with supplementary material, unless submitting in categories 17-28, where supplementary creative materials are required.  There is a maximum of 2 creative material files permitted for categories 17-28.
8. Network. Check out what your peers are doing and what’s new in your industry, to assess if your work is truly leading-edge.
9. Articulate. Clearly state your project’s objectives, and how these dovetail with both your outcomes and your school’s overall goals.
10. Enter. Submit your entry early. Don’t wait until the deadline date, when the CCAE staff and host coordinators will be extremely busy.