Introducing the YMCA Amplify Awards!

Project Summary (250 words)

• Tell us about your project and what it accomplished.

Primary Goal

What problem were you trying to solve?

• Examples: Increase membership, increase program participation, increase donations, improve community awareness, member retention, staff recruitment, community engagement, or improve internal communications

Strategy

• Describe your strategy.
• What audiences were you trying to reach?
• What channels did you use? Examples: email, social media, website, print, digital ads, video, PR, events, SMS, direct mail, or other.

Execution

• What tactics did you implement?
• Approximate marketing budget for this project. Under $500–$50,000+
• Who produced this work? Entirely in-house, agency/freelance, or combination

Results

• Describe the measurable results.
• Which metrics improved: membership, revenue, donations, event attendance, website traffic, social media engagement, email performance, media coverage, operational efficiency, time saved, or other.
• Provide your actual results (example: Membership increased 14%; email open rate increased from 41% to 58%; event attendance exceeded goal by 22%

Mission Alignment

• How did this project advance the YMCA mission or strengthen your community?

Supporting Materials

• Max 5 attachments: Pdf, Video, Social Post, Campaign graphics, Website screenshots
• Is there anything else you'd like the judges to know?

STORYTELLING AWARD

• Purpose: Recognizes outstanding storytelling that brought the YMCA mission to life by inspiring connection, demonstrating impact, and highlighting the people and communities served by the Y.
• Eligible Entries: Written stories, videos, photography series, newsletters, blogs, testimonials, annual reports, donor stories, member stories, volunteer stories, or other narrative-driven content.
• Whose story did you tell? What made this story especially meaningful or impactful? 

CAMPAIGN IMPACT AWARD

• Purpose: Recognizes an integrated marketing campaign that achieved measurable results while advancing the YMCA mission through strategic planning, creative execution, and audience engagement.
• Eligible Entries: Membership campaigns, annual campaigns, summer camp, youth development, healthy living, aquatics, child care, advocacy initiatives, or other multi-channel marketing campaigns.
• What made this campaign integrated? Which tactic had the greatest impact?

VISUAL CREATIVITY AWARD

• Purpose: Recognizes exceptional creative design that strengthened the YMCA brand through compelling visual communication and innovative execution.
• Eligible Entries: Graphic design, branding, photography, video, print collateral, digital advertising, environmental graphics, publications, or visual identity projects.
• What were the key creative or design decisions?  How did your visual approach strengthen the YMCA brand? 

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AWARD

• Purpose: Recognizes marketing initiatives that successfully strengthened relationships with members, volunteers, donors, community partners, or the broader community while increasing awareness and engagement with the YMCA.
• Eligible Entries: Community events, partnerships, public relations campaigns, advocacy initiatives, outreach efforts, volunteer recruitment, or community engagement strategies.
• What audience or partners did you engage?  How did the project strengthen community relationships? 

INNOVATION AWARD

• Purpose: Recognizes innovative thinking and creative solutions that improved marketing effectiveness, audience engagement, operational efficiency, or organizational performance through new ideas, technology, processes, or strategic problem-solving.
• Eligible Entries: Artificial intelligence, automation and workflow improvements, new technologies or digital tools, interactive marketing experiences, process or operational improvements, creative problem-solving, data-driven initiatives, or new systems that improved efficiency and collaboration.
• What was innovative about this project?  What new technology, process, or approach did you introduce? How did it improve effectiveness or efficiency? 

GOLDEN MEGAPHONE AWARD

• Purpose: Recognizes a marketing effort that captured attention through humor, originality, personality, or unexpected creativity while remaining authentic to the YMCA brand and mission.
• Eligible Entries: Social media content, videos, campaigns, promotions, memes, creative activations, or other engaging marketing moments.
• Why did this project stand out from typical YMCA marketing?  How did humor, originality, or personality help achieve your goals? 

BEST IN SHOW

• Purpose: The highest honor presented by the CMO Marketing Leaders Conference. Selected from the Excellence Award winners, this award recognizes the entry that best exemplifies outstanding strategy, creativity, execution, measurable results, and commitment to the YMCA mission.
• Eligibility: Automatically considered. No separate submission required.