NAHRO Community Innovation Awards Program

1. Resident and Client Services
Includes programs that enhance the lives of residents and clients:

• Self-Sufficiency Programs—Including employment, job readiness, homeownership counseling, etc.
• Youth Programs—Including education, summer programs, recreation, etc.
• Elderly or Special Needs Housing—Social Services Programs—Including health, social programs, security issues, etc. for the elderly, homeless, mentally or physically disabled, etc.
• Other—Those programs that cross categories above or are general services in support of all residents/clients.

2. Community Revitalization
Includes programs that have a positive economic impact on a neighborhood or city:

• i.e. balanced growth
• economic development
• job creation
• creative financing
• public/private partnerships
• mixed-use developments
• neighborhood preservation.

3. Administrative Innovation
Includes programs that improve the efficiency or effectiveness of administrative operations or the general functioning of the agency:

• i.e. management systems
• maintenance
• community relations
• inter-agency cooperation
• computer use
• professional development
• public relations

4. Affordable Housing
Includes programs that produce affordable housing in an innovative manner:

• creative financing
• public/private partnerships
• mixed income developments
• adaptive reuse
• special needs housing

5. Project Design
Focuses primarily on the physical or landscape design of a building or project.  (If the most innovative elements involve program or financing rather than the design, enter the program in one of the other categories listed above.) There are four types of design:

Enduring Design — Recognizes projects completed over 10 years ago, which show continued excellence in design, original program, and in creative aspects of its statement by today’s standards.

New — For new buildings or developments.

Modernization/Rehabilitation — For the modernization, rehabilitation, preservation, or alternative use of existing buildings, developments or areas regardless of their original architectural intent. 

Landscape Design — Recognizes the use of landscape design to enhance the sense of community, increase security, provide recreational areas, advance environmental efficiency, or to augment natural landscapes.

All applications must comply with the following requirements to be considered for an award:

A program may be entered in more than one category. A separate application must be submitted ensuring that the program meets the guidelines for that particular category, and a separate application fee remitted.

Only NAHRO housing and community development agency members may apply for an Award of Merit and must be NAHRO members at the time of application submission and award presentation.

The program highlighted in the application must have been implemented within the past two years. The only exception to this is for Enduring Design entries.

The program, either in whole or in substantial part, cannot be a past NAHRO Award of Merit recipient. Login to the NAHRO website and review the Best Practices Database to ensure this requirement is met.
Agency partners involved in project/program (corporate members, developers, etc.) cannot submit applications.

Please review the Rubric here.

All entries are evaluated by a National NAHRO judging panel representing NAHRO’s eight regions.

Entries must score an average of 35 points from the jury members in order to win an Award of Merit.

Entries must score an average of 40 points from the jury members in order to be nominated for an Award of Excellence.

Step 1: Login to the NAHRO website, check the Best Practices Database to ensure your submission has not previously won an award, then make sure it adheres to the category and eligibility requirements.

Step 2: Select the appropriate category for your entry

Step 3: Provide a Program Summary and Narrative
Program Summary — describes the program in 700 characters with spaces or less. Award winners’ summary will be used to describe the program in the NAHRO Community Innovation Awards Program Digital Catalog and in the “Best Practices Database” on the NAHRO website.
Program Narrative — detailed overview addresses a set list of questions/topics listed in the category criteria in 15,000 characters with spaces, numbers, abbreviation included in count. Successful entries will carefully address as many award criteria as possible.You may wish to prepare your draft application in Microsoft Word and then use that document to copy and paste into the online entry portal.  

Step 4: When all mandatory fields have been entered on the first page, click Next at the bottom of page. If you need to return to the application, put placeholders in the mandatory fields then hit SAVE FOR LATER.

You may be taken back to the main Awards screen. If this happens, Click Award of Merit Applications where you should see your application under “Continue where you left off “. Click on your application, then proceed to Step 5.

Step 5: Provide Images
All attachments must not exceed a total of 7MB. If your attachments exceed the limit, they will not be accepted.  PDF, JPG, PNG, Word and Excel formats are accepted.

NOTE: If you have left the website and wish to return to application, Click on Community Innovation Awards Program, APPLY TODAY. You should see your application under “Continue where you left off “. Click on your application, scroll down to view your application, make changes, and proceed to Step 6.

Step 6: Read the Terms and Conditions. If you need to make changes, click PREVIOUS. When ready to proceed to checkout and remit payment, click YES, then checkout.

Step 7: Submit Application and Pay Online. You should receive a confirmation that your application has been received.

Q: Can I pay by credit card online?
A: Yes, once you click Checkout, you will be taken to the shopping cart where you will pay by credit card and the application confirmation will arrive via email.

Check payments, bill me later, purchase orders, and ACH options are not available.

Q. Can I add multiple applications to one shopping cart?
A. No, you must remit payment on each application separately.

Q. Can I start an application and pay later?
A. Yes, you may SAVE FOR LATER and return to Checkout.

Q: What if I have technical difficulties, my application does not go through, or I have other questions? 
A:  Contact: meritawards@nahro.org

Q: Can I view the Award of Merit Catalog online?
A. Yes! The current catalog is available.

Q: How do I view the Best Practices Database?
A: Once you are logged in to the NAHRO website, Click here

2025 Community Innovation Awards Program Digital Catalog

2024 NAHRO Agency Awards of Merit in Housing and Community Development Catalog of Winners

2023 NAHRO Agency Awards of Merit in Housing and Community Development Catalog of Winners

2022 NAHRO Agency Awards of Merit in Housing and Community Development Catalog of Winners

2021 NAHRO Agency Awards of Merit in Housing and Community Development Catalog of Winners

2020 NAHRO Agency Awards of Merit in Housing and Community Development Catalog of Winners

2019 NAHRO Agency Awards of Merit in Housing and Community Development Catalog of Winners

2018 NAHRO Agency Awards of Merit in Housing and Community Development Catalog of Winners

2017 NAHRO Agency Awards of Merit in Housing and Community Development Catalog of Winners

2016 NAHRO Agency Awards of Merit in Housing and Community Development Catalog of Winners

2015 NAHRO Agency Awards of Merit in Housing and Community Development Catalog of Winners