What Home Means to Me Poster Contest Rules
The national “What Home Means to Me” Poster contest is the culmination of numerous poster contests held by NAHRO member agencies, state organizations and regional councils across the United States. National NAHRO does not accept national poster contest submissions directly from individuals, member agencies or state organizations.
Each of NAHRO’s eight regions manage their own submission and judging processes, selecting three posters (one from each age category) from local and/or state organization submissions. As such, tiered deadlines vary widely based on the artist’s location, from as early as January to as late as June.
The 24 regional winners are then judged by a national panel, and 12 national winners are selected to be featured in NAHRO’s “What Home Means to Me” calendar for the following year.
Note: NAHRO has updated the Poster Contest application for 2025-26! Please take a moment to review the new format carefully, and contact HousingAmerica@nahro.org with questions.
Contest Rules
Eligibility
All artists must reside in a household, or be provided a housing-related service, managed by a NAHRO member agency in good standing.
Learn more about NAHRO membership.
Age Categories
The “What Home Means to Me” Poster Contest accepts submissions in the following age categories:
Elementary: K to 5th grade
Middle: 6th to 8th grade
High: 9th to 12th grade
Note: One regional winner from each age category will be advance to the national competition.
Poster Requirements
Posters should reflect the theme of “What Home Means to Me.”
Posters must have a LANDSCAPE (horizontal) orientation.
Posters must be at least 8.5 x 11 paper size (letter size). Larger posters will be accepted, up to 22 inches by 28 inches.
Artists may use any art media (marker, crayon, paint, collage, textiles, etc.), but please consider that posters will need to be packaged, mailed and reproduced.
The artist’s name, grade level, and housing authority must be written on the back of each poster entry.
Entries must be created by only one person. Entries created by two or more people will not be accepted.
How to Enter
Local/State Competitions:
Families interested in having their children enter the poster contest should contact their housing agency to determine if they are NAHRO members and plan to participate in the poster contest.
NAHRO member agencies should send entries to their state organization, if applicable. State winners — typically one in each age category — advance to the regional competition.
If your state organization does not hold a poster contest, you can submit entries directly to the regional poster contest.
Remember: NAHRO is not involved in the scheduling or management of local, state or regional contests. Each state organization and regional council determines their own deadlines for poster contest entries and judging, typically in the Spring or Summer.
Regional Deadlines
Middle Atlantic Region
Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands
Region accepts posters from both state organizations or NAHRO member agencies from the above states.
Deadline: TBD
Website | 940-521-9982 | marc@nahro.org
Mountain Plains Region
Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming
Region only accepts posters from the above state organizations
Deadline: TBD
Website | brea@conahro.org
North Central Region
Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio, Wisconsin
Region only accepts posters from the above state organizations
Deadline: April 1, 2025
Website | rso@ncrcnahro.org
New England Region
Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont
Region accepts posters from NAHRO member agencies from the above states.
Deadline: June 13, 2025
Website | 617-742-NERC (6372) | john@nercnahro.org
Pacific Northwest Region
Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington
Region accepts posters from NAHRO member agencies from the above states.
Deadline: TBD
Website | 940-521-9982 | pnrc@nahro.org
Pacific Southwest Region
Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Nevada, Northern Mariana Islands
Region accepts posters from both state organizations or NAHRO member agencies from the above states.
Deadline: TBD
Website | 940-521-9982 | pswrc@nahro.org
Southeastern Region
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia
Region only accepts posters from state organizations
Deadline: June 20, 2025
Website | rgreathree@chauthority.org
Southwest Region
Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas
Region only accepts posters from state organizations
Deadline: TBD
Website | 940-521-9982 | swnahro@brazosnet.com
Regional Competitions
Each of the eight regional councils conducts their own poster contest and selects three winners — one from each age category — to advance to the national competition.
NAHRO regional councils must submit their three winning posters and the completed application packages by mail and email to NAHRO by July 1, 2025.
NAHRO
Attn: What Home Means to Me Poster Contest
630 I Street NW
Washington, DC 20001
National Competition
From the 24 regional submissions, a panel of 3rd-party judges selects twelve national honorees. National honorees are historically announced at the NAHRO National Conference & Exhibition. All eight NAHRO regions will be represented amongst the 12 winners.
All national winners receive cash prizes. The grand prize winner, whose art is featured on the calendar cover, will also receive an iPad and trip to NAHRO’s Washington Conference (held the following spring) to meet our membership and their Congressional representatives.