Welcome to North America’s highest honors for corporate social impact initiatives engaging consumers or employees. These prestigious awards celebrate programs that blend brand purpose and social impact to build a better world and the bottom line.
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The Golden Halo Awards are presented annually to one company and one nonprofit for their outstanding long-term achievements in the field of corporate social impact. It’s the ultimate honor for doing well by doing good.
In its 21st year, the Halo Awards will recognize outstanding initiatives across nine categories of corporate social impact. The next Halo Award application period will open around December 2023; click here to be notified when that happens. The 2023 winners will be announced at the May Engage for Good conference in Atlanta.
Inspired by ESPN’s mission to “Serve The Sports Fan. Anytime. Anywhere.”, the company’s multi-faceted corporate citizenship strategy helps build the business while meaningfully impacting the community. ESPN Citizenship helps strengthen the business by enhancing key internal and external relationships, growing sports fans, showcasing powerful stories, engaging employees and driving reputation all while helping the most vulnerable in the sports community build a better path to the future. At the same time, its support for the V Foundation For Cancer Research — ESPN’s legacy and culture carrier — has grown into a 29-year-strong, $169 million relationship.
Founded in 1904, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, America’s largest youth mentoring organization, has supercharged its collaboration with corporate partners in recent years as societal crises have deepened the need for its services. BBBSA focuses on partnering with businesses that embrace the organization’s JEDI (justice, equity, diversity, inclusion) values and youth empowerment vision. These alliances empower consumers to support the cause, employees to volunteer, media and influencers to elevate the brand and fuel the outcomes that make BBBSA’s evidence-based model of mentorship possible.
Halo Awards Open
Regular Deadline
Late Deadline (with late fee)
Finalists Announced
Halo Award Ceremony at EFG2023 in Atlanta
Halo Awards Open
Regular Deadline
Late Deadline (with late fee)
Finalists Announced
Halo Award Ceremony At EFG2023 In Atlanta, GA
For more category detail, use the arrows below or check out the FAQ section.
Best Activism/Advocacy Initiative
Gold: Blood Saves Lives: Helping People With Sickle Cell Disease – FedEx & American Red Cross
Silver: Human Rights Now! – Reebok & RISE
Best Consumer-Activated Corporate Donation Initiative
Gold: Give The World A Shot – Expedia Group & UNICEF
Silver: Shaw Cushion For St. Jude Collection – Shaw Industries Group, Inc. & ALSAC/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Best Consumer Donation Initiative
Gold: Macy’s Parade NFT Donation Campaign – Macy’s Inc. & Make-A-Wish
Silver: Pride 2021 – Williams-Sonoma, Inc. & The Trevor Project
Best COVID-19 Initiative
Gold: Brave Of Heart Fund – New York Life Insurance Company, Cigna & E4E Relief
Silver: Using Data To Advance Health Equity – Google.org & Satcher Health Leadership Institute at Morehouse School of Medicine
Best Education Initiative
Gold: Macy’s & Reading Is Fundamental: Back-To-School Round Up – Macy’s Inc. & Reading Is Fundamental
Silver: #TeachHealthy – Pharmavite & DonorsChoose
Best Employee Engagement Initiative
Gold: Visa Empowers – Visa, The Visa Foundation & Kiva
Silver: Medidata’s Social Innovation Lab: Making A Difference In Life Sciences – Medidata, A Dassault Systèmes Company & Nonprofit Partners
Best Health Initiative (Physical Or Mental Health)
Gold: Using Data To Advance Health Equity – Google.org & Satcher Health Leadership Institute at Morehouse School of Medicine
Silver: #GuaranteedLove Mental Health Week – Guaranteed Rate, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Project Healthy Minds & Wounded Warrior Project
Best JEDI Initiative (Justice, Equity, Diversity And/Or Inclusion)
Gold: #StareAtGreatness – Citi & International Paralympic Committee
Silver: Best Buy x PopSockets Partnership For Black History Month – Best Buy & PopSockets
Best Social Service Initiative
Gold: #CODEMedicalHeroes – Activision Blizzard, Raven Software, Treyarch Studios, Call of Duty & Call of Duty Endowment
Silver: Breaking Down Barriers To Employment – Frontier Co-op & Willis Dady Homeless Services
Best Social Impact Video
Gold: #StareAtGreatness – Citi & International Paralympic Committee
Silver: TradeWorx: Helping Youth Experiencing Homelessness Access Careers In The Trades – The Home Depot Canada & The Home Depot Canada Foundation
Best of the Best: Give The World A Shot – Expedia Group & UNICEF USA
Sponsored by For Momentum, and selected by the Halo judges, this special “Best Of The Best” Halo Award was chosen from across the full spectrum of Halo applications. This 2022 best-in-class campaign is category-agnostic and recognizes an initiative that demonstrates best practices in social impact engagement.
Congratulations to Expedia Group and UNICEF USA!
Best Consumer-Activated Corporate Donation Initiative
Bounty #PicksItUp – Bounty & Best Friends Animal Society
Bringing Communities Together In Nature – Sun Outdoors & National Park Foundation
Chance & Friends Holiday Philanthropic Collection – PetSmart & PetSmart Charities
Iced Coffee Day – Dunkin & Dunkin’ Joy In Childhood Foundation
Best Consumer Donation Initiative
2022 Macy’s Holiday Campaign – Macy’s & Big Brothers Big Sisters Of America
Integrated Partnership To Drive Point-Of-Sale Donations – JOANN & Susan G. Komen
Pin Pad Donation – PetSmart & PetSmart Charities
Wendy’s Frosty Treats Warm Hearts – The Wendy’s Company & The Dave Thomas Foundation For Adoption
Best Education Initiative
John Hancock MLK Scholars Program – John Hancock
STEM Careers All YEAR – General Motors & First Book
Subaru Loves Learning – Subaru Of America & AdoptAClassroom.org
Teacher Academy: Transforming STEM Professional Development To Spark Teachers’ Knowledge, Self-Efficacy, And Practice – Samsung Electronics America & MindSpark Learning
Best Emergency/Crisis Initiative
UPS Global Vaccine Equity Initiative – UPS
Moves That Matter – Total Quality Logistics
PayPal’s Response To The Humanitarian Crisis In Ukraine – PayPal & Multiple Nonprofits
Stand With Ukraine All-for-Charity Initiative – Humble Bundle, Razom For Ukraine, International Rescue Committee, International Medical Corps & Direct Relief
Best Employee Engagement Initiative
Clayton Impact: Team Member Volunteer Program – Clayton
Coast 2 Coast 4 Cancer – Bristol-Myers Squibb & V Foundation For Cancer Research
Employee Empowerment Thru Volunteering – FedEx & Operation Warm
Using Tech For Good: How Northwestern Mutual Leverages The Passions Of Its Employees To Make A Positive Impact In Their Communities Through STEM-based Projects – Northwestern Mutual
Best Health Initiative (Physical Or Mental Health)
Advancing Equity In Maternal Health – Elevance Health, Creating Healthier Communities, March Of Dimes & 23 Local Nonprofit Organizations
Bloom: Growing Kids Mental Well-Being – Nationwide, Nationwide Children’s Hospital & On Our Sleeves
iHeart National Recovery Month – iHeart & The Voices Project
Mosquitoes Don’t Deserve a Drop – Orkin & American Red Cross
Best JEDI Initiative (Justice, Equity, Diversity And/Or Inclusion)
Fast Break For Small Business – LegalZoom & Accion Opportunity Fund
Justice For Change – Relativity
Leveling The Playing Field: Engaging Fans And Players For Financial Equity And Inclusion – U.S. Women’s National Team Players Association & Kiva Microfunds
Nespresso x Ali Forney Center – Nespresso USA x Accompany Creative & The Ali Forney Center
Best Social Impact Video
Peace Builders – Microsoft & Nobel Peace Center
Styles Of Pride Initiative – Macy’s & The Trevor Project
Teen Tech Center “Mentor Moments” – Best Buy & Best Buy Foundation
The Big Wait PSA – Arby’s & Big Brothers Big Sisters of America
Best Social Service Initiative
#MomsUnite4Milk To Support Families Impacted By The Formula & Human Milk Shortages – Medela
Lowe’s Hometowns – Lowe’s & Points of Light
HelloFresh Meals With Meaning Program – HelloFresh
Project DASH – DoorDash
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America Honored With 2023 “Golden Halo” For Best-In-Class Corporate Social Impact Efforts
BBBSA Honored With 2023 “Golden Halo” For Best-In-Class Corporate Social Impact Efforts Founded in 1904, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, America’s largest youth mentoring organization, has supercharged its collaboration with corporate partners in recent years as societal crises have deepened the need for its services. BBBSA focuses on partnering…
ESPN Honored With 2023 “Golden Halo” For Best-In-Class Corporate Social Impact Efforts ESPN’s mission is to “Serve the Sports Fan. Anytime. Anywhere.” To bring that mission to life eight years ago, ESPN’s Corporate Citizenship team developed a sophisticated and outcomes-based philanthropic strategy to enhance and drive the company’s core competency:…
Halo Award
Give The World A Shot – Expedia Group & UNICEF USA
In the summer of 2021, UNICEF USA and Expedia Group and its family of brands – including Expedia, Hotels.com, Vrbo, Orbitz, Travelocity, Hotwire, ebookers and CheapTickets – partnered with the shared goal of accelerating the equitable roll out of COVID-19 vaccines. At that time, less than 1% of the global supply…
Breaking Down Barriers To Employment – Frontier Co-op & Willis Dady Homeless Services
In 2021, Frontier Co-op committed $225,000 over a three-year period to continue their partnership with Willis Dady Homeless Services to identify individuals returning to society who are eager for a second chance or are facing other significant barriers such as homelessness, lack of transportation or extensive work experience, and provide…
Using Data To Advance Health Equity – Google.org & Satcher Health Leadership Institute at Morehouse School of Medicine
When COVID-19 cases first surfaced, Google.org knew it could provide funding and technical expertise to help track the spread of the disease. The company was particularly interested in the disparate racial and ethnic impacts of COVID-19, believing tracking those statistics could lead to a more equitable government response. In the…
Give The World A Shot – Expedia Group & UNICEF USA
In the summer of 2021, UNICEF USA and Expedia Group and its family of brands – including Expedia, Hotels.com, Vrbo, Orbitz, Travelocity, Hotwire, ebookers and CheapTickets – partnered with the shared goal of accelerating the equitable rollout of COVID-19 vaccines. At that time, less than 1% of the global supply of…
#StareAtGreatness – Citi & International Paralympic Committee
Citi has been partners with the International Paralympic Committee since 2018. Ahead of the 2020 Tokyo games, the global bank kicked off a campaign that challenged consumers to “stare at greatness,” an effort to help change a perceived negative of staring at a person with a disability into staring at…
Visa Empowers – Visa, The Visa Foundation & Kiva
Visa, a world leader in digital payments, and Visa Foundation partnered with Kiva, a social impact organization with a mission to expand financial access for underserved communities, on “Visa Empowers” – a $1.5 million, five-year employee engagement campaign to empower small and microbusinesses to thrive. The idea: allow every employee…
Blood Saves Lives: Helping People With Sickle Cell Disease – FedEx & American Red Cross
When FedEx representatives heard on a conference call that the American Red Cross was aiming to increase the number of African American blood donors by the end of 2025, the company realized it was well-positioned to help. Achieving this goal would help enable the Red Cross to meet the blood…
Best Buy x PopSockets Partnership For Black History Month – PopSockets & Best Buy
Tech retailer Best Buy has been increasing its efforts in DEI, realizing that the number of companies led or run by individuals from diverse backgrounds in the tech industry is disproportionately low compared to other industries. One tech-adjacent area that is particularly challenged in this way is graphic design. Making…
The 2023 Halo Award Categories are:
Best Consumer-Activated Corporate Donation Initiative: Incorporating a linkage between a desired consumer action and a corporate donation. (e.g. a company making a charitable donation every time consumers purchase a product or respond to a survey or a buy-one-give-one campaign in which a company donates a product for every product consumers purchase.)
Best Consumer Donation Initiative: Asking consumers to donate at point of sale (in a retail location or online) or via a crowdfunding campaign. Common forms include coin canisters, “pinups”, automated pinpad, cashier asks, round-ups, online auctions, etc.
Best Education Initiative: Focusing on an educational issue such as supporting teachers with materials for the classroom or supplementing under-funded programs like art or music in a manner that supports business objectives of the company (e.g. helping create a future workforce or generating good relations in a community where the business operates.)
Best Emergency/Crisis Initiative: Responding to an immediate emergency or crisis or developing a long-term initiative to support an affected community or prevent crises from happening. (e.g. responding to the war in Ukraine, creating a long-term disaster relief program or developing new programming in response to Roe v. Wade).
Best Employee Engagement Initiative: Meaningfully and measurably engaging a company’s employees in a cause-focused initiative to achieve both social and business impact. This could include encouraging employees to take an action (e.g. donating to a micro-loan program, voting or donating blood), broadening their horizons on a social issue (e.g. learning about a new culture, participating in implicit bias training) or supporting an employee’s personal volunteer passions (e.g. dollars for doers programs). This category encompasses both group and skilled volunteerism as well as more general engagement activities.
Best Health Initiative (Physical Or Mental Health): Producing a corporate social impact initiative that deals with physical or mental health issues whether that be raising awareness, raising funds or disseminating toolkits, resources or programs.
Best JEDI Initiative (Justice, Equity, Diversity And/Or Inclusion): Encouraging consumers and/or employees to involve and empower people regardless of their abilities, age, social class, political beliefs, race, religion, gender or sexual orientation.
Best Social Service Initiative: Focusing on a social issue such as sheltering the homeless, providing food for children or training rescue dogs in a manner consistent with the company’s business goals. Best Social Impact Video Highlighting effective and creative use of short-form video distributed online or via traditional channels as part of a larger cause-related campaign. There must be a company involved in these videos — not appropriate for traditional PSAs
Best Social Impact Video: Highlighting effective and creative use of short-form video distributed online or via traditional channels as part of a larger cause-related campaign. There must be a company involved in these videos — not appropriate for traditional PSAs.
Entries must be for campaigns that occurred in whole or in part during 2022 in the United States or Canada. Campaigns qualify if they are designed to measurably advance the interests of both a business and a nonprofit partner or cause (note: this is MANDATORY. Campaigns that do not involve a company are automatically ineligible). Previous Halo Award winning campaigns are not eligible for re-entry in the category in which they’ve previously won (with the exception of new video creative in the Social Impact Video category).
For 2023, the deadline is 8 pm ET on January 10, with late entries accepted no later than 8 pm ET on January 12, 2023 and subject to a $150 late fee. All of your materials must be RECEIVED by these dates.
Regular Deadline – January 10, 2023, at 8 pm ET
Late Deadline (with late fee) – January 12, 2023, at 8 pm ET
A committee of up to seven judges will evaluate the entries and select one winner and one runner up in each category. Judges will recuse themselves from judging a category if they have a relationship with an entrant that presents a conflict of interest. The judges may, at their discretion, switch the category in which an entry competes.
Finalists in each category will be notified of their status on or before February 15, 2023. Winners will be notified privately in late February. Winners will not be announced publicly until May 16-18, 2023 at the Halo Awards Program at the 2023 Engage for Good conference in Atlanta. The decision of the judges is final. In the event of a tie, the president of Cause Marketing Forum, Inc. will select the winning entry.
There are four judging criteria: Conceptual Strength, Execution, Business Results and Cause Results (Note: Entries in the video creative category will primarily be judged on their conceptual strength and execution).
Conceptual Strength
-Fit: Is there a strong fit between the cause and the business? Does the brand purpose shine through?
-Ownability: Does this campaign stand out and have an ownable angle?
-Depth: Does this program demonstrate a commitment to cause marketing or corporate social impact beyond a quick promotion?
Execution
-Resources: Did the campaign leverage a variety of each organization’ strengths and resources?
-Creative: Does creative clearly communicate the program to target audiences?
-Promotion: Was the program integrated into an effective marketing communications program?
Business Results
-Did the program achieve measurable results relative to stated objectives?
Cause Results
-Did the program achieve measurable results relative to stated objectives?
Companies or nonprofits engaged in cause marketing or brand purpose work or relevant agencies. Campaigns qualify if they are designed to measurably advance the interests of both a business and a nonprofit partner or cause (This is MANDATORY. Campaigns that do not involve a company are automatically ineligible). Campaigns must occur in whole or in part during 2022 in the United States or Canada.
The 2023 Halo Awards submission period is now closed; no further payments will be accepted.
No. EFG Members and Non-Members are welcome to apply to the Halo Awards.
We will be in touch in February to let you know whether your campaign was selected as a finalist (each category typically has four finalists). Finalists are typically announced publicly on/about February 15.
If your campaign is selected as a finalist, we will be back in touch to notify you if your campaign was selected as a Gold or Silver Halo Winner (each category will have one gold and one silver winner) in late February or early March. The Gold and Silver winners in each category are announced publicly at the Engage for Good conference.
Please note: if you are selected as a finalist, it does NOT necessarily mean you have won a Halo Award. If you have any additional questions about the distinctions between finalist and winner, please don’t hesitate to ask us.
No. There are typically four finalists selected per category but only one Gold and one Silver Halo Award is given in each category. We will let you know if your campaign is a finalist and then we will be back in touch to let you know if your campaign was ultimately selected as a Gold or Silver Halo Award winner.