Please read this section BEFORE you begin the nomination process.  

THESE AWARDS ARE INTENDED FOR ORGANIZATIONS WHOSE LEADERSHIP, STAFF AND BOARD, ARE GRASSROOTS, AND PRIMARILY BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS AND ADVOCATES. THEY ARE NOT INTENDED FOR ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE MAINLY HEALTH CARE PROVIDER-FOCUSED OR LED. THESE AWARDS ARE INTENDED FOR PROGRAMS OR PROJECTS THAT ARE INNOVATIVE, DIFFER SIGNIFICANTLY FROM OTHER PROGRAMS IN THE SAME AREA, AND HAVE DEMONSTRATED A MEASURABLE CHANGE AT THE SYSTEMS LEVEL OF RESEARCH, HEALTH CARE ACCESS OR PUBLIC POLICY. "CHANGE AT THE SYSTEMS LEVEL" MEANS THE PROGRAMS OR PROJECTS HAVE IDENTIFIED A SPECIFIC PROBLEM WITHIN RESEARCH, HEALTH CARE ACCESS OR PUBLIC POLICY AND HAVE DESIGNED AND IMPLEMENTED A NEW APPROACH TO THAT PROBLEM. THE NEW APPROACH MUST HAVE SUCCEEDED IN CHANGING THE SYSTEM TO AFFECT ALL OR MOST WITHIN IT. THE AWARDED PROGRAM OR PROJECT MUST BE ONE THAT SETS A STANDARD THAT SHOULD BE REPLICATED BY OTHERS.

  To be eligible for the Awards, your organization must: 

• Provide a copy of the IRS Letter of Determination granting it tax-exempt 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) status. Note that only federal, and not state, letters will be accepted. Also, if your organization is an affiliate/chapter of a larger umbrella organization, your affiliate/chapter MUST be able to provide an independent IRS Letter of Determination.
• Demonstrate that it possesses all of the following three elements: 

• Breast cancer as a primary 
• GrassrootsOrganization that reflects the voices of the people most affected by the issue being addressed and that is responsive to and largely led by these constituents board of directors 
• Consumer advocate A consumer advocate is someone personally affected by breast cancer who acts on behalf of a defined constituency in the fight to end this disease driven and led operations

• Demonstrate its financial viability by providing its most recent IRS Form 990. The ONLY circumstance in which organizations are not required to submit Form 990s is if the IRS has declared your organization exempt. In this case, an organization may submit its most recent audited/board approved financial statements.
• Be a current, dues-paying member of NBCCF. Organizations may join at the time of nomination. If your organization is an affiliate/chapter of a larger umbrella organization, their membership does not extend to your organization.  NBCCF will verify that your organization is a member in good standing. To check the status of your organizational membership, please email bestpractices@stopbreastcancer.org or call (800) 622-2838.
  
• Enter a short abstract describing the program and best practices you intend to submit, and indicate their impact on the structure, function and policies of health care, research and/or public policy systems. Describe how your program ensures that improvement occurs for all patients in the system and not just one patient at a time.

• These awards are not intended to recognize provider-led organizations such as hospitals, medical clinics, etc. Therefore, your organization is ineligible if most of your staff/board members are health care providers, or there are few or no breast cancer survivors or consumer advocates represented on your staff/board.
• These awards are not intended to recognize programs that focus on advocacy or outreach for specific procedures, such as mammography, breast conserving surgery, etc.
• These awards are not intended for organizations that operate under the fiscal sponsorship of another organization. Therefore, if your organization is not fiscally independent - does not have independent nonprofit status under IRS code - your organization is ineligible.
  • (For example: a program within a university that is not separately incorporated is not eligible for the Awards. However, a university may nominate one of its programs.)
    
• These awards are not intended for organizations that have been in operation for less than three years. The age of your organization will be measured by the issue date of the IRS Letter of Determination.
• Organizations with voting representation on NBCCF’s Best Practices in Breast Cancer Advocacy Awards® Committee are ineligible.