Social Entrepreneurship Nomination and Selection

To nominate an individual for the William E. Simon Prize for Lifetime Achievement in Social Entrepreneurship, please click here.

To nominate an organization for the Richard C. Cornuelle Award for Innovation in Social Entrepreneurship, please click here.

Each year, the Manhattan Institute presents the William E. Simon Prize for Lifetime Achievement in Social Entrepreneurship to the founder or leader of a clearly effective organization who has emerged as a prominent public leader in his/her field. In recognition of the dedication and personal sacrifice required to sustain a successful career as a ground-breaking social entrepreneur, the award carries with it a personal honorarium in the amount of $100,000.

The Institute also annually presents the Richard Cornuelle Awards for Social Entrepreneurship to as many as five nonprofit organizations that provide a direct service to the public. The Cornuelle Awards are meant to nurture development of private solutions to difficult public problems and carry with them a cash award of $25,000 made directly to the winning organization.

Please note that the nomination process for the William E. Simon Prize is separate from that for the Richard Cornuelle Awards.

Nominations may be submitted by anyone familiar with a person's or group's activities except for a current employee of that person or group. All nominations must be submitted through the online form. Nominations will be accepted beginning in December 2012.

Applicant organizations are assessed according to the following criteria:

• Energetic founding leaders;
• Strong vision;
• Committed volunteers;
• Creative, entrepreneurial ways of conceiving and meeting goals;
• Significant private sector financial support;
• Sustainability or permanence;
• Clear, measurable results;
• Commitment to sustaining the vitality of civil society.

All nominations are submitted to the Manhattan Institute Social Entrepreneurship Awards Selection Committee. After review and discussion, the committee selects a small group (up to ten) as finalists. A representative of the Manhattan Institute visits each of these finalists. The committee then makes the final selections based on these site visits.

Recognition is reserved for those organizations whose guiding purpose and function stem from private initiatives and ideas. However, accepting government funds does not, in itself, preclude consideration. The award recognizes the creative energy of the nonprofit sector by highlighting new ideas and approaches even by mature organizations. Recent winners have undertaken such work as:

• Helping ex-offenders adapt to life after prison;
• Providing real-estate and facilities solutions for charter schools;
• Helping immigrants adjust to American life;
• Helping the elderly remain in their homes;
• Matching veterans to service opportunities;
• Increasing the number, quality, and speed of living donor kidney transplants;
• Helping community college students transfer to four-year universities;
• Providing free medical care to the indigent.

As a rule, those winning the Cornuelle and Simon prizes will have provided direct and specific services to those in need, rather than solely engaging in advocacy activity. Organizations that bring legal actions, or whose primary activities are in response to government RFPs, are not eligible for these awards, nor are individual charter or private schools.

Selection Committee Members

In addition to Manhattan Institute president Lawrence Mone and vice president Howard Husock, the social entrepreneurship award selection committee includes the following members, who cast votes for both the $100,000 Simon Prize and the $25,000 Cornuelle Awards:

• Anne Marie Burgoyne, Portfolio Director, Draper Richards Foundation, San Francisco, CA;
• Cheryl Keller, Foundation Consultant, Rye, NY;
• Leslie Lenkowsky, Professor of Public Affairs and Philanthropic Studies, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN;
• Adam Meyerson, President, the Philanthropy Roundtable, Washington, D.C.;
• James Piereson, President, William E. Simon Foundation, New York, NY;
• William Schambra, Director, Bradley Center for Philanthropy and Civic Renewal, Hudson Institute, Washington, D.C.

Questions about the Social Entrepreneurship Awards can be directed to Matthew Hennessey at mhennessey@manhattan-institute.org.