2026 Business Excellence Awards - Nomination Form

2026 Business Excellence Awards - Nomination Form

Greater Fort Wayne Inc. Business Excellence Awards Nomination Form
Thank you for helping us honor and celebrate outstanding organizations that drive innovation, create opportunities, set the standard for excellence in our community, and make Allen County a better place to live and work!

Instructions:
- Nominate your own organization or one you admire for the Greater Fort Wayne Inc. Business Excellence Awards via the online nomination form below.
- Preview the nomination questions below and prepare your answers before beginning the online form.
- You can save your progress at the bottom of this page to complete at a later time. When saved, you will be provided a unique link to return and submit prior to the deadline.
- Deadline: Wednesday, April 1, 2026 at 8:00 am EST
- Once submitted, an email confirmation will be sent to the nominator. Applications cannot be changed, and duplicates will not be considered.
Nominee Organization Eligibility Requirements:
- Must be an active GFW Inc. member in good standing
- Must be located in Allen County, Indiana
- Must be in business for at least 3 years
- Excellence in Small Business Award - Must be an independently owned and operated, for profit enterprise with 50 for fewer full-time employees (full time equivalency; part-time employees count as ½ FTE).
- Excellence in Non-Profit Award – Must be an IRS-recognized not-for-profit entity.
- Greater Fort Wayne Inc. Business Excellence Award – Must be located in and/or doing business in Allen County, Indiana.
Nomination Qualifications:
- Nominee organizations are eligible for re-nomination in subsequent years by meeting the requirements of the award.
- Nominee organizations will be notified prior to the GFW Inc. Annual Meeting if selected as a finalist. All finalists will be highlighted and winners will be awarded at this event.
- Greater Fort Wayne Inc. reserves the right to decline a nomination and/or rescind an award from the winner in cases of fraudulent or criminal allegations, accusations, investigations or charges.
For questions, contact Meghan Murphy at mmurphy@gfwinc.com.
- Nominator Name*
  
  First NameLast Name
- Company/Organization Name*
- Title*
- Phone Number*
  Please include area code.Format: (000) 000-0000.
- Email*
  example@example.com
- What is your relationship to the nominee organization?*
- YesNoUnsure
- Nominee Company/Organization Name*
- Number of Employees *
  (Full-Time Equivalency)
- Year Organization Established*
- YesNoUnsure
- Nominee Organization Mailing Address*
  
  Street Address
  
  Street Address Line 2
  
  CityState / Province
  
  Postal / Zip Code
- Nominee Organization Primary Contact Name*
  
  First NameLast Name
- Primary Contact Title*
- Primary Contact Phone Number*
  Please include area code.Format: (000) 000-0000.
- Primary Contact Email*
  example@example.com
- Excellence in Small Business Award (50 or fewer employees)Excellence in Non-Profit Award (IRS recognized not-for-profit entity)Greater Fort Wayne Inc. Business Excellence Award (any size or type of organization)
- Excellence in Small Business Award
  
  Honoring a small business that demonstrates a high level of excellence through measurable results. Nominate yourself or another small business who is leading the way through innovation, customer experience, growth, collaboration, or other key metrics.
- Briefly describe how the nominee small business achieves excellence in ways such as: innovative products or services, customer experience, growth, and/or collaboration. (200 word maximum)
  
  0/200
- Briefly describe how the nominee small business is creating sustainability of results to ensure future business success and vitality. (200 word maximum)
  
  0/200
- Provide a quote from a customer or employee that illustrates the nominee small business' commitment to excellence. (400 word maximum)
  
  0/400
- Excellence in Non-Profit Award
  
  Honoring a non-profit organization that demonstrates excellence through inclusivity, collaboration, and/or results. Nominate yourself or another non-profit that is making a meaningful difference in ways such as: improving our community’s quality of place, partnering with local organizations to maximize collective impact, and/or driving measurable outcomes that create positive change across Allen County.
- Briefly describe how the nominee non-profit demonstrates excellence through inclusivity, collaboration, and/or results. (200 word maximum)
  
  0/200
- Briefly describe how the nominee non-profit makes an impact on Allen County in ways such as: population served, needs met, financial support provided, public opinion impacted, etc. (200 word maximum)
  
  0/200
- Provide a statement of impact from a recipient of the nominee non-profit’s services. (400 word maximum)
  
  0/400
- Greater Fort Wayne Inc. Business Excellence Award
  
  Honoring a business whose commitment to excellence is evident in innovation, inclusion, belonging, results, community engagement, customer experience, people first-policies, and/or focus on growing the local economy. Nominees will showcase their achievements in 3 categories in which the organization is leading the way.
- Pick 3 of the following 7 categories that showcase the organization's achievements. If the organization is excelling in more than 3, pick your top 3.
- INNOVATION - Please briefly describe how your organization is innovative in product, process, service and/or thought leadership. (400 word maximum)
  
  0/400
- INCLUSION AND BELONGING - Please briefly describe programs or practices your organization uses to promote a workplace and/or a community of inclusion and belonging. (400 word maximum)
  
  0/400
- RESULTS - Please briefly describe the performative results of your organization through growth, expansion, and/or impact; provide measurable and/or anecdotal examples. (400 word maximum)
  
  0/400
- COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT - Please briefly describe your organizational commitment to community engagement; provide examples of local involvement. (400 word maximum)
  
  0/400
- CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE - Please briefly describe how your organization creates an excellent customer experience; provide examples of consumer feedback. (400 word maximum)
  
  0/400
- PEOPLE-FIRST POLICIES - Please briefly describe programs and/or practices your organization uses to encourage talent attraction/retention, employee growth and empowerment, competitive benefit and compensation models, and/or other people-first policies; provide examples of impact on employee attraction, retention, and/or satisfaction. (400 word maximum)
  
  0/400
- GROWING THE LOCAL ECONOMY - Please briefly describe how your organization contributes to the development, improvement, and sustainability of our local economy in Allen County. (400 word maximum)
  
  0/400
- Please write a 5-7 sentence summary of introduction to the nominee organization. The following paragraph will be approved by the organization if selected as a finalist to include in our awards ceremony.
- I confirm that, to the best of my knowledge, all information provided is current and accurate, and the nominee organization meets the eligibility requirements. Any deliberate misrepresentation found may be cause for the dismissal of this nomination and may prohibit me from recommendations again in the future.
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