About CIN Honors

The Community Investment Network (CIN) will present its national recognition awards live at Rooted 2026: The Long Game, CIN’s national convening, taking place October 1–3, 2026 in Charleston, South Carolina

Nominations close at 11:59 PM ET on Friday, August 21, 2026

The purpose of CIN Honors is to:

• Celebrate creative solutions emerging from communities of color in CIN-member giving circle cities
• Encourage and elevate donor-of-color initiatives within the broader philanthropic field
• Recognize excellence, longevity, and emerging leadership in collective giving

CIN Honors 2026 features four awards across three categories. The 2026 Giving Circle Awards will include two recipients selected from all nominations received. A Selection Committee, published criteria, and a standard scoring rubric (described below) ensure the process is transparent and fair, and every nominee — selected or not — will be recognized as part of Rooted 2026.

The 2026 awards are:

• Giving Circle Award (2 honorees)
• Emerging Philanthropist Award (1 honoree)
• Linetta Gilbert Service Award (1 honoree)
  
  

Categories and Criteria

Giving Circle Award (2 honorees)

The Giving Circle Award recognizes a giving circle member or grantee whose contribution of time, talent, treasure, and testimony has produced meaningful results in their community.

Eligibility

• Nominee must be a current member of, or a grantee organization supported by, a CIN giving circle
• The nominating giving circle must be in good financial standing with CIN at the time of nomination (standing will be verified by CIN staff upon receipt; circles with questions about their status should contact CIN before submitting)
• Each giving circle may submit up to one nomination in this category
• Self-nominations are not accepted

Criteria

• Collective Impact. Demonstrated outcomes from the circle's giving: grants awarded, dollars mobilized, and evidence of tangible benefit to the communities served.
• Beyond the Check. Contributions of time, talent, testimony, and ties alongside treasure: advocacy, volunteerism, and relationships that extend the circle's reach.
• The Long Game. Practices that position the circle to endure: succession planning, intergenerational engagement, and a vision that outlasts any single member.

Selection
Two honorees will be selected by the CIN Honors Selection Committee from all eligible nominations. Strength of demonstrated community impact and alignment with CIN’s mission and values carry the greatest weight.

 

Emerging Philanthropist Award (1 honoree)

Introduced for Rooted 2026: The Long Game, the Emerging Philanthropist Award honors a newer voice in collective giving whose early contributions signal the future of the movement. The long game depends on who carries the work forward — this award names that person.

Eligibility

• Nominee has been active in collective giving, giving circle membership, or philanthropic leadership for up to five (5) years 
• Nominee is a current member of a CIN giving circle, or an active participant in a CIN-affiliated initiative or partner organization
• There is no age requirement — “emerging” refers to tenure in the field, not the nominee’s age
• Self-nominations are not accepted; nominees must be put forward by a giving circle or by an individual or institutional member of CIN. Circles are strongly encouraged to look within their own membership

Criteria

• Demonstrates early, tangible impact through the giving of time, talent, treasure, and testimony
• Shows initiative, has started, grown, or meaningfully strengthened a giving effort, program, or partnership
• Reflects CIN’s values of collaboration and collective action
• Shows clear promise of sustained leadership in the field

Selection
One honoree will be selected by the CIN Honors Selection Committee.

 

The Linetta Gilbert Service Award (1 honoree)

The Linetta Gilbert Service Award is the highest honor bestowed by the Community Investment Network. Launched in 2019 in celebration of CIN’s 15th anniversary, the award is named for Linetta Gilbert, the inaugural funder  of the Community Investment Network, and is presented to an individual, group, or organization that lives out CIN’s mission and exemplifies its core values.

The Linetta Gilbert Service Award is named for the woman whose vision made the modern Black collective-giving movement possible. During nearly a decade as a senior program officer at the Ford Foundation, Linetta Gilbert specialized in community philanthropy and civic culture, leading initiatives on race and equity in the American South, Gulf Coast recovery, and community philanthropy worldwide. Her conviction was radical in its simplicity, understanding that philanthropy is not the province of those with fat checkbooks, but a tradition of care that Black communities have always practiced. She invested in leaders before she invested in institutions, helping young Black leaders understand that with philanthropy comes the opportunity to lead, and the giving circles that movement seeded, including the founding of the Community Investment Network itself, are her living legacy. The award that carries her name is given to those who reflect that same spirit -  the leveraging of time, talent, treasure, and testimony in service of communities of color, with vision, humility, and the patience to plant what others will harvest.

It is the highest honor the Network bestows, because she is the one who showed us what was possible.

Eligibility & Criteria
Honorees must have demonstrated their commitment to philanthropy by leveraging their time, talent, treasure, and testimony to impact and improve communities of color. Nominee must be a current member, partner, or ally of the Community Investment Network. The Selection Committee will evaluate nominees against five criteria:

• Mission embodiment — demonstrates a deep, sustained commitment to the mission, vision, and core values of CIN
• Servant leadership — embodies the spirit of leadership, vision, and servanthood exemplified by Linetta Gilbert
• Community impact — has accomplished significant, demonstrable results that improve communities of color
• Collective spirit — facilitates collaboration and collective giving, pooling resources with and inspiring others
• Innovation — addresses community issues with creativity, innovation, or entrepreneurship

Selection
Self-nominations are not accepted. Nominations must be submitted by a giving circle or an individual or institutional member of CIN. One honoree will be selected by the CIN Honors Selection Committee.

What to Submit

All nominations are submitted through this form below. Select the award category from the dropdown menu. 

Selection Process
All nominations are reviewed by the CIN Honors Selection Committee, 5 members drawn from the CIN Board, past honorees, and partner organizations. 

Each nomination is scored against the published criteria for its category using a standard rubric. All committee members score independently before deliberating.

Conflict of interest: Committee members may not score or deliberate on any nomination originating from their own giving circle or organization, or involving a nominee with whom they have a close personal or financial relationship.

Confidentiality: Committee deliberations and individual scores are confidential and will not be shared with nominators or nominees.

Notification: Honorees and their nominators will be notified by Friday, August 21, 2026. Nominators of non-selected nominees will also be notified personally before any public announcement. Decisions of the Selection Committee are final.

 

Nominations close at 11:59PM ET on Friday, August 21, 2026