Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second most common cause of death from cancer in men and women in the United States and a cause of considerable suffering among more than 150,000 adults diagnosed with CRC each year. The good news is that when adults get screened for CRC, it can be detected early at a stage when treatment is most likely to be successful, and in some cases, it can be prevented through the detection and removal of precancerous polyps. More than 1 in 3 adults ages 45 and older are not getting screened as recommended.

Honorees will be announced yearly in March.

The top five submissions, as determined by an independent volunteer panel, will be awarded one of the following beginning in March 2025:

• Grand Prize: $3,000 charitable donation on behalf of the honoree (if the honoree is a non-profit, they can receive the donation directly) and certificate of recognition
• 1st Runner Ups (four prizes): $1,000 charitable donation on behalf of the honoree (if the honoree is a non-profit, they can receive the donation directly) and certificate of recognition

Recognition for all Awardees:

• Recognition during the ACS NCCRT’s National CRC Awareness Month events in March
• Acknowledgement on the ACS NCCRT social media outlets
• Project descriptions featured on NCCRT.org
• The opportunity to be a guest writer for the ACS NCCRT’s Blog
• A press release template from the ACS NCCRT announcing the award
• Presentation opportunity at the next ACS NCCRT Annual Meeting

Our intent is that charitable donations be used to advance the good work being done to substantially reduce CRC as a major public health problem.

Almost anyone who believes their work is a CRC success story can submit an entry! Nominations and self-nominations will be accepted. ACS NCCRT members and non-members alike can participate and individual or collaborative efforts are eligible. Nonprofits, corporations, individuals, community groups – anyone who is working toward reducing the incidence of and mortality from CRC in the US through coordinated leadership, strategic planning, and advocacy are welcome to be nominated or self-nominate. Note that the program is only open to US residents 18 years and older. ACS staff are not eligible to be nominated, but they are encouraged to submit nominations. Submissions could come from:

• Cancer Coalition/State Roundtable
• Community Health Center
• Community
• Employer
• Health Plan
• Hospital/Health System
• Individual Champion, such a clinician, survivor, or policymaker
• Physician Practice
• Other

Some examples could include:

• Leaders who are empowering people and organizations to work together to accelerate efforts to increase CRC screening rates, particularly among the unscreened.
• Individual survivors or those touched by CRC, who are using their personal story to educate about the importance of prevention and screening to ensure life-saving screening and timely treatment.
• Public officials/advocates who are working to ensure that barriers to prevention, screening, and timely treatment are coming down.
• Organizations/medical practices putting processes and systems in place to make sure that each and every person eligible for screening gets a message about screening and knows how to successfully act on that message.
• Community Health Centers and other entities working to help the underserved overcome barriers to CRC screening and timely treatment.

An independent, volunteer team will consider such factors as the following in selecting honorees:

• IMPACT: Was the nominee able to measure impact? Or improve screening rates or time to treatment for a target population? Providing clear data showing impact may increase your chances of selection. 
• COMMUNITIES IN NEED: How did the nominee’s activities address cultural challenges or the needs of under-represented communities?
• VISIBILITY: How did the nominee increase the community’s awareness of CRC screening? Did the messages align with evidence-based strategies?
• LEADERSHIP: Did the nominee demonstrate leadership?
• INNOVATION: Did the nominee do something that was new or unique?
• INSPIRATION: Would the nominee inspire others in their CRC prevention, screening, and timely treatment efforts?

Submissions forms should include:

• Submission category (e.g. Health Plan)
• Name, email address, organization (if applicable), phone number, city and state
• Project goal/individual mission
• Overview of the activity, initiative or outreach effort, including target audience (300 words or less)
• Reason individual/program entity should be recognized, including evidence of impact. Providing clear data showing impact may increase your chances of being selected. (200 words or less)