Award Criteria
All nominees must:
- Be headquartered in the Chamber’s 11-county Greater Philadelphia footprint (Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia in PA; Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Mercer and Salem in NJ; and New Castle, DE).
- Have between one and 100 employees. (with the exception of the Manufacturing category — must be under 500 employees)
- Must have 4 full years of revenue. If picked as a finalist, must be able to provide percentage of gross revenue growth over the past 3 years.
- Must be independently owned and operated (can not be a division of, a franchisee, branch, licensee and/or subsidiary of another company/organization).
- Show commitment to social responsibility and exemplify strong community involvement.
- Not have won an Excellence Award in the last five years.
- Excel in an individual category criteria outlined below.
CRITERIA FOR AWARD CATEGORIES
In addition to criteria listed above, the Awards Committee will also be making decision based on specific criteria in each category.
Small Business Person of the Year
Nominee must:
- Be the Founder, Owner, CEO or President of a company(ies)
- Demonstrate positive social and/or economic impact on the region
- Exemplify civic community leadership role
Young Entrepreneur of the Year
Nominee must:
- Be the Founder, Owner, CEO or President of a company(ies) and be under 35 years of age at time of nomination submission.
- Demonstrated a high level of entrepreneurial spirit, leadership, perseverance, creativity, and determination to be successful
- Provide three reasons as to why you will still be growing five years from now
Customer Service Excellence of the Year
Nominee must:
- Demonstrate a history of customer feedback supported by at least five testimonials
- Have created an innovative program or initiative in customer service
- Must be open to independent GPCC reference check
Family Business of the Year
Nominee must:
- Be a second-generation (or older) family-owned company where executive leadership has been passed from one generation to another
- Demonstrates excellence in their industry
- Share company’s story/history and highlight the impact of most-recent generation
- Provide three (3) reasons as to why company will still be thriving through next generation
Manufacturer of the Year
Nominee must:
- Have SIC code that begins with 2 or 3 or NAIC code with first two digits between 31-33
- Demonstrate innovative manufacturing concept
- Exhibit strength in the area of employee training
- Illustrate a robust quality system
Non-Profit Organization of the Year
Nominee must:
- Be a 501(c)
- Demonstrate outstanding contributions to the community
- Show benefits of service and how they set organization apart
- Provide quantitative results of initiative
- Spend at least 80% of budget on program expenses
Professional Service Excellence of the Year
Nominee must:
- Demonstrate excellence in their professional service industry
- Have created an innovative program or initiative for their industry or employees
- Show benefits of the program or initiative through quantitative detail or by providing at least five testimonials
Retailer of the Year
Nominee must:
- Demonstrate a history of exemplary customer service supported by at least five testimonials
- Demonstrate excellence in industry
- Must be open to independent GPCC reference check
Technological Excellence of the Year
Nominee must:
- Have developed or innovatively used a technology that makes a positive impact on a market
- Provide quantitative detail of technologies’ impact on the market
- Provide a summary of how company will continue to develop their technology/application in the future
Sustainable Business of the Year
Nominee must:
- Provides a sustainable service or product and demonstrates both social and environmental practices
- Company adheres to the principles of the Triple Bottom Line — People, Planet, Profit
- Original or exemplary service and/or measurable outcome of results
Visionary Award
The award was created to establish a special tribute for significant leadership and outstanding regional companies that continue to thrive and support the small business backbone of the Greater Philadelphia economy.
Nominee must:
- A small business that has grown to become a large company, and/or
- A small business that has national or international recognition for its product/service, and/or
- A large company that has contributed to the growth or success of the small business community
Note: Nominees can not be moved from one category to another without resubmitting a nomination form with all applicable information for the new category.