The Gold Circle Awards program operates under the eligibility and submission requirements detailed below. Please familiarize yourself with the requirements to ensure that your entry is complete and that your organization is eligible for entry.  Important: Entries must include a project overview, goals/objectives, strategies/tactics, and success metrics/results achieved. Judges must be able to evaluate what the project intended, how success was measured, and whether it achieved its objectives.

Ineligible organizations as well as incomplete entries will be disqualified from the competition. ASAE will retain all Gold Circle Awards competition entries; they will not be returned to the submitter.

Eligibility Requirements

  • The Gold Circle Awards competition is open to all US-based, nonprofit organizations or associations with a 501(c) tax designation. Nonprofit associations outside of the United States may also be eligible as long as the content of the entry is in English.  (Please feel free to e-mail goldcircle@asaecenter.org if you have additional questions about your organization’s eligibility.)
  • The Gold Circle Awards competition to those who are members of ASAE  as well as non-members. Entries may be submitted on behalf of a 501(c) nonprofit organization by for-profit business partners; however, only the 501(c) nonprofit organization will be recognized as the winner.
  • The submitter listed as the main contact on the entry form must be actively employed by the organization or association submitting the entry. The entry fee will be based on the submitter's ASAE membership status.
  • All Gold Circle Awards trophies will be inscribed with the name of the nonprofit organization or association the communication was produced for, not the name of the individual employed by said organization or association who created the communication. Please be sure that the nonprofit organization name is correctly listed within your application, as this is exactly how the organization will be recognized.  
  • Employees and staff of applicants to the Gold Circle Awards competition may not serve as a judge for categories their organization is entering. If your organization is preparing to submit an entry and a staff/employee would like to serve as a judge, please notify the ASAE Team at goldcircle@asaecenter.org.
  • Only projects completed and distributed between January 1, 2026, and December 31, 2026, are eligible for the 2027 competition.

Submission Requirements

To be eligible for the  Gold Circle Awards competition, entries must meet the submission requirements listed below. If all submission requirements are not met, the entry will be automatically disqualified.

  • All 2027 Gold Circle Awards entries & entry materials must be received (not postmarked) by 11:59 p.m. ET at the ASAE offices by the deadline January 29, 2027.
  • Materials created by vendors and consultants must be submitted in the name of their client organization or association.  (For example, if a consulting firm ABC Consulting is submitting materials created for XYZ Association, the entry must be submitted under the name of XYZ Association.) Vendors must notify their client associations about the submission. If selected as a winner, the Award will be presented in the name of and to the organization.  
  • All entry forms must be completed online and submitted by the deadline listed above. Entry fee payment must also be received for the entry to be considered complete. Entry fees for ASAE members are $150 for each entry, and the fee for non-members is $300 per entry. There are no discount entry fees for multiple entries (see details below for credit card and check payments for entry fees).
  • Categories that require printed samples of submission materials must be received (not postmarked)  at the office of ASAE by the deadline listed above.   
  • Late entries and entries missing any required payment and/or samples by the deadline will be disqualified from the competition.
  • Multiple entries may be submitted by an organization or association in one or more categories, provided each entry is submitted on a separate entry form and includes the additional entry fee and any required samples. A maximum of 2 entries per category for each organization is permitted. An organization may not submit the same entry to multiple categories.
  • Entry samples must be submitted in the original format presented to the targeted audience; for categories that require printed materials, six sets of the required printed materials for that category must be provided.  (So, if your magazine is transmitted to your members as a PDF, you can submit it as a PDF, but if you mail hard copies of your magazine to your members, you must submit hard copies with your entry.)
  • All entries must include an explanation of the project’s goals, objectives, and the metrics used to determine whether the communication, publication, or program  was successful. To ensure that you submit a strong entry, consider gathering this information before you fill out the entry form. Any entry that does not include a statement of objective and documentation of results achieved will be considered incomplete and disqualified from the competition.
  • Campaigns should apply a diversity, equity, inclusion, or accessibility lens to their design or implementation. 
  • Judges reserve the right to transfer entries  to the correct category if submitted incorrectly or to disqualify them.
  • Judges may disqualify an entry for non-compliance with submission requirements.
  • All categories that require printed hard copies of submitted materials must include six (6) hard copies with their submissions. These entries must be sent to our main office and received according to the deadline listed above. The absence of this material will lead to disqualification.
  • ASAE is not responsible for the loss or damage of entry materials, and entries will not be returned.
  • Gold Circle Award Winners will be recognized among their peers during a special ceremony at that year’s ASAE Marketing, Membership & Communications Conference + Tech, in May in Washington, DC, as well as throughout the conference experience. Additionally, they will be promoted through ASAE's communications and media outreach, publications, website, and more leading up to and following the Conference.
  • The winner of the Gold Circle Awards for Overall Excellence is announced during the ASAE Marketing, Membership & Communications Conference + Tech in Washington, DC. The Gold Circle Award for Overall Excellence is selected by ASAE’s Gold Circle Awards Committee from that year’s Gold Circle Awards category winners. The Overall Excellence winner will receive special recognition and a custom crystal trophy.

For more information about the Gold Circle Awards program, please visit www.asaecenter.org/goldcircle or contact the ASAE Team at goldcircle@asaecenter.org.