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Frequently Asked Questions

Below are the Gold Circle Awards program's most frequently asked questions. If you have additional questions or require further assistance, please email goldcircle@asaecenter.org.

Why should I consider entering the Gold Circle Awards competition?

  •  The Gold Circle Awards represent the best of association marketing, membership, and communications. Receiving the Gold Circle Awards in any category demonstrates the excellence of your work to your peers, fellow staff members, and your association’s membership.

What organizations may enter the Gold Circle Awards competition?

  • The Gold Circle Awards competition is open to all 501(c) nonprofit organizations, both members and non-members of ASAE. 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.

How do I submit an entry form or multiple entry forms?

  • All applicants must complete an electronic entry form, even if entering a category that requires hard copy submissions. Payment can be submitted via check or credit card. Please note, that proof of payment should be sent in along with your entry submission materials by printing out a copy of your payment confirmation.

Can the required printed materials for an entry submission and check payments be postmarked by February 6, 2025?

  • No, all entries, materials, and payments must be RECEIVED (not postmarked) at ASAE headquarters by 5:00 p.m. EST on February 6, 2025.  Hard copies are especially relevant if entering a submission in the Print Magazine category and must be received by February 6 to be considered.

Why is the entry submission period February 6, 2025, when winners are not announced until May? 

  • After applications are submitted, from February to March, the ASAE staff and GCA Committee leadership team go to work organizing judges and their judging assignments to avoid any conflicts of interest, allowing time for judges to review and score the applications submitted, and processing the judges’ scores before holding final calls with the judges in each category to select a winner in late March.  After all 16 judging meetings take place to select a category winner, the GCA Committee members must meet to select the 2025 GCA Overall Excellence winner in early April.  As you can imagine, each step mentioned above is important to maintain the integrity of the program and its standards and to allow enough time for organizations’ entries to be thoughtfully considered for a GCA award, and winners to be notified before the Marketing, Membership, Communications and Tech Conference where they will be recognized. 

What should I put for the project overview; goals/objective; strategy/tactics and success metrics/results parts of the application?

You should include the following:

  • Project Overview: This should include a summary that provides a high-level and basic introduction to your GCA entry. It should be designed to give the judges a sense of the intent of your project before they review the project goals/objectives, strategy/tactics, and success metrics/results achieved which list specific information that will be used to judge your entry.? Please limit your response to 500 words.
  • Project Goals/Objectives: Goals and objectives should be clearly stated and expressed in specific and measurable terms/ outcomes, with an exceptional level of detail. Please limit your response up to 500 words.
  • Strategy/Tactics: Strategy/tactics should outline the plan, strategy, or tactics you used to reach the goals and objectives set with an exceptional level of detail.  Describe and demonstrate how the campaign or project’s strategy was innovative; how the strategy addresses diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility; and how the tactics implemented support the strategy while being well executed across the channels with an exceptional level of detail. Please limit your response to 500 words.
  • Success Metrics/Results Achieved: For the measurement of your goals and objectives please indicate your metrics for success. Specifically describe the campaign or project’s achievement of the success measures, including whether the goals were met or unmet, with an exceptional level of detail. Please limit your response to 500 words.

What is the difference between Print Magazines, Digital Publications, and E-Newsletter Categories?

  • Digital Publications are digital magazines, blogs, or other periodicals.  The samples to be provided by Gold Circle Awards applicants in this category would be digital.
  • E-newsletters are digital periodicals that are deployed through e-blast messaging and may include a web-based copy of the content in an online archive.  The samples provided by Gold Circle Awards applicants in this category would be digital.
  • Print magazine category submissions must only include magazine publications that are distributed in print, hard copy format.  Hard copy samples must be received by staff at ASAE headquarters by February 6, 2025 @ 5:00p.m. Eastern to be considered for the Print Magazine category. 

What is the cost to enter the Gold Circle Awards competition? Can my colleague sponsor our entry, so we receive the member rate for the entry fee?

  • Yes. If anyone on your staff is a member of ASAE, the member entry fee is $150 per entry. The non-member entry fee is $300 for each entry.

How much time does ASAE estimate it will take to prepare an entry?

  • Previous applicants report anywhere from 3 to 10 hours, typically, to assemble their application.  There are several factors that impact how long it will take to develop a quality application.  The key is not to spend a great deal of time writing long narrative descriptions and rather focusing on a brief description of the campaign or project’s initial goals or objectives, the tactics used to achieve those goals or objectives, the success metrics used to measure whether the goals are achieved, and the outcomes of the campaign or project.  Application responses may be in bullet sentences if the criteria of the category is addressed in the response. The application asks you to specify project overview, goals, objectives, metrics, and outcomes so that the judges can evaluate your entry. These factors are critically important in the judging process, so be sure to plan your entry so that you can supply this essential information and remain within the word limit. We recommend that you use the word form version to ensure your application is concise and complete.  We recommend that you minimize information around your organization’s mission, vision or values at the expense of the descriptive information needed to address the review criteria for each category, and specifically, the goals, objectives, tactics, success measures, and outcomes of the campaign or project.

What forms of payment are accepted for Gold Circle Awards entries?

  • ASAE accepts credit card payments or checks. If you are paying by check you MUST list the check number on your electronic application and a copy of the entry form. Also, if you are submitting an entry that requires hard copies, you must send a copy of the check-in with the entry.

Can I submit multiple entries in the same category?

  • Yes, 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.

Is there a discount for submitting multiple entries?

  • No.  Each entry requires an individual application fee.

If I submit an entry for one category, but the judges decide that my entry should be in a different category, will it automatically be moved, or have I lost my chance?

  • Your entry will be checked for accuracy and to make sure it is in the appropriate category. If time allows, ASAE will contact you to correct any inaccuracies in your entry. However, as stated in the Gold Circle Awards Eligibility Requirements, ASAE reserves the right to disqualify any entry that includes incomplete or incorrect information.

When must my entry have been completed to be eligible for the 2025 Gold Circle Awards program?

  • Entries in the 2025 Gold Circle Awards program must be completed and/or distributed between January 1 and December 31, 2024.

Judging, Recognition & Ceremony

How are entries judged?

  • The evaluation criteria for each category are listed within the category descriptions published on the Gold Circle Awards website. An independent panel of judges is selected to evaluate submissions within each category entries are scored on a five-point scale within each area of review.  Please review the rubric for more details.

Who are the judges?

  • The judges are volunteers recruited from ASAE membership and non-members with experience in specific categories. Anyone with marketing, membership, and communications expertise can volunteer to serve as a judge. The Gold Circle Awards Committee reviews and approves all requests to be a judge.

Can I participate as a judge if my association has entered the competition?

  • Yes, however, you will not be allowed to judge any category in which your organization or your clients have entered.

Do I receive CAE credit if I am a judge?

  • No, unfortunately, this volunteer opportunity is not eligible for CAE credit.

How are winners notified and recognized?

  • ASAE notifies every winner once winners are selected, via email. Applicants not selected will also be notified via email following the judging and selection process. Once winners are notified, they will be announced via press release and recognized on ASAE’s website, conference sessions, and more. Winners will receive a beautiful, engraved crystal trophy that includes their organization name, the Gold Circle Awards logo for that year and the category won.

Will ASAE help me with promoting the news if my organization wins an award?

  • Yes. ASAE will provide a press release template that you can use to spread the word among your media contacts and members. ASAE also issues its own press release listing all the winners.

Will you return my entry materials following the application period?

  • No. Entries become the property of ASAE and are included in the Knowledge Center.

Will I receive feedback on my entry following the competition?

  • Your organization may receive feedback on your entry, based on the judge's election to provide feedback/ comments. If they elect to do so, we will provide them to you following the conclusion of the judging process in March.

Is there an appeals process if I don’t win?

  • There is no appeals process. This is an awards competition and decisions agreed to by the Gold Circle Awards judges are final. Entrants are not allowed to lobby for entry.

What is the Gold Circle Awards for Overall Excellence and how is it selected?

  • The Gold Circle Awards for Excellence is chosen from all Gold Circle Awards winners each year. The Gold Circle Awards Committee will review all the winners of Gold Circle Awards and then select one as the “best of the best.” The recipient of this award is announced during the Marketing, Membership, Communications & Tech Conference.

Is there a permanent, ongoing roster of winners from previous competitions?

  • Yes. We have an online list of past Gold Circle Awards winners.

 

ATTENTION! The 2025 Gold Circle Awards application period will open at 12:00 p.m. ET on January 7, 2025.