Velora Champions of Change 2026: Nominate a Nonprofit to Win Up to $10,000

Are you part of a nonprofit organization creating meaningful change in your community? Do you know a nonprofit that is improving lives, expanding opportunities, protecting vulnerable communities, supporting families, advancing education, promoting inclusion, strengthening local communities, or addressing major social challenges?

The Velora Champions of Change initiative is back for its second year, giving people an opportunity to recognize nonprofit organizations that are turning purpose into measurable progress.

For the 2026 edition, $15,000 in total prize donations is available. The winning nonprofit will receive a $10,000 donation, while two runners-up will each receive $2,500 to support their missions and continue their work.

The initiative provides an opportunity not only to recognize outstanding nonprofit organizations but also to give selected organizations additional financial support that can help them expand or sustain their impact.

Nominations are open from September 21 through October 31, followed by a public voting period from October 5 through November 6. Winners will be announced on November 10 during Velora’s virtual event.

What Is the Champions of Change Initiative?

The Champions of Change initiative celebrates the people and nonprofit teams working to turn purpose into progress for their communities.

Nonprofit organizations play an important role in addressing social, economic, educational, environmental, health and community challenges. Many organizations operate with limited resources while working directly with people who need support.

Champions of Change provides a platform for these organizations to receive recognition for the work they are already doing and gives the public an opportunity to support organizations whose missions deserve greater visibility.

The 2026 edition is the second year of the initiative. According to the programme information, the prize pool has increased this year, with a total of $15,000 available across three winning nonprofits.

The prize distribution is:

• 1st place: $10,000 donation
• Two runners-up: $2,500 donation each
• Total prize funding: $15,000

For a nonprofit organization, receiving this kind of financial support can provide resources that can be directed toward programmes, community services, organizational development, outreach or other mission-related priorities.

Who Can Be Nominated?

The Champions of Change initiative is designed specifically around nonprofit organizations.

You can nominate:

• Your own nonprofit organization
• Another eligible nonprofit organization
• A nonprofit that you believe is making a meaningful difference in its community

The nomination process is therefore not limited to employees or founders of an organization. Someone outside the organization can also submit a nomination.

When a person nominates a nonprofit they do not work for, the organization is contacted by email and given the opportunity to accept or decline the nomination. Only nominations that are accepted will be published for public voting.

This makes the initiative particularly useful for supporters, volunteers, community members, partners, donors and other individuals who want to recognize a nonprofit whose work they believe deserves attention.

Why Nominate a Nonprofit?

Many nonprofit organizations do important work without receiving widespread public recognition.

A nonprofit may be:

• Supporting underserved communities
• Providing education or mentorship
• Helping families facing financial hardship
• Supporting children and young people
• Improving access to healthcare
• Promoting mental health awareness
• Supporting people with disabilities or neurodivergence
• Protecting animals
• Supporting veterans and first responders
• Addressing housing challenges
• Promoting entrepreneurship
• Expanding economic opportunity
• Supporting environmental conservation
• Advancing social inclusion
• Developing innovative community solutions
• Responding to local or global humanitarian needs

The Champions of Change initiative gives supporters a way to publicly highlight such work.

The nomination itself asks the nominator to explain why the nonprofit deserves to be recognized as a Champion of Change. This provides an opportunity to describe the organization’s mission, accomplishments, community impact and the difference its work is making.

How the Champions of Change Process Works

The initiative has two major stages:

1. Nominate a nonprofit
2. Vote for a nonprofit

The nomination period and voting period operate on different dates, so organizations and supporters should pay attention to the relevant deadlines.

Stage One: Nominate a Nonprofit

The nomination period runs from:

September 21 to October 31

During this period, individuals can nominate an eligible nonprofit organization through the official nomination form.

The nomination form collects information about both the person making the nomination and the nonprofit being nominated.

Stage Two: Public Voting

The public voting period runs from:

October 5 to November 6

Once an accepted nonprofit has been published in the voting gallery, supporters can vote for it.

Each supporter can cast:

One vote per verified email address per calendar day.

This means supporters have the opportunity to return each day during the voting period and vote again using the same verified email address.

The daily voting system means that nonprofit organizations can potentially build sustained support throughout the voting period rather than relying on a single voting day.

Important: Nomination and Voting Are Different

One important detail applicants and supporters should understand is that the nomination form is not the voting form.

The opportunity information specifically states that the nomination form is for nominations only.

If a nonprofit has already been accepted and appears in the public gallery, there is no need to submit another nomination. Instead, supporters can use the voting mechanism to vote for the organization.

This distinction is important because submitting a nomination does not itself count as a public vote.

What Information Is Required During Nomination?

The nomination form requests information about the person making the nomination, the nonprofit organization and the reason for the nomination.

Applicants should be prepared to provide the following information:

Nominator Information

The form requests:

• First name
• Last name
• Email address
• Email verification

This allows the organizers to identify and verify the person submitting the nomination.

Nonprofit Information

The nomination form asks for:

• Name of the nonprofit being nominated
• Nonprofit website
• Nonprofit address
• City
• State or province
• ZIP or postal code
• Country
• Phone number

These details provide the organizers with information needed to identify the nominated organization.

Employee or Organization Contact

If the nominee is another nonprofit rather than the organization of the person making the nomination, the form also requests contact information for an employee of the nonprofit.

This includes:

• Employee first name
• Employee last name
• Employee email address

The employee contact is notified so that the organization can accept or decline the nomination.

The form also asks:

“Do you work at this non-profit?”

The available responses are:

• Yes
• No

This helps distinguish self-nominations from nominations made by outside supporters.

The Most Important Nomination Question

One of the most important sections of the nomination form asks:

Why does this nonprofit deserve to be recognized as a Champion of Change?

This is where the nominator can explain the organization’s contribution and why its work deserves recognition.

A strong nomination should therefore focus on the organization’s actual impact.

Potential areas to highlight could include:

• The problem the nonprofit is addressing
• Who benefits from its work
• The organization’s programmes and services
• Measurable achievements
• The number of people reached
• Innovative approaches
• Community partnerships
• Long-term impact
• Challenges the organization has overcome
• How funding could help expand its mission

The examples already published in the Champions of Change gallery demonstrate the broad range of work that can be highlighted.

Examples of Nonprofits Being Recognized

The current Champions of Change gallery features organizations working across many different areas.

These examples illustrate the diversity of nonprofit missions represented in the initiative.

Centro Community Partners

Centro Community Partners focuses on entrepreneurs from low- to moderate-income communities.

The organization reports having served more than 9,100 entrepreneurs since 2010 and helping entrepreneurs access more than $12.1 million in capital.

Its work combines business education, one-on-one coaching, mentorship, an AI-powered business-planning platform and access to capital.

Loose Ends Project

Loose Ends addresses grief and community connection by matching volunteer handwork finishers with unfinished projects left behind because of death, illness or disability.

The organization reports nearly 6,000 completed projects and almost 40,000 volunteer finishers from around the world.

Its model demonstrates how volunteer skills and human connection can be used to help families dealing with loss.

Fredericksburg Christian Health Center

Fredericksburg Christian Health Center focuses on healthcare access for people facing barriers to care.

The organization reports serving more than 1,300 charity patients through nearly 3,000 charity visits, with more than half of its services provided as charity care.

Its work combines primary healthcare with behavioural health, counselling, case management, nutrition and spiritual care.

PerspectAbility

PerspectAbility works to create opportunities for neurodivergent adults through programmes focused on independence, employment skills, confidence, self-advocacy and community connections.

Its RISE Transition Academy is highlighted as an example of its work to create pathways for neurodivergent individuals to participate and thrive within their communities.

Eye Discover Inc.

Eye Discover provides culturally responsive arts programming to under-resourced and low- to moderate-income school communities across Los Angeles County.

The organization reports reaching 3,000 young people since 2022 and uses art and social justice programming to help young people express their experiences and engage with social issues.

PACT for Animals / Operation Foster

Operation Foster helps military personnel and pet owners undergoing medical treatment find safe foster homes for their pets until they can be reunited.

The organization reports helping more than 3,000 pets across all 50 states.

Un/Do Mindset

Un/Do Mindset focuses on proactive mental health and life-skills education.

Its work includes education around emotional regulation, coping strategies, communication, boundaries, cognitive reframing and trauma education.

The organization aims to make these skills accessible to people across different ages, communities, cultures and life circumstances.

Family & Children’s Association

Family & Children’s Association has worked on Long Island since 1884 and provides more than 50 programmes serving children, families, seniors and individuals.

The organization reports serving more than 35,000 people annually and describes services ranging from emergency shelter and mental healthcare to recovery support and assistance navigating benefits.

It Starts With Soccer

It Starts With Soccer works with schools in rural communities in several African countries, including Zimbabwe, Zambia, South Africa, Botswana, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Ghana.

Its approach uses soccer clinics to promote education while also working with communities to address practical needs such as clean water, school supplies, renewable energy and medical care.

Resilient MindZ

Resilient MindZ focuses on supporting young people through mentorship, mental health conversations, leadership opportunities and scholarship support.

The organization describes work across HBCUs and different states and reports receiving more than 300 scholarship applications during the year highlighted in its nomination.

Local Hands Global Heart

Local Hands Global Heart focuses on social entrepreneurship and youth leadership.

The organization reports reaching 25,000 people, supporting youth in rural communities and operating a youth centre in Kayamandi Township, South Africa, where young people receive support in literacy, mathematics, nutrition and empowerment.

These examples demonstrate that the Champions of Change initiative is not limited to one specific type of nonprofit activity. The nominated organizations represented in the gallery address diverse community needs.

The Range of Causes Represented

The published nominations demonstrate that nonprofit impact can take many forms.

The organizations represented in the initiative work in areas including:

• Education
• Youth development
• Healthcare
• Mental health
• Entrepreneurship
• Poverty reduction
• Community development
• Disability inclusion
• Arts and culture
• Child welfare
• Housing
• Environmental conservation
• Animal welfare
• Veteran and first-responder support
• Breast cancer support
• Nonprofit leadership
• Civic engagement
• Sports and education
• Social entrepreneurship

This diversity reinforces the broad nature of the Champions of Change recognition.

The initiative is ultimately focused on organizations that can demonstrate how their work contributes to positive change.

The Role of Public Voting

Public voting is a central component of the Champions of Change process.

Once nominations have been accepted and published, members of the public can search the voting gallery and support their preferred nonprofit.

The system permits one vote per verified email address per calendar day.

For participating nonprofits, this means that communicating with supporters can be an important part of the voting stage.

Organizations may want to inform:

• Employees
• Volunteers
• Donors
• Alumni
• Community members
• Partners
• Beneficiaries
• Friends and supporters

about their participation and explain how people can vote.

Because voting takes place over multiple days, supporters can return throughout the voting period rather than voting only once.

When Will the Winners Be Announced?

The winners will be announced on:

November 10

The announcement will take place during Velora’s virtual event.

The event also provides an opportunity for people working in the nonprofit sector to explore broader developments affecting nonprofit organizations, including changes in strategy and technology.

Winners will also be notified by email, and the Champions of Change page will be updated following the public announcement.

Prize Money for the Winning Nonprofits

The 2026 Champions of Change initiative offers a total prize pool of $15,000.

The distribution is:

Award	Donation
Winning nonprofit	$10,000
Runner-up	$2,500
Runner-up	$2,500
Total	$15,000

The funding is intended to help the winning organizations carry their missions forward.

For nonprofits that operate with limited resources, even a relatively modest unrestricted or mission-directed contribution can potentially help strengthen programmes, expand outreach, purchase necessary resources, support staff or reach additional beneficiaries.

Click HERE to Register for Nonprofit MOVE

Why the $10,000 Award Can Matter to a Nonprofit

Nonprofit organizations often have to balance ambitious missions with limited resources.

A financial award can provide an organization with additional capacity to pursue its objectives.

Depending on the organization’s needs, additional support could potentially contribute to areas such as:

• Programme delivery
• Community outreach
• Educational resources
• Volunteer engagement
• Technology
• Communications
• Operational capacity
• Expansion into new communities
• Support for beneficiaries
• Development of new initiatives

The specific use of the prize should, of course, depend on the winning nonprofit’s mission and needs.

The published nominations illustrate how nonprofit organizations can use support to continue addressing the challenges their communities face.

How to Make a Strong Nonprofit Nomination

Although the supplied information does not prescribe a specific scoring rubric for the written nomination, the question asking why a nonprofit deserves recognition provides a clear opportunity to communicate its impact.

A strong nomination can focus on several important elements.

1. Clearly Explain the Mission

Start by explaining what the nonprofit exists to accomplish.

The reader should quickly understand:

• What problem the organization addresses
• Who it serves
• Where it operates
• Why the problem matters

2. Demonstrate Real Impact

Where possible, include measurable achievements.

For example:

• Number of beneficiaries reached
• Number of programmes delivered
• Communities served
• Volunteers engaged
• Projects completed
• Funds distributed
• Services provided
• Partnerships established

Several existing nominations use statistics to demonstrate the scale of their work.

3. Explain What Makes the Organization Different

A compelling nomination should explain why the nonprofit is particularly innovative or effective.

This could include:

• A new approach to solving a longstanding problem
• Technology-enabled services
• Community-led solutions
• A distinctive volunteer model
• Partnerships
• A successful programme
• A new service created in response to an emerging need

4. Tell a Human Story

Numbers can demonstrate scale, but personal stories can demonstrate impact.

Explain how the organization’s work changes the lives of actual people.

Many of the published nominations combine measurable results with personal experiences and stories to demonstrate why their work matters.

5. Explain the Wider Community Effect

Strong nonprofit work often creates effects beyond the immediate beneficiary.

For example, supporting one entrepreneur can potentially benefit a family and create employment opportunities within a community. Supporting a young person can influence their education and future prospects.

A nomination can therefore explain how the organization’s work creates broader community change.

Click HERE to Nominate a Nonprofit.

The Importance of Community Support

Champions of Change is structured around the idea that nonprofit organizations can be strengthened not only through funding but also through recognition and community engagement.

The public voting component gives supporters an active role in determining which organizations receive recognition.

This means the initiative creates multiple opportunities for participation:

• Nominate a nonprofit
• Accept a nomination
• Share the nonprofit’s story
• Encourage supporters to participate
• Vote during the voting period
• Attend the virtual event
• Celebrate the winning organizations

For nonprofit organizations, being featured can also provide increased visibility among potential supporters and members of the broader nonprofit community.

Nonprofit MOVE Virtual Event

Alongside the Champions of Change initiative, the supplied information promotes Nonprofit MOVE, a virtual event powered by Velora.

The event is described as bringing together industry leaders to explore changes in nonprofit strategy and technology and what those changes mean for nonprofit missions.

The event is also where the Champions of Change winners will be announced on November 10.

This makes the event relevant not only to the nominated organizations but also to nonprofit professionals interested in developments affecting the sector.

About Velora

Velora, the host behind the Champions of Change initiative, describes its platform as bringing together:

• Fundraising
• Donor management
• Fund accounting
• Grant management

The platform uses an AI-powered approach and is designed to help nonprofit organizations strengthen their operations and scale their missions.

The Champions of Change initiative therefore sits within a broader focus on helping nonprofit organizations operate more effectively and grow their impact.

Important Dates to Remember

Nonprofits and supporters should keep the following dates in mind:

September 21

Nominations open.

October 5

Public voting begins.

October 31

Nomination deadline.

November 6

Public voting closes.

November 10

Winners announced during Velora’s virtual event.

The nomination and voting dates are particularly important because they represent separate stages of the initiative.

Final Deadline

The key deadline for organizations and individuals wishing to nominate a nonprofit is:

October 31

After the nomination period, accepted organizations move into the public voting stage, which continues until November 6.

Visit HERE for more information about Velora Champions of Change 2026.

Conclusion

The Velora Champions of Change 2026 initiative provides an opportunity to recognize nonprofit organizations that are turning their missions into meaningful community impact.

With $15,000 in total donations available, including a $10,000 award for the winning nonprofit and two $2,500 runner-up donations, the initiative combines public recognition with financial support for organizations working to create positive change.

The programme is particularly notable for allowing people to nominate either their own nonprofit or another eligible nonprofit they believe deserves recognition. Accepted nominations are then made available for public voting, with each supporter able to vote once per verified email address per calendar day during the voting period.

The wide range of organizations featured in the nomination gallery demonstrates the many forms that community change can take, from education and healthcare to entrepreneurship, mental health, youth development, disability inclusion, environmental protection, child welfare and social innovation.

For anyone connected to a nonprofit organization that is making a meaningful difference, the Champions of Change initiative provides an opportunity to put that work in the spotlight.

Nomination deadline: October 31.

Winners will be announced on November 10 during Velora’s virtual event, with the winning nonprofit receiving $10,000 and two runners-up receiving $2,500 each to help carry their missions forward.

Discover more global Award Opportunities on Opportunities For Youth.