Breakin' It Down Awards

The Award Committee's Review Sub-Committee (up to five members) comprising BID committee members and external professionals in the field conducts in-depth qualitative assessment in order to select nominees and, subsequently, vote to determine the award winner.  If appropriate, the Sub-Committee may select one individual award and one organization recipient in the the Emerging Leaders and Denise Stennis awards  categories in a given year.  In the event that two nominations are tied for first place in a given category, the Review  Sub-Committee will review each nomination for a second time and provide new rating numbers for each nomination criteria. The nomination with the highest total ranking number will be the awardee. Results of the tie-breaker rating will be annotated on a separate worksheet ("TIE-BREAKER worksheet") and will be signed by Awards Committee Chair or Planning Committee Co-Chair for authenticity. In a rare occurrence, the two nominations tied for first place may be concurrently awarded in a category, subject to the approval of the Breakin’ It Down Planning Committee. At the discretion of Awards Committee, an Honorable Mention may be recognized.  The Award Committee may recommend not to present an award if the nominations do not meet the stated award criteria. The awards need not be offered if the BID Planning Committee so decides in a particular year.  All decisions of the Award and Breakin' It Down Planning Committees are final and not subject to appeal.

Conflict of Interest Disclosure

Any perceived or real conflicts of interest should be reported and discussed with the Review Committee chair. This includes but is not limited to whether a review committee member is a relative, partner, program collaborate, funder, employee, former employer, or former consultant.   Additionally, if a review committee member is currently employed by the same employer or institution of one of the nominees, the committee chair should be made aware of the situation. The committee chair will inform committee members of these relationships.  

Potential awardees will be contacted by the  Planning Committee co-chair by phone/email provided at the time of nomination and will then be required to complete and submit the online Agreement to Breakin' It Down  Awards Terms and Conditions. within three (3) days of notification or the award may be forfeited and an alternate awardee may be determined.  Return of any award notification as undeliverable may result in disqualification and an alternative may be determined The W9 for potential awardees will be sent to the email address submitted at the time of nomination.  Potential awardees will be required to complete and sign the W9 and return the document no less than forty-five (45)days before the award presentation ceremony.  

Should a nominee not be selected in the initial year of submission, the nomination will be carried over and considered active for the next award cycle.   Thus, a nomination will be considered at least twice.  The award need not be made to count as an award cycle.  

Updated materials to enhance the original nomination are highly encouraged and may be submitted if such materials are received online at BID's website prior to or on the next appropriate nomination deadline and comply with current eligibility qualifications.  

In all cases, Breakin' It Down will notify the nominator as to the status of the nomination.

The Breakin' It Down Awards are  presented during a virtual or in-person ceremony, to be held as part of the Breakin' It Down conference or as  a separate event.  The Breakin' It Down Awards recognize leadership excellence in the field of nonprofit, philanthropy, and fundraising.   The recipients will be honored at the Breakin' It Down Conference.  event.  The recipients of the awards receive a feature on BID's website, Facebook, a public announcement, commemorative award, monetary award, and complementary full-BID conferenec registration for the awardee and a companion or organization representative.  The nominator(s) of the awardee(s)r is also invited to the award ceremony and presented with one registration.

The Breakin' It Down wards are not conferred in absentia.  Awardees must be present at the ceremony to receive the award. If they are not able to be present, they must send someone on their behalf. Organization awardee must send an organization representative.  

Prizes/awards are amounts received by an individual or non-profit organization primarily in recognition of religious, charitable, scientific, educational, artistic, literary or civic achievement or received as a result of entering a contest. 

Forms must be completed and submitted to the Awards Committee at hello@breakinitdownchicago.org, no less than 45 days before the award ceremony.

Award Payment to U.S. Citizens, Resident Aliens, and Non-Profit Organizations

All prizes of $600 or more are reportable by the Breakin' It Down's Fiscal Sponsor on Form 1099- MISC

• Amount is subject to Federal Income Tax and potentially subject to State Income

Forms Required for Award Payment to U.S. Citizens

• IRS Form W-9, Request For Taxpayer Identification Number, prior to disbursement of funds

Forms Required for Award Payment to Resident Alien

• IRS Form W-9, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number
• Copy of Permanent Resident or Resident Alien card or copy of the I-551 Stamp that is printed on the applicant's passport

Forms Required for Award Payment to Non-Profit Organization

• IRS Form W-9, Request For Taxpayer Identification Number, prior to disbursement of funds

Award Payment to Nonresident Aliens

IRS regulations require that Nonresident Aliens (NRA) who are receiving a prize/award are subject to 30% federal withholding on the payment.  Generally, tax treaty provisions are not available to exempt a prize/award from the 30% tax withholding.  Breakin' It Down, through its fiscal sponsor, is required to withhold 30% from the amount and remit it to the IRS. The NRA will receive the balance. 

Forms Required for Award Payment to Nonresident Alien

• IRS Form W-8BEN, Certificate of Foreign Status of Beneficial Owner for United States Tax Withholding
• Form UPP 192, Alien Determination of Residency Form

The Breakin' It Down Awards are subject to all federal, state, and local laws. This awards contest and Official Rules are governed and interpreted by the laws of the State of Illinois, without regard to its conflict of law provisions.

By participating in the Breakin' It Down Awards contest and submitting an entry, or agreeing to have an nomination entry submitted, each nominator/entrant agrees to (i) be bound by these Official Rules, including all nomination requirements, and (ii) waive any and all claims against Breakin' It Down and its fiscal sponsor, which is providing the prize(s), if any, and their fiscal sponsor, affiliates, officers, directors, employees, agents, volunteers, licensees, and any and all other organizations and individuals associated with the Breakin' It Down Awards contest, and all of their respective officers, directors, employees, agents and representatives (collectively, "Released Parties") for any injury, damage or loss that may occur, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from the participation in the Breakin' It Down Awards contest or from the receipt or use of any Prize (or any portion thereof) or any activity related to the receipt or use of any Prize (or any portion thereof). 

By entering the Breakin' It Down Awards contest or submitting any nomination for the Awards contest, each entrant or nominator gives their express permission to be contacted by Breakin It Down planning committee members and/or its fiscal sponsor by telephone, e-mail and/or postal mail for contest purposes. The winner, by acceptance of the Prize, grants to Breakin' It Down the right to publicize such winner's entry, name, employer, location (city and state), photograph, voice, statements and/or other likeness and prize information for advertising, promotional, and/or any other purpose in any media or format now known or hereafter devised, throughout the world, in perpetuity, without limitation and without further compensation, consideration, permission or notification, unless prohibited by law.  

 Breakin' It Down will post the Nomination Guidelines,  which are subject to change without notice, at DBreakin' It Down Awards | Breakin' It Down Chicago (breakinitdownchicago.org and names of the winners online at www.breakinitdownchicago.org.  

POSTHUMOUS AWARDS

Posthumous awards will be made only when knowledge of the individual's death is received after the recipient has been announced. Nominees must be living at the time of their nomination.  Nominations of individuals known to be deceased are not accepted.

FORFEITURE OF BREAKIN' IT DOWN AWARD

A Breakin' It Down Award may be forfeited and an alternative successful nomination may be selected, if:

1. Selected awardee fails to accept the awaed within three (3) business days of notification.
2. Selected awardee cannot attend the award ceremony, based on time and date in the agenda.  

Breakin' It Down strives to be a welcoming and inclusive event. If you have a specific accessibility and/or dietary restriction request, please contact us at hello@breakinitdownchicago.org.  We will make every effort with the site to accommodate your request. Our light breakfast is vegetarian and vegan, and our lunch menu offers plant-based and meat options. 

We cannot guarantee accommodations for requests made after October 10, 2024.

We appreciate your cooperation.