HOW TO WRITE A COMPELLING NOMINATION LETTER Do you have an incredible nominee in mind? Make sure your official nomination is thorough and thoughtful enough to persuade us, or we may never really understand the true impact your nominee has had on the Calgary community. Here are some tips to help you write a compelling nomination. 1. Start early. Identify your nominee and begin the process well in advance of the deadline. This will give you time to consult with others, and to strengthen and revise as needed. 2. Read the criteria carefully. Make sure you understand the criteria by which each nominee will be judged. Sometimes it’s helpful to compare a nominee’s CV (resume) with the criteria to identify correlations between their accomplishments and the attributes we’re looking for. 3. Work with the nominee. If possible, involve the person you’re nominating. This will ensure you provide accurate and detailed information, and will give you an opportunity to include achievements that aren’t covered in the individual’s CV. 4. Be clear and specific. Provide examples. Gather numbers, facts, anecdotes, examples and quotations from colleagues or patrons that will illustrate and support your generalizations. 5. Provide different perspectives. Don’t tell the same story three times. The nomination and supporting letters should provide various examples from a range of views and perspectives. 6. Nominate a person, not an organization. The work that an organization does is important, but we’re looking for individuals who are making a difference. Make sure your nomination illustrates the great work that your nominee does personally, not just what their agency does. 7. Consider professional boundaries. A nominee might ‘go over and above’ their assigned duties, work from home at all hours of the day and night voluntarily, have ‘close’ relationships with clients etc., however, nominations should focus on the criteria and direct impacts the nominee has on the community and sector, and not solely on what a ‘great person’ or ‘hard worker’ they are. Carefully consider the professional boundaries of a person’s role before including information. 8. Consider a collaborative, group-written nomination. If you find yourself overwhelmed at leading a nomination solo, ask a few colleagues to work with you. A group effort will make gathering ideas and writing the nomination easier. 9. Have someone else look over the final draft. Check for typos, poor grammar, run-on sentences, and clarify any points that could be confusing to anyone not intimately familiar with the nominee or their work. Fancy language isn’t necessary, but do take the time to ensure the final draft is error-free. 10. Consider thoughtfully who you’d like to write supporting letters. Solicit letters of support from individuals whose reputations or expertise will help the nominee be considered favourably and ensure letter writers are aware of the award criteria before writing the letter. If you have great details that you weren’t able to fit in the main nomination, consider how the letter writers may incorporate them. 11. If at first you don’t succeed… revise the nomination as needed and nominate the person again at the next opportunity. You’ve already done the hard part of gathering all that information!