McNulty Prize Application & Eligibility

The 2027 McNulty Prize application cycle is now open. Please reach out to your Program Director for nominations or express your interest by October 16th.

McNulty Prize Criteria & Eligibility

Applicants are evaluated based on the following criteria:

• INSPIRING LEADERSHIP. We recognize individuals who are applying their unique talents and resources—local connections and lived experience, their expertise or organizational platform, credibility, and networks—in service of a bold and compelling vision for change.
• IMPACT. Impact looks different for every organization. We prioritize organizations that have a proven track record and can clearly illustrate through data, evidence, examples and stories the ways in which communities or systems have been changed.
• LASTING CHANGE. We lift up organizations that understand and address the root causes of a challenge and contribute to long-term solutions—whether through expanding agency for individuals, shifting the conditions that hold the problem in place, or influencing the sector and collaborating with others.

To qualify for the John P. McNulty Prize:

• Applicants must be a Fellow or participant of an Aspen Institute program that challenges them to investigate their own leadership and respond to a call to action.
• Their organization is at a mid-stage where impact is known and documented, and where they are poised to continue and influence others for the foreseeable future. Successful candidates are typically in operation for 7 or more years.
• They must be a founder or hold a leadership role in that organization, where they have taken decisive action to lead against a societal challenge, and be comfortable attributing impact and credit to their leadership role.
• Organizations must prioritize social impact, whether they are nonprofit, for-profit, or hybrid models.
• Organizations must have a visible presence and be able to receive grant funding, where recognition would go to a needed source.

Candidates are nominated by Aspen Initiatives and Programs. Please contact your director to express your interest.

If you are invited to participate in the submission round, you will be requested to respond to the following prompts in our application portal.

NARRATIVE

A. Problem Statement

The McNulty Prize recognizes organizations that are addressing deep, intractable challenges affecting communities today. Whether local, regional, or globally scaled efforts, their approaches to making change are relevant to communities all around the world.

• What critical and urgent issue does your venture address, and why does it matter to a global audience? What are the key factors contributing to this challenge, and who is most impacted? How is your organization effectively and distinctly solving the problem? What would happen if this organization didn't exist -- what is the counterfactual?

B. Leadership Statement

The McNulty Prize celebrates breakthrough leaders dismantling critical problems and who have stretched their leadership in daring and courageous ways.

• Why do you do this work? How are you uniquely positioned to address this issue? What lived experiences, talents, resources, or knowledge do you bring in particular?
• In what way is leading this effort a stretch or challenge for you? Please describe your personal leadership journey. Do you envision your role evolving in the near future?
• What role did your Aspen Fellowship/Program experience play in your journey?

SHORT RESPONSE

C. Current Model & Impact

The McNulty Prize prioritizes organizations at a mid-stage in their life cycle. We define mid-stage organizations as those with a proven and established track record and general financial health or plans for sustainability that are ambitious and well-positioned to expand their impact and influence further.

• How do you do what you do? Clearly describe and break down the organization's model, including key programs or focus areas, services or activities conducted, and markets and constituents served.
• Describe the reach, scale, and depth of your impact on your intended beneficiaries, whether individuals, the community, and/or ecosystems. What evidence is there that the venture has been accepted and embraced by those it serves? Include the most compelling metrics and long-term outcomes you track that best reflect your impact.

D. Lasting Change

The Prize seeks to lift up organizations that understand and address the root causes of a challenge and contribute to permanent, long-term solutions—whether through expanding the agency of individuals, shifting the conditions, policies, or practices that hold the problem in place, influencing the sector, and collaborating with other actors, or other approaches.

• How does your venture address root causes of the challenge or otherwise create or contribute to long-term solutions? How do you work with other actors and systems to realize your vision?
• What evidence is there that shows how the venture has influenced or shaped other actors in this space, or the sector/systems at large? How replicable or scalable is your model in or beyond your context?

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

In an effort to reduce the application burden, we encourage you to share existing documentation whenever possible, per the descriptions below.

E. Financial Information.

Please share details about the financial structure of your organization, how it is funded, and how it will be sustained in the long term. Include the following materials

• Financial statements from the most recent year (audited statements preferred if available). Include all associated organizational entities and distinguish revenue and expenses across each, if there are multiple.
• Current fiscal year budget, including a summary of revenue sources and a list of your largest funders/supporters.
• Next fiscal year budget (if available).
• Your organization's W-9 form (U.S Certification) or W-8BEN form (Certificate of Foreign Status). Please upload an existing form dated within the last 12-18 months, or find the respective form at IRS.gov/forms.

F. Impact & Supporting Materials.

Please share existing materials that demonstrate proven impact on the communities served and your influence on the sector. We strongly recommend that you include the following, limited to 10 pages.

• Excerpts from annual impact or funder reports, case studies, and stories of tangible impact
• Theory of change visuals or strategy and program area summaries
• Other reports to supporters or investors
• Your CV
• Organizational chart
• Links to press coverage or other recognition

G. Recommendation & References.

• Letter of Recommendation. Please share 1-2 letters of recommendation in support of your venture and leadership, from a funder, institutional partner, or subject-matter expert. You are welcome to use existing letters of support. If you need more time to submit this letter, please inform epark@mcnultyfound.org and we can make an extension.
• References. Please share a list of 3-5 references (including name, title/affiliation, and email address) that we may contact during our due diligence process. Ideally, this would include a diverse set of funders, partners, and/or subject-matter experts who can speak to the organization's impact and your leadership.

[Optional] Short Video. Encouraged, not required—YouTube or Vimeo links accepted

• Share a self-recorded 2-3 minute video (i.e from your phone or laptop) that responds to the following question: Why does this issue matter to you and the world? What is at stake? What drives you in your leadership and keeps you going?
  
• Alternatively, share an existing video that shows and tells about your venture, whether narrated personally or showing others involved or affected by the work.
  

The McNulty Foundation offers support to high-potential ventures at earlier, critical junctures on their path to impact, through the Catalyst Fund.

To qualify for the Catalyst Fund, you must be a Fellow or participant of the Aspen Institute, with an organization influenced by your fellowship experience in some way.