Award Criteria

The Awards were made available to people of all ages in the New York City area. Projects could be community-based, humanitarian, environmental, educational, health-orientated, creative or whatever – there was no restriction on the type of project - but the following qualities were specified:

Empowerment: The project should empower individuals or groups enabling them to make inspirational changes in their own lives and/or their communities.

Creativity: The project should embody originality and creativity. It may incorporate a new twist for an old idea or an adaptation of something from one culture to another. Ideally it will strike the imagination and inspire others to get involved.

Replicability: It should be relatively simple, practical and easy to implement, so that others may be inspired to repeat it elsewhere around the globe. Ideally the project will be realizable within a 3-6 month time frame, although some may take longer.

Commitment: There should be evidence of the commitment that the applicant(s) bring(s) to the project, for example in the form of time and effort invested, the securing of matched funding from other sources, “people power”, or other indications. The selection committee will be looking for heart(s), mind(s), hands and feet in the project!

Fun: Ideally projects will contain an element of fun and will help to spread ‘miles of smiles’ around the globe.

Community/Population Served: Projects must take place in the greater New York City area and serve populations there.

Judging was based on the extent to which  applications met the qualities outlined above and embodied the principles outlined in Fred Matser’s book Rediscover Your Heart: 7 Keys for Personal and Planetary Transformation. No individual or group was allowed to submit more than one application. The award panel’s choice of awardees and award-winning projects was final.