Call for Nominations

The Katz Prize Nomination Form is a Google Form. Please complete the form’s required information and then click "Submit."

Click here to access the form

Nominators are required to submit three types of supporting materials about the nominated project. Please keep in mind that the most effective supporting materials will speak to how the project meets the Katz Prize selection criteria and will allow the selection committee to experience the project as fully and evocatively as possible.

To submit a set of Supporting Materials for your Katz Prize nomination:

• Complete and submit the Katz Prize Supporting Materials Cover Sheet (a Google Form). All Prize nominations must include a completed Cover Sheet, which consists of the following sections:
  • Project Summary
  • Project Impact
  • Supporting Material
  • Title/Description/Link (3 total)

Note: if your selected Supporting Material is available online, please provide the URL in the appropriate space on the Supporting Materials form.

If your selected Supporting Material is not available online, please provide the Title/Description in the appropriate spaces on the Supporting Materials form; leave the link section blank; and submit the form. You will then submit your Supporting Material via Dropbox according to the instructions below.

• Please prepare your Supporting Materials as a digital file. NJCH will accept the following formats: PDF, Microsoft Office-compatible files (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), JPG, GIF, PNG, TIFF, MP4, MOV, WMV.
• Nominators should save Supporting Materials files in a single folder on your computer or in your Dropbox account. This folder should then be named and uploaded to the NJCH Katz Prize Dropbox per the instructions in the “Submitting Your Nomination” section below.
• For publications, please either provide a digital copy as part of your nomination package or mail 5 physical copies (one for each selection panel member) to the NJCH office at the address below:

New Jersey Council for the Humanities
Katz Prize for Excellence in Public Humanities
PO Box 3287
Camden, NJ 08101

If you have an idea about a different type of supporting material you would like to submit, or you have a general question about which supporting materials are appropriate, please email us at katzprize@njhumanities.org.

All nominated projects may have up to 3 letters of recommendation in their nomination packet. The letters should address the quality of the project and the significance of its contributions to the cultural life of New Jersey. 

The most persuasive letters of recommendation will come from individuals who experienced the project firsthand and can write knowledgeably and thoughtfully about the project’s success and impact. Nominators should keep in mind the nature of the nominated project as they select letter writers. Good examples of potential letter writers include humanities scholars and practitioners with deep knowledge of the project’s subject matter; community members with lived experience that equips them to address the project’s local significance or the effectiveness of its reach; audience members who were particularly impacted by the program; leaders or staff members at peer organizations with relevant experience and expertise about the subject matter; experts in the particular medium used by the project to reach its audiences. 

Individuals affiliated with the nominated project (e.g. staff, board members, consultants), or those who would otherwise benefit from the project receiving the award, are not permitted to submit letters of recommendation. If you have questions about whether a particular recommender has a conflict of interest in submitting a letter for a nominated project, please contact us at katzprize@njhumanities.org.  

*Please note that NJCH will not accept more than three letters of recommendation per project.* If an organization attempts to submit more than three letters of recommendation as part of their Katz Prize application, NJCH will accept only the first three letters that are submitted; any extra letters of recommendation will not be passed along to the selection committee. 

Letters of recommendation should be emailed directly from the letter writer (not the nominator or nominee) to NJCH at katzprize@njhumanities.org. All letters of recommendation should include the subject line “Katz Prize – Letter of Recommendation for [Nominee Organization Name],” along with the writer’s full name; title, if any; affiliation, if any; relationship to the project; and contact information, including email and phone. Letters of recommendation may be pasted within the body of the email or attached to the email as a Word or PDF document. 

Your Nomination Form and Supporting Materials Cover Sheet will be submitted via the Google Forms for each component.  

If your application includes Supporting Materials that are not available online, please submit the folder (on your computer or in Dropbox, as described above) containing those materials electronically via the NJCH Katz Prize for Excellence in Public Humanities – 2023 Dropbox. To do so: 

1. Create a new folder on your computer or in your own Dropbox account and place any non-online Supporting Materials files in it. Make sure that each file is named properly and clearly (example: Tinytown Historical Society – Supporting Material 1; Tinytown Historical Society – Supporting Material 2; etc.) 
2. Name your folder using the following naming convention: [Nominee Organization Name] – Katz Prize 2023 (example: Tinytown Historical Society – Katz Prize 2023). 
3. Access the NJCH Katz Prize for Excellence in Public Humanities – 2023 Dropbox.
4. Drag and drop your folder to add it to the Katz Prize Dropbox. 

Please remember that letters of recommendation must be submitted via email directly by the letter writer and not via Dropbox (see “Recommendation Letters” subsection above). 

NJCH staff will contact the nominator via email to confirm receipt of the nomination packet within a few days of submission. Please note that incomplete submissions will not be reviewed by the selection committee.