Call for Nominations

Please note: the nomination process for the 2024 Katz Prize is now closed. The below information is for reference only. For information about next year’s nomination cycle, check back in Spring 2025.

We are pleased to announce a call for nominations for the inaugural Stanley N. Katz Prize for Excellence in Public Humanities. Created to commemorate the Council's 50th anniversary and honor the legacy of scholar and longtime NJCH board member Stan Katz, the prize will recognize a New Jersey-based organization that has demonstrated significant engagement with and impact through recent community-focused public humanities work in our state.

Winners will receive an award of $5,000 from NJCH

Organizations may self-nominate

Winner Announced: Fall 2024

Katz Prize image

ELIGIBILITY

To be eligible for nomination, an organization must:

  • Have completed the nominated project between 2019 and 2024 (i.e., within the last five years).
  • Be a New Jersey-based nonprofit organization or government entity.

Nomination Guidelines

Anyone may nominate a project, and nominators may nominate any project that they believe best exemplifies the purpose of the Prize and fulfills its eligibility requirements.  

Self-nominations from organizations *are* permitted. All nominations are confidential. 

Nominators should identify a single project which they wish to nominate and should be prepared to demonstrate the project’s significant impact in the field of public humanities and its importance to New Jersey communities. Projects that served and engaged members of communities that traditionally have had less access to humanities programs and resources are especially encouraged. 

Nominated projects may take any number of forms, including but not limited to:

  • a book
  • an exhibition
  • an event or series of events (in-person, hybrid, or virtual)
  • a discussion program
  • an archival or oral history project
  • a digital humanities project

Selection Criteria and Process

Nominated projects will be evaluated by a committee of distinguished peer reviewers with expertise in the public humanities using the following criteria:  

  • Significance of the project’s impact in the local community and in the public humanities space more broadly, regardless of the project’s scale 
  • Thoughtful and consistent incorporation of humanities methods, practices, and/or scholarship 
  • Demonstrated capacity to define, engage, and sustain a particular audience (or audiences) 
  • Evidence of creativity and innovation in the project’s design and implementation 
  • Incorporation of community members' expertise, values, and needs in the design and implementation of the project. 

Nomination Process

All nominations for the inaugural Katz Prize for Excellence in Public Humanities must have been submitted by the announced deadline at 11:59 PM EDT.

Your nomination packet should contain the following:

  1. Katz Prize Nomination Form (Google Form)
  2. Supporting Materials (DropBox)
    • Cover Sheet
    • Supporting Materials (three)
  3. Recommendation Letters (optional, three maximum) (email)

Step 1: Nomination Form

The Katz Prize Nomination Form is a Google Form that may be accessed here. Please complete the form’s required information and then click “Submit.”

Step 2: Supporting Materials

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. 

Examples of supporting materials include but are not limited to: 

  • Slide decks (note: organizations with strong visual materials may find this useful for communicating the story of their project to evaluators) 
  • Digital or print products such as project portfolios, catalogues, magazines, journals 
  • Documentary footage 
  • Testimonials from project participants or audience members (written, video, or audio formats welcome) 
  • Podcast episodes 
  • Recordings or transcripts of discussion programs or lectures 
  • Publicity such as links to media coverage, reviews, etc. 

Supporting Materials Cover Sheet

Complete and save the Katz Prize Supporting Materials Cover Sheet (a Word Document). Be sure to save it as PROJECTNAME_COVERSHEET.docx.  

The Coversheet has three sections: 

  • Project Summary (up to 250 words) 
  • Project Impact (up to 250 words) 
  • Supporting Material Title/Description/Link (3 total) 

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. 

Dropbox Submission

Nominators should save the Supporting Materials cover sheet and all 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. (Please see instructions on Cover Sheet). 

Step 3: Letters of Recommendation (Optional)

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.  

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.

Letter Submission

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. 

Confirmation of Nomination Packet

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. 

Announcement of Winner

The Katz Prize winner will be selected and notified in Fall of 2024. The selection committee will also designate two honorable mentions, which will also be publicly recognized by NJCH.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a single organization be nominated more than once for different projects? 

No. If an organization receives more than one nomination for different projects, NJCH will contact the organization directly and ask them to select the project for which they would like to be considered. 

Are projects housed within universities eligible for the Katz Prize? 

Yes. Please keep in mind that nominated projects from universities will be considered at the level of the department, not the institution. 

Are there page or length limits for the Supporting Materials? 

No. We realize that some of your Supporting Materials may be lengthy, particularly if you are submitting a publication or documentary. That said, you should aim for representative rather than exhaustive when you consider how much material to submit. Remember that a well-selected excerpt or clip may be more effective than a longer submission!   

Who is on the prize committee? 

The Katz Prize for Excellence in Public Humanities selection committee is made up of individuals with a diverse range of experience and expertise in the arena of the public humanities, including representatives from NJCH’s grantee community, humanities scholars and practitioners, experts in philanthropy and community impact, NJCH staff, and leaders from New Jersey’s cultural and artistic sectors. 

What kinds of projects have been recognized by the Katz Prize in the past?

You may find information about the 2023 Katz Prize winner, "Faith Ringgold: Coming to Jones Road” (Bergen Community College/Gallery Bergen) and the honorable mention projects, “Historic Morven: A Window into America’s Past" (Morven Museum and Garden) and "Tornado" (Harrison Township Historical Society) here.