Into the Seven Causes That Shape The Anthem Awards
The Anthem Awards is organized around seven cause areas — the sectors where today’s most urgent and consequential impact work is happening.
From climate disasters to eroding civil protections, from gaps in health equity to the unchecked pace of technological change, the challenges facing global society are interconnected and accelerating. When we founded the Anthem Awards in 2021, we mapped the landscape of purpose-driven work to understand where organizations, activists, brands, and nonprofits were showing up. The result: seven cause areas that define the scope of the program.
Those causes are: Belonging & Inclusion; Education, Art & Culture; Health; Human & Civil Rights; Humanitarian Action & Services; Sustainability, Environment & Climate; and Technology.
Within each cause, we recognize work across eight entry types: Campaign, Content & Media, Community Engagement, Corporate Social Responsibility, Fundraising & Resource Development, Individual Recognition, Product Innovation or Service, and Industry Specific Programs.
Below, learn more about what our seven causes mean and where your work fits. To Set the New Standard For Good, enter the 6th Annual Anthem Awards by the Early Entry Deadline on Friday, May 22nd.
Belonging & Inclusion
Centering the voices of underrepresented groups is critical to positive change. Amidst new challenges in the sector, we celebrate those who continue to build in ways that are representative and inclusive of different identities. In this cause, we celebrate work committed to uplifting, supporting, and protecting underrepresented and marginalized communities, and standing against racism, discrimination, and exclusion in all its forms.
Work may address race, ethnicity, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, socioeconomic status, age, religion, indigenous communities, and more.
Code My Crown by Daniel J Edelman Ltd, Shame Less with Lilly Singh by Unicorn Island Fund,The Future of Work is Neurodiverse by Instrument, Real People, Real Stories by AARP, Be Seen by Planned Parenthood, Our New South by Next Chapter Podcasts, Change Has a Female Voice by Top Group (Leavingstone), Just Hold On by Victim Services of Durham Region, and The Outsider Moving Art & Film Festival by Hers is Ours.
See the full list of Belonging & Inclusion Winners here. Learn more about our new categories here.
Education, Art & Culture
Learning, creativity, and cultural memory are not luxuries — they are infrastructure. This cause honors the organizations and individuals making knowledge accessible, amplifying artistic voices, and ensuring that communities’ histories are preserved and celebrated. Whether you’re running after-school programs, producing public art, or archiving endangered languages, this is where that work lives.
Work may span education at all levels, support for artists and the arts across all mediums, and cultural programs that celebrate, preserve, and elevate communities and their histories.
Past Education, Art & Culture Winners include: The Sabrina Carpenter Fund x PLUS1 by The Lede Company, Harlem Is Everywhere by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Facing Life by Pulitzer Center, The Doula Expo by Mama Glow LLC, Ripple Effect by Mellon Foundation, Food for Education by Skoll Foundation, Reclaiming Our Atlantic Destiny by DEPT®, and Virtual Choir of Joy by October Project.
See the full list of Education, Art & Culture Winners here. Learn more about our categories here.
Health
From hospitals and research institutions to wellness creators, device innovators, and community health workers, the people driving health forward don’t fit a single mold. The organizations and individuals honored here span the full continuum of health work. What unites them is a shared belief that health should be equitable, accessible, and human.
Work may include disease research and treatment, patient and family support, health technology and innovation, and programs advancing physical and emotional wellbeing for individuals and communities alike.
Past Health Winners include: LEAD FROM BEHIND – SH*T TALK by Colorectal Cancer Alliance, Elmo and Andrew Garfield on Grief by Sesame Workshop, See My Skin by Edelman, Cycle for Survival 20th Anniversary Launch Campaign by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, #IGetIt Mental Health Campaign by SixDegrees.Org, Support Harm Reduction by Vital Strategies, and Dr. Mike UNICEF USA Ambassadorship by UNICEF USA.
See the full list of Health Winners here. Learn more about our categories here.
Human & Civil Rights
Today, many marginalized groups around the world continue to have their rights infringed upon, both by governments and individuals. With our Human & Civil Rights cause, we honor work that protects, defends and advances the rights of citizens to political and social freedom and equality regardless of their identities.
Work may include voting rights and civic engagement, reproductive rights, freedom of the press, equal justice, immigration, religious freedom, criminal justice reform, child welfare and protection, anti-slavery and human rights advocacy, and the ongoing fight for political and social equality.
Past Human & Civil Rights include: I’m For Planned Parenthood & I Fight For Planned Parenthood by Planned Parenthood Federation of America, It’s not too late – BRIS Children’s Rights in Society by FL Agency AB, Student Voting Heat Maps: Young People Can Swing Elections by Civic Influencers, The Bills by Havas New York, Silenced: Solitary Confinement by Zealous, With Humanity Campaign by Human Rights Watch, One Percent for America by Oomph, Inc. and more.
See the full list of Human & Civil Rights Winners here. Learn more about our categories here.
Humanitarian Action & Services
Many organizations, companies and individual advocates are tackling humanitarian crises with aid and community-first approach. With our Humanitarian Action & Services cause, we recognize work that answers the call to relieve human suffering made by environmental, political and social conditions.
Work may include crisis relief and support, environmental disaster response, peace and conflict resolution, refugee and migrant protection, economic development, gender-based violence prevention and survivor support, and efforts to combat poverty, hunger, human trafficking, and homelessness.
Winners include: Leadership in Times of Crisis by International Rescue Committee, Committed to Gaza by World Central Kitchen, charity: water Water Sensor by charity: water, SoCal Fire Fund’s “There Is Hope” by Entertainment Industry Foundation, Building Better Futures by USA for UNHCR, Casa During Crisis by Human Interest Films Inc., and Stand Up for Ukraine by Global Citizen.
See the full list of Humanitarian Action & Services Winners here. Learn more about our categories here.
Sustainability, Environment & Climate
The climate crisis is not a future problem. This cause recognizes organizations and individuals driving meaningful environmental change — from frontline climate justice work to corporate sustainability commitments to the next generation of clean energy solutions. The work honored here understands that protecting the planet and protecting people are the same fight.
Work may include climate justice and advocacy, conservation and animal welfare, clean energy and renewable technology, corporate sustainability and ESG, food systems and agriculture, urban sustainability and green infrastructure, youth climate activism, and efforts addressing the disproportionate impact of the climate crisis on marginalized communities, species, and ecosystems.
Past Sustainability, Climate & Environment Winners include: All Of Us by World Economic Forum, #WashTheDabba by Invaluables by BBC Media Action, Plastic on the Ganges by National Geographic Society, PETA x Leah Kateb: Couple Up With Adoption by PETA, Climate Shift Index by ClimateCentral, The Financial Times Climate Game by WONGDOODY, and In Her Nature by PBS Nature.
See the full list of Sustainability, Climate & Environment Winners here. Learn more about our categories here.
Technology
While at the precipice of a new era for technology, it’s imperative that we build in ways the mitigates potential harm. With our Responsible Technology cause, we honor organizations and individuals ensuring that technology works for everyone, not just the few. From digital literacy programs to ethical AI frameworks to tools that protect freedom of expression, the work recognized here is shaping what kind of future we actually build.
Work may include tech education and digital literacy, skills development, cybersecurity, protecting freedom of expression, combating mis- and disinformation, data privacy and security, open source tools and resources, and solutions advancing equity and accessibility. Work in artificial intelligence may span ethical AI development, AI policy and governance, AI-powered solutions for social good, and efforts to ensure AI is equitable, transparent, and accessible for all.
Past Technology Winners include: #StudentsNotProducts by Human Rights Watch, Teach AI by Blue State, Jigsaw — Info Interventions by DEPT®, Adaptation and Innovation: The Civic Space Response to AI-Infused by Center for Democracy & Technology, Camera Switches by Google, Internet Street Smarts: Cybersecurity as a Collective Right by Cyber Collective, and AI for Nonprofit Empowerment by NationSwell.
See the full list of Responsible Technology Winners here. Learn more about our categories here.
Are you creating impact within the Anthem Awards’ seven causes? Champion your efforts in the 6th Annual Anthem Awards!
To enter, submit your and receive preferred pricing, enter before May 22nd.
