CHRA thanks Yardi Canada for sponsoring the 2020 CHRA National Awards Ceremonies.
Build a better affordable housing sector
We encourage and celebrate excellence in the Canadian housing and homelessness sector by honouring exceptional people and programs that help ensure a safe and affordable home for all.
2020 Award Recipents
2019 Award Recipents
Award Nomination Overview
Nomination Form
About the Program
National recognition
We recognize and celebrate our members' contributions by drawing attention to exceptional achievements on a national stage. Showcasing award winners' successes provides an opportunity to learn from the best in housing and community development, inspires positive change in the housing sector.
A member-driven process
We encourage our members to participate in our awards program by nominating a person or an organization to receive honour. The program is adjudicated by a volunteer Awards Committee that makes a recommendation to our Board of Directors. We thank our volunteers who contribute time and effort to make this award program possible.
Membership value
- Recognition Awards are bestowed by peers during the awards luncheon at our National Congress on Housing and Homelessness.
- Award recipients are featured in our annual report and our congress program.
- Award recipients are invited to give a three minute during the awards luncheon.
- Award recipients receive a glass memento at the awards luncheon (suitably packaged for travel)
Award Nomination Overview
Community Builder Award
Recognizes an individual, a business, or an organization that has had a major impact at the community level in promoting affordable housing and/or preventing and ending homelessness. Award details
Sustainability Award
Recognizes an organization, business or partnership that has undertaken a program, a new build or retrofit project that advances sustainable development, resource conservation or community renewal. Award details
Leadership Award
Recognizes an individual who has shown leadership in improving housing in Canada through program innovation, policy change, outreach and/or advocacy efforts. Award details
Lifetime Achievement Award
Recognizes an individual with years of service in the affordable housing sector in Canada. This award is generously sponsored by CMHC. Award details
Biannual Rooftops Canada International Service Award
Recognizes a CHRA member – an individual or an organization – that has actively supported Rooftops Canada’s international development work. This biannual award is administered by Rooftops Canada which selects the recipient in consultation with us. It will be awarded in 2020. Direct your question to Barry Pinsky, Executive Director at Rooftops Canada International, at barry@rooftops.ca.
Community Builder Award
(Formerly Graham Emslie Award)
This award celebrates a community builder who has shown an extraordinary commitment to ensuring decent, safe and affordable housing or who has shown dedication to ending and preventing homelessness in their community.
Focus: community development; local level community impact.
Eligibility Criteria:
The nominee;
- is an individual, a business or an organization,
- has contributed to creating and offering programs and initiatives that create more affordable housing and/or work to prevent and end homelessness locally,
- has an outstanding capacity to leverage local community resources and engage key stakeholders in an effort to make housing more affordable and/or to end homelessness,
- is an agent of change who animates grassroots engagement, and
- is a CHRA member in good standing.
Sustainability Award
(Formerly Robert Hale Jr. Memorial Award)
This award salutes achievements in the areas of sustainable development, resource conservation and community renewal.
Focus: cemonstrate results at a local, regional or national level.
Eligibility Criteria: The nominee;
- is an organization, a business or a partnership
- has undertaken a sustainable housing initiative that includes, but is not limited to, both new builds or building renovations and retrofits that increase energy efficiency, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, reduce water consumption, redevelop brownfields and revitalize communities,
- has developed programming or initiatives that engage families and individuals in more sustainable practices, energy conservation and supporting sustainable community revitalization,
- has completed the project(s) cited in the nomination before the submission of the nomination - plans and unfinished projects are not eligible for nomination - and
- is a member, in good standing, of CHRA.
Leadership Award
This award recognizes individuals who have significantly influenced or championed one or more of CHRA’s four pillars with systemic or national results.
Focus: influence on provincial, national or international programs, policies or public profile.
Eligibility Criteria: The nominee;
- is an individual
- has affected significant change on a foundational level through policy change and/or advocacy efforts,
- has initiated programs, designs, or methods that have seen wide-spread replication across Canada, beyond the local community,
- is an ambassador or champion for the sector through media or public outreach, and
- may or may not be a member of CHRA
Lifetime Achievement Award
This award celebrates an individual’s lifetime achievement and outstanding contributions to the affordable housing sector.
Focus: individual lifetime achievement; years of service
Eligibility Criteria: The nominee;
- is an individual,
- has shown truly exemplary contributions to the affordable and social housing, homelessness, community renewal or the housing profession over the course of their career or through many years of volunteer service, and
- is a member, in good standing, of CHRA.
CHRA-Rooftops Canada International Service Award
CHRA-Rooftops Canada International Service Award: Next Award is in 2021. Recognizes an individual or an organizational member of CHRA that has actively supported Rooftops Canada’s international development work. This biannual award is administered by Rooftops Canada which selects the recipient in consultation with CHRA.
Focus: Support for Rooftops Canada international programming.
- For more information contact: Barry Pinsky, Executive Director, barry@rooftops.ca.
Nomination and Selection Process:
- Nominations must come from CHRA members in good standing, either individuals or organizations.
- A nomination consists of a completed nomination form, a nomination letter of approximately 500-750 words and a minimum of one short letter of support.
- The CHRA Awards Committee selects and recommends award recipients to the CHRA Board of Directors for final decision. The Awards Committee may add to the list of nominees.
- A non-selected nomination may be re-submitted in a subsequent year.
- Awards are presented at the awards luncheon held during the National Congress on Housing and Homelessness.
- For selected recipients, CHRA will request, in February/March, archival photos, newspaper clippings, etc. for compiling a short promotional video for use in the awards presentation.
The deadline for submissions is January 18, 2021
For more information, see the complete Award Guidelines
Award Guidelines
The nomination and presentation of CHRA awards will be guided by the following terms:
- Nominations must come from CHRA members in good standing, either individuals or organizations.
- For four of the CHRA awards – the Community Builder, the Sustainability Award, the CHRA-Rooftops International Service Award and the Lifetime Achievement Award – the nominee must be a CHRA member in good standing.
- CHRA is not obliged to present each award annually if insufficient nominations are received or those received do not adequately meet the award criteria. Upon internal review, nominees may be transferred into a different, more appropriate award category.
- A nomination consists of a completed nomination form, a nomination letter of approximately 500-750 words and a minimum of one letter of support.
- The deadline date is January 18, 2021. The Awards Committee may extend this deadline by one or two weeks to promote further submissions. CHRA members currently sitting as an elected officer of the Board of Directors or currently participating in the Awards Committee are not eligible for receipt of a CHRA award although they may act as nominator or supporter. Board members and Awards Committee members should abstain from voting on any awards where they were the nominator, wrote a letter of support or have a conflict of interest. A conflict of interest would occur if the Board member works at the same organization as a nominee, works with a nominee, or could occur for any other reason determined by the Board member.
- A non-selected nomination may be re-submitted in a subsequent year by the nominator, revising the submission as needed.
- The CHRA Awards Committee selects and recommends award recipients to the CHRA Board of Directors for final decision. The Awards Committee selects the CHRA award winners through a consensus process, aided by an evaluation matrix. The CHRA-Rooftops International Service Award is an exception, administered by Rooftops Canada/Abri International.
- Award recipients will be presented with their memento by the CHRA President or designate during the awards luncheon at CHRA's National Congress on Housing and Homelessness. The ticket for the award winner and guest(s) attendance at the awards luncheon is complimentary.
- If an award recipient is unable to attend the awards luncheon at CHRA's National Congress on Housing and Homelessness National Congress, an alternate presentation opportunity will be considered. Otherwise their award will be mailed to them.
Questions?
Direct them to:
Julie McNamara, Event Manager
jmcnamara@chra-achru.ca
613-594-3007 ext 15