Sapphire Awards Guidelines

Go to the application portal

In 2023 the Florida Blue Foundation will celebrate 18 years of presenting the Sapphire Awards to individuals, programs, and organizations focused on helping people and communities achieve better health. The first set of honorees were in 2005. Since that year, 130 Sapphire Awards, totaling more than $6.5 million, have been awarded to programs, organizations, and individuals from across Florida.

The Sapphire Awards will honor, through a competitive external review process, outstanding programs, organizations, and individuals that are distinguished by exemplary leadership, innovation, and documented outcomes and impacts in providing or creating excellence in services and/or programs in Mental Well-being.

MENTAL WELL-BEING GOAL: Advance mental well-being for families and community members to mitigate the stressors associated with issues that impact entire families and/or communities.

Target Issues:

• Awareness of current mental health status
• Education around mental well-being
• Support in addressing stress, anxiety, loneliness, addiction, etc.

SAPPHIRE NOMINATION APPLICATION CLARIFICATION WEBINAR

A Sapphire Nomination Application Clarification Webinar will be held on September 15, 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., ET. Registration is required to attend the webinar. The link to attend the webinar will be sent to all registrants prior to the webinar.

AWARD DETAILS

The Sapphire Awards are not a grant program. While there is a financial award, nomination applications should not be submitted with the sole intent of fundraising. The Sapphire Awards are designed to recognize what has been accomplished (demonstrated success), not what is hoped to be accomplished.

Award funds total up to $525,000 and will be distributed to the awardees based on the level of recognition and announced at the Sapphire Awards dinner and program on April 12, 2023.

IMPORTANT DATES

NOMINATION APPLICATION ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES

Organizations and Programs

• An Organization may submit a Sapphire Award nomination application to seek recognition for the collective impact of all its health-related services/interventions.
• An Organization seeking recognition for a single health-related program should submit a PROGRAM nomination application.
• Organizations submitting applications for a Sapphire Award must be incorporated in the state of Florida and the programs for which they are seeking recognition, either individually or collectively, must be currently conducted in the state of Florida. The nominated organization must be in operation for a minimum of five (5) years. The nominated program must be in operation for a minimum of three (3) years.
• Organizations applying for a Sapphire Award (both Organization and Program categories) must possess exemption by the Internal Revenue Service under section 501(c)(3), or be a unit of Florida government (e.g., county health department, K-12 school, college, university, etc.).
• Organizations named as “Winners” of the Sapphire Awards in previous years for the collective impact of all their health-related programs may not submit another ORGANIZATION or PROGRAM nomination application. They may submit an INDIVIDUAL nomination application.
• Programs named as “Winners” of the Sapphire Awards in previous years for the impact of a single health-related program may not reapply for the same program. These Winners may submit a nomination application seeking recognition for a different program.
• Organization and Program nomination applications must include two (2) References from non- staff people such as current/former patients/clients, community leaders, elected officials, funders, or representatives from partner agencies/organizations. Spouses and family members of staff may not be references.

• Type III Supporting Organizations and private foundations are not eligible to submit a nomination application.

Individuals

• Nominated individuals
  • Must be licensed health care professionals, administrators, or volunteers who have worked and/or volunteered in the state of Florida with a “qualified” health-serving organization(s) that is/are physically located in Florida. Qualified health-serving organizations must be a 501(c)(3) organization, or a unit of Florida government (e.g., county health department, K-12 school, college, university, etc.).
  • Must have a proven record of more than five (5) years.
  • Can be active or retired.
  • Must be alive and a resident of Florida at the time the nomination application is submitted. Posthumous nomination applications will not be considered.
• Individuals may be nominated
  • For their work as a professional, service as a volunteer, or a combination of both and the nomination should focus heavily on the individual’s professional work and/or volunteer service performed in Florida.
  • For a career that spans more than one organization or community, with a focus on Florida.
  • By a peer, colleague, co-worker, staff member, board member, volunteer, patient, client from the organization where the individual works and/or volunteers, or from separate organizations. Spouses and family members may not be nominators nor references for the individual category.
• Self-nomination applications for the individual category will not be accepted.
• Nominations from spouses and family members will not be accepted.
• Individuals named as “Winners” of the Sapphire Awards in previous years may not be nominated for another Sapphire Award.
• Nomination applications for individuals must include two (2) References from people who know the work of the individual. The references may come from two non-staff people, including, a board member, volunteer, patient, client from the organization where the individual works and/or volunteers, community leaders, elected officials, funders, or representatives from other organizations. Spouses and family members of the individual and staff may not be references.

SPECIAL NOTES

• Current and former employees, retirees, and board members of the Florida Blue Foundation, Florida Blue (Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida), the subsidiaries and affiliates of Florida Blue and GuideWell Mutual Holding Corporation, as well as spouses and family members, cannot be nominated nor serve as a nominator or reference. Additionally, current and former members of the Sapphire Awards Review and Selection Committees, as well as their spouses and family members, cannot be nominated nor submit a nomination or reference.