About the CLASSY Awards
The CLASSY Awards is the largest philanthropic awards ceremony in the country, celebrating the greatest charitable achievements by nonprofit organizations, socially conscious businesses, and individuals worldwide. In 2011, nearly 2,000 organizations and volunteers were nominated for a CLASSY Award, and their collective efforts impacted the lives of more than 200,000,000 people in 71 countries worldwide.
"Hollywood has Oscar, Broadway has Tony, and now Philanthropy has the CLASSYs" - AOL, 2010
The CLASSY Awards were started by StayClassy in 2009 with a very simple goal - to put a public spotlight on amazing charitable efforts in the San Diego community. With only two (2) months of planning and preparation, the StayClassy team was shocked when nominations began rolling in by the hundreds and 17,000 votes were cast for Nominees. Dubbed the "Academy Awards of Philanthropy," an astonishing 700 people attended San Diego's first CLASSY philanthropic awards show. Something special had been born.
As StayClassy planned for 2010, they considered the overwhelmingly positive response from the San Diego community and decided to expand to seven additional cities nationwide, hosting nominations and voting in each city and culminating in the red carpet awards ceremony in San Diego. This time, more than 1,000 nominations were submitted and 175,000 votes were cast for Nominees. The CLASSY Awards Ceremony attracted notable speakers such as Tony Hseih, CEO of Zappos; Adam Garone, Global CEO of Movember; and Laren Poole, Co-Founder of Invisible Children.
In 2011, every state was eligible to participate in the CLASSY Awards, establishing it as a truly national event. A staggering 2,000 nominations were submitted from 49 states (ehm, South Dakota) and more than 250,000 votes were cast for CLASSY Awards Finalists. Hosted by actress Jamie-Lynn Sigler, the 3rd Annual CLASSY Awards ceremony attracted 1,500 philanthropic leaders to San Diego.
Now in its fourth year, the CLASSY Awards have become the largest philanthropic awards ceremony in the country, and a celebration of the changing face of philanthropy in our world. It recognizes nonprofits who are operating as efficiently as lean corporations, and for-profit enterprises who have built social responsibility into the essence of their mission and products. It celebrates creative applications of technology in a sector that has never been known for it's technology adoption, and young progressive leaders who could become the next generation of wealthy CEOs, but instead have dedicated their lives to improving the lives of others.
This year we invite you to join the thousands charities, socially conscious businesses and individuals who will be participating in the CLASSY Awards from all 50 states - even South Dakota - and making a true impact in our world.
