Activating Equity Award

The Activating Equity Award honors a group or organization that is dedicated to the enhancement of the ‘culture of fairness and access’ in middle school and high school speech and debate.

The recipient of the Activating Equity Award receives $5,000 to help them further their mission, along with recognition at the National Speech & Debate Tournament in June.

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Why “Activating Equity?”

In alignment with our ongoing equity commitments, the Activating Equity Award acknowledges members of our community who have turned their convictions into action and strive to ensure fairness and access in the context of speech and debate—both in round and beyond.

Some examples of what a group or organization could do to promote a culture of fairness and access in speech and debate:

Expanding the reach of existing programs with a proven record of providing underserved students with access to speech and debate.
Offsetting transportation costs, allowing local Title I schools to attend tournaments.
Developing event curriculum materials and coaching guides to encourage participation in speech and debate for schools in rural areas
Providing scholarships for low-income students to participate in the organization’s speech and debate camps.

Check out the article on last year’s semifinalists, finalists, and winner.

Nomination and Selection

The Activating Equity Award is a nomination/self-nomination process. Groups who feel they meet the criteria are encouraged to apply. In addition, outside parties who feel that a particular group is worthy of nomination can do so as well.

Please note that applications for the Activating Equity Award must be submitted by the deadline of Friday, February 28, 2025.

Priority will be given to:

- Collaborations with students—particularly students from traditionally underrepresented communities.
- Collaborations with local advocates and activists committed to social justice/social change.
- Efforts designed to increase access to participation in speech and debate—especially for students facing financial barriers.
- Partnerships with/service to groups who work in environments where funds and other resources for support are extremely limited or non-existent.
- Actions taking place in spaces/places where social action is particularly needed.
- Projects that are creative and visionary with anticipated long-term impact.

Evaluation

Applicants will be evaluated using a rubric consisting of four categories. Each category is weighted based on the significance of the award.

Learn more »

Timeline

A committee of coaches and speech and debate community members will evaluate the nominations and select semifinalists.
A committee of coaches, members of the NSDA Board of Directors, and speech and debate alumni will evaluate and score the semifinalists. The top 3 candidates will advance to the final round.
The final round takes place in late April, with members of the NSDA Governance Committee serving as the selection panel. The finalists will each give a short presentation around a prompted question. Time is also allotted for questions from the panel. Once the presentations are complete, the panel will debrief and select a winner.
The winner of the Activating Equity Award will be announced at the National Tournament in June.

January 6, 2025: Nomination form opens
February 28, 2025: Nominations due
April 2025: Finalists notified
May 2025: Winner notified
June 2025: Winner announced at Nats25

Award Eligibility

The Activating Equity Award cycle is one year.
Nominees must be an organization, such as a school district, booster club, or other non-profit corporation. If selected for an award, the nominee must be able to provide a federal tax ID number for their organization to verify eligibility. Individuals are not eligible nominees.
Recipients of the award must wait a minimum of five years before they can re-apply (e.g., the earliest the 2025 winner can re-apply is 2030).
An organization is ineligible to apply for the Activating Equity Award if they:

Employ NSDA staff or a member of the NSDA Board of Directors
Have NSDA staff or Board members sitting on their Board of Directors

Nomination Form

A successful application will articulate how the group has pursued equity in speech and debate, aligned their actions, project, etc., with the NSDA’s mission and/or Core Value of Equity, as well as how they have created lasting impacts for marginalized communities. If you are self-nominating, enter your information in both the nominator and nominee sections.

Nominator Name(Required)

First Last

Nominator Email(Required)

Nominator Affiliation(Required)

Is this a self-nomination?(Required)

Yes

No

Nominee Group/Entity Name(Required)

Nominee Point of Contact Name(Required)

First Last

Nominee Point of Contact Email Address(Required)

Nominee Point of Contact Phone Number(Required)

Please provide history or general information about nominee’s group/organization.(Required)

Please provide information about the nominee’s efforts to create conditions of fairness and access in speech and debate. Specifically, what inspired those efforts, and what was the impact?(Required)

If selected, will $5,000 help the nominee a) advance their commitment to fairness and access and b) increase the number of participants in speech and debate?(Required)

Is there any additional information you would like the committee to consider?

Comments

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

FAQs

What is the process?

The selection process and timeline is as follows:

A committee of NSDA member coaches and leaders will evaluate and score all nominations and select semifinalists.
A panel of NSDA member coaches, NSDA staff, members of the NSDA Board of Directors, and speech and debate alumni will evaluate and score the semifinalists to determine finalists.
The final round takes place in May, with members of the NSDA Governance Committee serving as the selection panel. The finalists will each give a short presentation around a prompted question. Time is also allotted for questions from the panel. Once the presentations are complete, the panel will debrief and select a winner.
The winner of the Activating Equity Award will be announced at the National Tournament in June.

Please feel free to contact dei@speechanddebate.org if you have any questions.

What constitutes a group?

Nominees must be an organization, such as a school district, booster club, or other non-profit corporation. If selected for an award, the nominee must be able to provide a federal tax ID number for their organization to verify eligibility. Individuals are not eligible nominees.

Do all members of the group have to be NSDA members?

No, NSDA membership is not required.

Why is this a group award and not an individual award?

This award is designed to recognize the efforts of more than one individual in creating long-term sustainability of efforts in equity within the speech and debate community.

Does the group have to be established?

Yes. The group must have the ability to legally receive a $5,000 award as a legal entity.

Are there specifics on how the $5,000 must be spent?

The award is meant to further the cause of the group. It can be used as the group sees fit to do so.

Can students apply?

Student groups can apply, but the entity they represent must be able to legally receive the cash award.