2012 recipients of the Bhayana Family Foundation Awards
You can view this year’s recipients whose extraordinary contributions have been essential in advancing the common good, community and neighbourhood building, and creating a better city for all.
Watch a video about the value of the Bhayana Family Foundation awards
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The Bhayana Family Foundation Awards recognize extraordinary contributions made by staff at United Way Toronto funded agencies. We congratulate this year’s nominees and recipients. The dedication, creativity and team spirit shown by employees of agencies funded by United Way Toronto is essential to advancing the common good, community and neighbourhood building, and creating a better city for us all. These awards are made possible by a generous donation from the Madan and Raksha M. Bhayana Family Foundation.
The Bhayana Family Foundation Awards recognize extraordinary contributions made by agency staff and are awarded by United Way Toronto. All awards are based on peer nominations, with the exception of the community partnership category, which is based on self-nomination. The six award categories are:
- DEDICATION: $1,000
- INNOVATION AND CREATIVITY: $1,000
- LEADERSHIP: $1,000
- PARTNERSHIP BUILDER: $1,000
- TEAM ACHIEVEMENT: $3,000
- COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP: $1,000
All award recipients are invited to a special event to honour their success. Winners receive a plaque of recognition and a monetary award. The recipient’s agency also receive a plaque. Learn more about last year’s recipients.
Sponsorship
The Bhayana Family Foundation Awards are made possible by a generous donation from Raksha M. Bhayana and the Bhayana Family Foundation. As a former member of United Way Toronto’s Board of Trustees, Raksha is a dedicated community volunteer and a passionate champion for the recognition of frontline workers who make a difference in the community every day. On behalf of the United Way family, we would like to express our admiration and gratitude to Raksha and the Bhayana Family Foundation.
Eligibility Criteria
- Please note that the nomination period is now closed
- Open to all permanent or contract agency staff that work at least 20 hours a week at agencies funded by United Way Toronto, including member agencies and current grant-funded agencies
- Nominations must be for achievements and activities for the period of September 2011 to August 2012
- An agency can only nominate one individual per category
- An individual cannot be nominated in multiple categories, with the exception of Community Partnership and Team Achievement (choose the most appropriate category for the nominee’s achievements)
- The staff person nominated must have been working at the agency since September 2011
- No nomination of family members
- No nominations by supervisor or above, but employees can nominate their supervisor (no downward nominations are permitted)
- 2011 award winners cannot be nominated in the same category for the 2012 awards
How to Nominate
For the Dedication, Leadership, Partnership Builder, Innovation and Creativity, or Team Achievement categories:
- Nominations must be submitted online by two peers or colleagues of the nominee(s)
- Nominations were accepted until Tuesday, October 9, 2012
For the Community Partnership category:
- The United Way agency partner must self-nominate the partnership online and provide support letters from two other partners endorsing the partnership
- Nominations were accepted until Tuesday, October 9, 2012
* United Way Toronto reserves the right to use all information provided to further promote the work of Untied Way and its funded agencies.
Note: If you express yourself better through voice or video, the selection panel will consider voice- or video-recorded submissions provided it is in a Windows Media compatible file format. Send the file as an attachment via email to awards@uwgt.org.
Selection Process
- All nominations will be reviewed by a selection panel comprised of six volunteers, which includes: two agency frontline staff, one agency management representative, one labour representative, one member from a community agency and one United Way Toronto community volunteer. The panel will be facilitated by two non-voting United Way Toronto staff persons
- Only fully completed applications will be considered by the selection panel; the panel may disallow those that do not meet minimum eligibility criteria
- All information provided will be verified by contacting the nominee’s employer. After that, the recipients will be contacted to confirm their acceptance
Categories
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DEDICATION
The purpose of this award is to recognize and reward employees who are dedicated to the mission and values of their agency. These individuals demonstrate unwavering loyalty and commitment to the success of a specific project or to the ongoing interests of the agency.
Ideal candidates demonstrate:
- Unwavering commitment to the goals of the organization
- Excellent and consistent performance and professionalism
- Exceptional service to external or internal customers over a sustained period
- Extraordinary levels of team spirit
- Solid support for colleagues
- Readiness to participate in special projects or committees
- Going above and beyond to make a significant contribution to their team, agency or community
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INNOVATION AND CREATIVITY
The purpose of this award is to recognize and reward employees who introduce ideas, services or practices in new and imaginative ways. These individuals contribute innovative solutions to their organization or make major improvements to agency operations or services provided.
Ideal candidates:
- Introduce ideas that increase revenue, reduce costs or improve service
- Enhance efficiency, accuracy or productivity in innovative ways
- Contribute creative ideas to address issues within the scope of their job, department or organization
- Introduce changes to simplify or improve existing processes
- Challenge existing assumptions and think outside the box
- Take calculated risks in pursuit of continuous improvement
- Work with others to promote, implement and adjust solutions to changing situations
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LEADERSHIP
The purpose of this award is to recognize and reward employees who demonstrate exemplary leadership capabilities and consistently achieve superior team-based results. These leaders play an exceptional role in helping others contribute to their organization and advance its mission.
Ideal candidates:
- Empower others and delegate responsibility
- Demonstrate strong relationship building abilities
- Foster cross-organizational teamwork
- Promote and celebrate diversity
- Have exceptional communications and listening skills
- Introduce and manage change effectively
- Inspire those around them
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PARTNERSHIP BUILDER
The purpose of this award is to recognize and reward employees who make outstanding contributions to their community by recognizing, engaging and maximizing the potential of relationships with key external partners, such as residents, schools, associations, other agencies, businesses, and funders.
Ideal candidates:
- Have developed partnerships that meet community needs and make a difference
- Demonstrate a commitment to creating healthy and vibrant communities
- Engage with and mobilize stakeholders to get the job done
- Foster a sense of common purpose to address root causes of social problems
- Effectively manage conflict and balance competing interests
- Promote and celebrate diversity
- Develop partnerships that are innovative, mutually beneficial and sustainable
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TEAM ACHIEVEMENT
The purpose of this award is to recognize and reward teams who work toward a common goal. Together, these individuals demonstrate commitment to success through excellent and consistent performance.
What is a team?
A team is an internal group of staff. Nominations for cross-departmental teams are encouraged. For the purpose of the award, teams must consist of two to 12 members. If you feel strongly that a team of up to a maximum of 15 members should qualify, please send us an email that explains why the selection panel should consider this exception and we will contact you with the selection panel’s decision. What is most important to the selection panel is that the nomination demonstrates the active participation of each and every team member toward the achievement of common goals.
Ideal teams:
- Demonstrate the basic principles of teamwork
- Make a significant contribution to their agency or the clients they serve
- Implement projects that increase revenue, reduce costs or improve service
- Increase efficiency, accuracy or productivity of a department or across the agency
- Put the team’s objective ahead of individual personal gain
- Champion their cause at all times, both internally and externally
- Actively support other teams and projects in the agency
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COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP
For the purpose of this award, a partnership is an alliance between three or more organizations that commit themselves to working together on a specific project or initiative to produce outcomes that one partner working alone could not achieve.
Additional eligibility requirements for this category: One of the partners must be United Way funded (but it is open to funded and non-funded projects and initiatives). The United Way funded partner must be a key player in the partnership and be the one to self-nominate the partnership. Additionally, two letters from project partners endorsing the partnership are required attachments to complete the online nomination form.
Ideal members of a successful partnership:
- Make a significant contribution to the community they serve
- Foster a sense of common purpose to address root causes of social problems
- Champion their cause at all times, both internally and externally
- Effectively manage conflict and balance competing interests
- Actively support other team members
- Promote and celebrate diversity
- Demonstrate the basic principles of teamwork
- Develop an innovative and mutually beneficial relationship
Questions
You can email your questions to awards@uwgt.org. Or you can call Kamal Kaur at 416-777-1444, ext. 227 or Okeima Lawrence at 416-777-1444, ext. 685.
Do you have feedback?
We always welcome feedback on the awards. Should you have any suggestions on how to improve the awards please complete the quick and easy feedback form. Any other feedback and suggestions, please contact awards@uwgt.org.
