AGF Community Impact Awards - Educators

The AGF Community Impact Educators Award recognizes education professionals who support learners directly and help strengthen the programs, practices, and learning environments that enable them to succeed.

This includes faculty members, educators, trainers, mentors, facilitators, and learning support professionals who guide learners through challenges, build their confidence, connect them to opportunities, and contribute meaningfully to their growth and progression.

The award celebrates individuals whose work reflects the spirit of AGF’s mission by looking beyond immediate delivery and supporting learners in their broader journey toward skills, agency, employability, and meaningful participation in society.

Eligibility

Nominees must meet the following eligibility requirements:

Be a faculty member, educator, trainer, mentor, facilitator, or learning support professional involved in an AGF-supported program, initiative, or activity.
Have contributed to learner growth, confidence, success, or progression through teaching, mentoring, facilitation, guidance, or learner support.
Be nominated through an institutional nomination process by an eligible AGF partner institution, programming team, or implementing partner.
Be nominated under one award category that best reflects their contribution: The Enabler or The Catalyst.

Each eligible institution or partner may submit up to two nominations per category, based on clear evidence of the nominee’s contribution.

Educators Award Nomination Process

Step 1: Institution nominates the educator
The eligible institution, program team, or implementing partner submits the Educators Award nomination form and selects the most relevant category: The Enabler or The Catalyst.

Step 2: Confirmation email is sent
AGF sends a confirmation email to the nominator, with the nominated educator copied, confirming that the nomination has been received.

Step 3: Nominee receives the application form
AGF sends the nominated educator the application form, including details on the information they need to provide.

Categories

The Enabler - Consistent Learner Support

Focus: Consistent guidance, mentorship, follow-up, and learner-centered support that helps learners build confidence and continue progressing.

The Enabler recognizes a faculty member, educator, trainer, mentor, facilitator, or learning support professional who creates a supportive, inclusive, and empowering learning environment.

This category celebrates individuals who guide learners with care and purpose. They help learners stay engaged, overcome barriers, access support, and take meaningful next steps in their learning-to-earning journey.

A strong nomination for The Enabler may show that the nominee:

Regularly provides guidance, feedback, mentorship, or follow-up beyond standard delivery.
Encourages learners to recognize their potential and take ownership of their next steps.
Connects learners to relevant resources, opportunities, mentors, or support services.
Helps learners take steps toward employment, internships, further education, leadership, entrepreneurship, or community contribution.
Adapts materials, methods, or support to meet different learner needs.
Creates a safe, respectful, inclusive, and encouraging learning environment.
Shows evidence that learners grew in confidence, skills, agency, participation, or readiness because of their support.
Helps learners understand how their learning connects to future education, employment, or entrepreneurship.
Reflects the spirit of AGF’s work by making opportunities feel more accessible, practical, and within reach.

Examples of relevant contributions

Supporting learners outside standard sessions through mentorship, office hours, check-ins, or follow-up.
Helping learners access resources, support services, networks, mentors, or opportunities.
Encouraging learners to apply for internships, jobs, further education, leadership roles, entrepreneurship programs, or community opportunities.
Adapting delivery methods to support different learning needs.
Creating a classroom, mentoring, or training environment where learners feel safe, respected, included, and encouraged.
Helping disengaged learners remain involved and continue progressing.

Choose The Enabler if the nomination is mainly about:

Consistent guidance, mentorship, feedback, learner care, and follow-up.
Helping learners feel supported, included, confident, and able to progress.
Adapting support to meet different learner needs.
Connecting learners to resources, opportunities, and next steps.

The Catalyst - Transformation or institutional influence

Focus: A contribution that improved learner outcomes, strengthened a program or practice, or helped create stronger pathways from learning to opportunity.

The Catalyst recognizes a faculty member, educator, trainer, mentor, facilitator, or learning support professional whose work creates meaningful change beyond regular delivery. This may include improving how learners are supported, introducing a new tool or approach, strengthening a program, or creating clearer connections between learning, employability, and future opportunities.

This category celebrates individuals who help learners move forward with greater confidence, while also contributing to better practices, stronger systems, or improved learning-to-earning pathways.

A strong nomination for The Catalyst may show that the nominee:

Introduced or shared a new or improved learning tool, resource, practice, method, or model.
Made learning more relevant to real-world expectations, employability, or future workforce needs.
Helped create a noticeable shift in learner motivation, confidence, ambition, or direction.
Improved program quality, teaching methods, learner support systems, or institutional practice.
Strengthened learning-to-earning pathways through partnerships, resources, connections, or improved practice.
Created a meaningful turning point for learners, a program, or an institution.
Provided evidence from learners, colleagues, partners, or the institution showing why the contribution mattered.

Examples of relevant contributions

Introducing a new teaching, mentoring, training, or facilitation method that improved learner outcomes.
Developing or sharing a tool, resource, curriculum element, or model that others used or adopted.
Creating or strengthening a pathway between learning and employment, internships, further education, entrepreneurship, or community contribution.
Influencing how a program, department, partner, or institution supports learners.
Helping learners become more motivated, confident, ambitious, or clearer about their next steps.
Building a partnership or practice that improved learner access to opportunities.

Choose The Catalyst if the nomination is mainly about:

Creating or improving a practice, tool, method, model, or resource.
Strengthening program quality, institutional practice, or learning-to-earning pathways.
Creating a meaningful shift in learner motivation, confidence, direction, or access to opportunity.

Selection Criteria

What a strong nomination may show

Educators Award nominations should include clear examples and supporting evidence showing how the nominee has contributed to learner growth, confidence, opportunity, success, or stronger learning-to-earning pathways.

Nominations do not need to include every example listed below. They should focus on the strongest available evidence for the selected category.

The strongest nominations will clearly show what the nominee did, who benefited, why it mattered, and what evidence supports the nomination.

1. Clear alignment with the selected category

A strong nomination should clearly explain why the nominee fits The Enabler or The Catalyst.

Choose The Enabler if the nomination is mainly about consistent learner support, guidance, mentorship, follow-up, and learner-centered care.

Choose The Catalyst if the nomination is mainly about improving practice, strengthening programs, influencing institutions, or creating stronger learning-to-earning pathways.

For The Enabler, focus on:

Consistent learner support.
Guidance, mentorship, and encouragement.
Follow-up and learner-centered care.
Helping learners stay engaged, supported, and confident.

For The Catalyst, focus on:

Transformation in learners, programs, or institutions.
Improved practices, tools, methods, or approaches.
Programmatic or institutional influence.
Stronger learning-to-earning pathways.

2. Meaningful learner support

A strong nomination should show how the nominee supported learners in a meaningful and practical way.

This may include:

Providing regular guidance, mentorship, feedback, or follow-up.
Creating a safe, inclusive, encouraging, and empowering learning environment.
Adapting materials, methods, or support to meet different learner needs.
Supporting learners who are struggling, disengaged, or facing barriers.
Helping learners build confidence, skills, participation, or achievement.
Connecting learners to resources, opportunities, networks, mentors, employers, or support services.
Helping learners connect their program experience to future pathways, such as further learning, employment, internships, leadership, entrepreneurship, or community contribution.

3. Evidence of learner growth, transformation, or wider influence

A strong nomination should show that the nominee’s contribution made a difference.

For The Enabler, evidence should mainly show how learners benefited from consistent support, guidance, care, or follow-up.

For The Catalyst, evidence should mainly show how the nominee sparked transformation, improved practice, or influenced a program, institution, or wider ecosystem.

Evidence may include:

Learners growing in confidence, skills, participation, or achievement.
Learners taking meaningful next steps, such as internships, employment, further education, leadership, entrepreneurship, or community contribution.
Improved learner engagement, motivation, ambition, or direction.
Positive changes in program quality, teaching methods, learner support systems, or institutional practice.
Tools, resources, models, or practices introduced, improved, or shared with others.
Testimonials from learners, colleagues, supervisors, partners, or institutions.

4. Contribution beyond standard delivery

A strong nomination should show how the nominee added value beyond basic responsibilities.

This does not mean unpaid work, excessive workload, or always being available. It means the nominee made a thoughtful and meaningful contribution beyond standard expectations.

This may include:

Taking initiative to better support learners.
Creating or adapting resources to meet learner needs.
Following up with learners beyond routine delivery.
Connecting learners to opportunities, support systems, or networks.
Improving a process, practice, or learner experience.
Strengthening access, inclusion, engagement, or learner success.
Contributing to a stronger learning environment or learning-to-earning pathway.

5. Strength and credibility of supporting evidence

A strong nomination should be supported by clear examples and relevant evidence.

Supporting evidence may include:

Supervisor or partner references.
Learner testimonials or feedback.
Program data or participation records.
Examples of adapted materials or learning resources.
Mentoring records or follow-up examples.
Project summaries or implementation examples.
Photos, links, reports, or other relevant documentation.
Evidence of learner progress, participation, achievement, or next steps.
Evidence of institutional, programmatic, or ecosystem influence.

The evidence does not need to be complicated. It should help reviewers understand the nominee’s role, the value of their contribution, and the difference it made for learners, programs, or pathways.