USPAACC announces the Synergy Awards to recognize outstanding successful partnerships between corporate & government organizations and minority- and diverse-owned businesses

The US Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce Education Foundation (USPAACC) has announced today it will recognize five outstanding partnerships between corporate/government entities and Asian and other minority- and diverse-owned businesses at the USPAACC CelebrASIAN Business Development Conference this year.

2021 has seen a growth in collaborations between brands, organizations, grass-roots endeavors, influencers, activists, and more. Based on the universal understanding that “together is stronger,” corporations and community-driven minority- and diverse-owned businesses have used each other’s platforms in a mutually beneficial amplification of voices. Such collaborations have been met with positive feedback and impactful change.

Inspiration for the Synergy Awards abounds as USPAACC stands at the forefront of such collaborations. Recently, USPAACC partnered with Google to launch a free-training platform, 'Grow with Google,' to help small, minority, and diverse businesses learn the digital analytical skills to grow their online sales and consumer base. The synergy represented in this example is apparent — USPAACC meets its mission goal to advance Pan Asian American/AAPI businesses in the U.S. while Google’s relationship with small businesses continues to grow and thrive as the latter adopts the Google platform into their business structures.

The campaigns to be recognized by the Synergy Awards stand apart from other community-driven sponsorships as all parties involved are active participants, not solely fiscal sponsors. Their missions are blended and benefit each entity and its endeavors, whether profit-driven or community-driven.

USPAACC is calling all corporations, brands, government agencies, organizations, and small businesses that have participated in such campaigns for change to submit their work for the Synergy Awards.

The criteria for submission are as follows:

• All nominations to be submitted via email: [email protected]
• Include a summary, 500 words or less, describing how your submission exemplifies the Synergy Awards’ qualities and created a successful partnership. You may use supporting
• documentation such as press releases, blog/social media posts, etc., that demonstrate this partnership
• Results should not only include project success but also how the individual partners have directly benefited from it. Remember, this is less about project success but more about synergy and mutual success through collaboration
• This is a "partnership-based" entry and requires written consent from all parties to submit the nomination. For example, if minority- or diverse-owned business A is working with corporate company B, both A & B must consent for participation
  • A “partnership” could be defined as two or more parties working toward a common goal, project, or assignment
• At least one of the participants must be a minority- or other diverse-owned business and needs to provide proof of diversity or diversity status. For example, certification of minority- and diverse-owned status from a recognized certifying organization.
• The length of the relationship is not a determining criterion. We encourage all new and old partnerships to participate. However, we require that submissions only include work within two years from the date of submission.

An independent panel of judges will evaluate the entries and select the winners. The winner announcement will be made in advance, and the award presentation will be held during the USPAACC CelebrASIAN Business Development Conference.

Awards will be given in tiers: 1 Platinum, 1 Gold, 1 Silver, 2 Bronze.

The submission deadline is October 22, 2021, by 11:59 pm PT.

For more information and to download the submission form, please visit https://celebrasianconference.com/synergy-awards.