An art installation inspired by Vice President Kamala Harris, The New York Times鈥� 鈥淭he 1619 Project鈥� and 鈥淭he Daily Show with Trevor Noah,鈥� as well as charitable programs from Airbnb, Google, PayPal and the National Football League, are among the finalists for the inaugural Anthem Awards announced Tuesday.
The awards 鈥� presented by The International Academy of Digital Arts & Science, best-known for the internet honors The Webbys 鈥� are intended to celebrate the mission-driven work and social impact of individuals, corporations and organizations. The winners, to be announced Feb. 15, will be honored at a virtual awards show on Feb. 28 in conjunction with the first Anthem Voices conference to showcase the winners鈥� work and share philanthropic and social impact ideas.
鈥淏y recognizing and highlighting purpose- and mission-driven work, we can amplify the impact of those programs,鈥� said Jessica Lauretti, managing director of The Anthem Awards. 鈥淲e can also bring folks together for collaboration and partnership and ultimately inspire folks to make a positive social impact in their own communities.鈥�
Like The Webbys, which sought to celebrate the shift to a digital-driven culture 25 years ago, The Anthem Awards aim to capture the current shift to more philanthropic and socially conscious concerns, Lauretti said. The co-founders of the awards include the Ad Council, Born This Way Foundation, Feeding America, GLAAD, Mozilla, NAACP, National Resources Defense Council, WWF and XQ Institute.
鈥淭hat old way of doing things. where you would do something over here and then do something over there to make up for it, is done,鈥� Lauretti said. 鈥淣ow, we鈥檙e really seeing the integration of that work and really making it a part of your mission in a way that is authentic and make sense.鈥�
A team of judges included actors Daniel Dae Kim and Ashley Judd, GLAAD CEO Sarah Kate Ellis, New Ventures CEO and former Secretary of Labor Alexis M. Herman, and fashion designer Marc Ecko. The judges whittled down the 2,500 entries from 36 countries to hundreds of finalists in seven categories. (For a full list of finalists, go to .)
Finalists in the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion category ranged from 72andSunny鈥檚 鈥淔ootball Is for Everyone鈥� campaign for the NFL to Netflix鈥檚 鈥淰isions of Us: Groundbreaking Moments in Lesbian Latine Representation鈥� to the UN Research Roadmap for the COVID-19 Recovery.
Finalists in the Education, Arts and Culture category included SiriusXM鈥檚 鈥淎ll Music Is Black Music: podcast, the 鈥淏ecoming Your Personal Best: Life Lessons from Olympians & Paralympians鈥� curriculum from the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum, and The National Geographic Society鈥檚 Storytelling For Impact program.
The Health category finalists included: NBC News and MSNBC鈥檚 鈥淧lan Your Vaccine鈥� campaign, Johns Hopkins鈥� 鈥淭he Public Health on Call鈥� podcast, and AARP鈥檚 Creating sa国际传媒ions with Veterans through Video program.
The Human & Civil Rights category finalists included: Al Jazeera Digital鈥檚 鈥淜now Their Names鈥� project, the NAACP鈥檚 Unmasked COVID-19 Town Hall Series, and the It Gets Better Project鈥檚 Out in Front: Queer Youth Changing the World docuseries.
Finalists in the Humanitarian Action & Services category included: The International Rescue Committee鈥檚 鈥淟eadership In Times of Crisis鈥� event, three different Charity: Water campaigns, and the Niger Delta Partnership Initiative Foundation鈥檚 鈥淔or the Good of All: Three Partners for Peace Stories鈥� documentary.
The finalists in the Responsible Technology category included: DoorDash鈥檚 Project Dash program, Consumer Reports鈥� Digital Lab, and IBM鈥檚 Call for Code program.
The finalists in the Sustainability, Climate and Environment category included: NASA鈥檚 鈥淕lobal Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet鈥� website, Audrey Choi鈥檚 work as Morgan Stanley鈥檚 chief sustainability officer, and the World Surf League鈥檚 We Are One Ocean conservation campaign.
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The Associated Press receives support from the Lilly Endowment for coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP鈥檚 philanthropy coverage, visit .
Glenn Gamboa, The Associated Press
