The new Community Achievement Award (CAA) application has been simplified to 5 pages and focuses on the most important community activities. It will be rolled out in two phases, with the first phase in 2015 encouraging more participation by simplifying the application. The second phase in 2017 aims to gamify the process and create an online interface. The award names have changed to Platinum, Gold, and Silver Communities. Awards are based on a points system across required, optional, and bonus activities in various categories. The new application and guidelines will be available in late August/early September.

1. 5 Things You Need to Know About the New CAA
Applying for the
Community
Achievement Award
just got easier
Simplified
–
the
application
is
now
just
five
pages
Condensed
–
the
number
of
overall
activities
has
been
reduced
Focused
–
the
CAA
application
focuses
on
the
most
important
activities
for
successful
communities
The
new
CAA
application
and
guidelines
will
be
rolled
out
in
two
phases:
Phase
1
(2015
activities)
Goal:
Encourage
more
participation
• Simplify
the
application
• Revise
the
guidelines
Targeted
Phase
2
(2017
activities)
Goal:
Gamify
and
automate
• Create
an
online
interface
for
submission
&
tracking
through
the
STC
office
• Plan
to
add
gamification
to
earn
badges
for
your
website
as
select
activities
are
completed
The Community
Achievement Awards
have new names
Community
of
Distinction
is
now
Platinum
Community
Community
of
Excellence
is
now
Gold
Community
Community
of
Merit
is
now
Silver
Community
CAA Awards are
points-based
Based
on
a
total
possible
of
83
points…
Platinum
Community
=
74.7
or
more
(90%)
Gold
Community
=
66.4
to
74.6
(80%)
Silver
Community
=
58.1
to
66.3
(70%)
All
communities
must
complete
all
required
activities
in
order
to
apply
for
any
award.
Points
awarded
are
subject
to
the
CAAEC
verification
and
approval.

2.
CAA has three
types of activities
Required
-­‐
5
items
–
must
be
completed
in
order
to
submit
for
any
award
level
Optional
–
37
items,
83
total
possible
points
Bonus
–
2
items,
4
possible
bonus
points
Application
is
broken
down
by
functional
categories,
not
by
award
level.
Communities
are
not
in
direct
competition
with
other
communities
–
the
goal
is
to
encourage
communities
to
be
the
best
they
can
be.
Required,
Optional, and
Bonus Activity
Breakdown
Required
Activities:
1. Submit
community
budget
to
STC
(all)
2. Submit
general
plan
of
yearly
activities
for
coming
year
(all)
3. Submit
year-­‐end
financial
reports
to
STC
(all)
4. Hold
elections
or
transition
leadership
and
submit
results
to
STC.
Provide
contact
information
for
webmaster
and
membership
chairs
in
addition
to
officers
(all)
5. File
990N
tax
report
(US
communities
only)
Optional
Activities:
Core
items
(5
activities,
11
possible
points)
STC
Promotion
and
Membership
(3
activities,
7
possible
pts)
Leadership
(8
activities,
13
possible
points)
Member
engagement
(6
activities,
15
possible
points)
Programs
(5
activities,
19
possible
points)
Outreach
(7
activities,
15
possible
points)
Innovation
(3
possible
points)
Bonus
Activities:
1. Membership
increase
of
5%
(3
pts)
2. STC
Body
of
Knowledge
(BOK)
contribution
(1
pt)
MaryKay
Grueneberg
–
marykay.stc@gmail.com
@MKGee
George
Slaughter
–
georgeslaughter@comcast.net
New
application
will
be
posted
in
late
August/early
September.
The
new
guidelines
document
will
be
posted
very
soon
at:
http://www.stc.org/membership/recognition/awards/1221-­‐community-­‐
achievement-­‐award