FAQ + CRITERIA
Who is eligible to apply for the Spark Award?
To be eligible for the Spark Award, you must be a business owner of any age, with a business that has been established within the last 36 months—OR be an entrepreneur, business owner or startup founder 35 years of age or younger. If you are an entrepreneur who has founded more than one business, you must pick one for your application.
Businesses do not need to be BBB Accredited, but must have at least a B rating with BBB and have met their financial obligations and have no government actions. Government agencies and nonprofits are not eligible for this award.
Businesses must be within BBB Cincinnati’s service area, which includes the following counties:
Indiana—Dearborn, Ohio, Ripley, Switzerland
Kentucky—Boone, Campbell, Kenton
Ohio—Adams, Brown, Butler, Clermont, Clinton, Gallia, Hamilton, Highland, Jackson, Pike, Lawrence, Scioto, Warren
Do you need to be Accredited to apply?
No. You do need to have at least a B rating with BBB.
How are winners chosen?
Entries are evaluated by a volunteer panel of judges based on the application and materials submitted.
What about the video?
We want to get to know you! Rally your team for a group video to introduce yourselves. Whatever you do, it should be no more than two minutes max, and don’t worry too much about quality. Just tell us who you are and why you should win the Spark Award. Put it on YouTube/Dropbox and add it to your application. If chosen as a winner, BBB will use your video for future promotional purposes.
What about the supporting documents?
It’s not necessary to provide any. But if you want to add any photos, videos or documents—like employee testimonials, client testimonials, policies, leader communications, etc.—to your responses, go right ahead!
What's the deadline for applying?
Midnight on Wednesday, August 18, 2021.
When will winners be announced?
Spark Award winners will be celebrated at the 2021 Torch Awards for Ethics on October 21.
