Categories and Awards
Configure the categories entrants pick when submitting and the awards you give out, including overall awards open to every entry.
Categories and awards are the heart of your program structure. The Categories tab is where you define them, alongside the entry fee, pricing tiers, and discount codes. This page covers categories and awards. For fees and codes, see Entry fees.
Categories
A category is a bucket entries are submitted to. Each entry picks exactly one category. Use categories to group entries by what they're being judged on:
- An industry awards program: "Best Innovation", "Leadership Excellence", "Community Impact"
- A "40 Under 40": one category for every honoree (or a single "40 Under 40 Honoree" category)
- A design competition: "Brand Identity", "Packaging", "Editorial Design"
- A creative awards program: "Best Campaign", "Best Use of Data", "Best Craft"
A program typically has 3 to 8 categories. More than that gets hard for judges to calibrate; fewer than 3 limits how you can recognize different kinds of work.
Awards
An award is what you give out. Awards live inside a category (or as overall awards across the whole program). Award names are free-form, so you can label your placements however suits your program (Winner, Finalist, Runner-up, Honoree, Honorable Mention, anything you like).
For each award you can configure:
- Name: Free-form label shown publicly
- Prize money: Optional cash amount, displayed on the public page
- Item prize: Optional non-cash recognition (a trophy, a feature in a publication, a year's subscription)
A category can have multiple awards (a Winner plus two Finalists, for example). Add as many as you need.
Award types
There are two award types in AwardKit:
- Category awards: Live inside a category. Only entries that picked that category are eligible. Most awards are this type.
- Overall awards: Live inside an overall category and apply across the whole program. Every entry is automatically eligible, with no extra fee. Use these for cross-program recognition like "Grand Prize" or "Program of the Year", or for sponsor-funded themes like "Best Use of AI" or "Best Sustainability Initiative" that should be open to any entry regardless of which category they picked.
Example structure for an industry awards program with 5 categories: Each category has its own Winner. There's an overall "Best Use of AI" award open to all entries, and an overall "Grand Prize" picked from the category Winners.
Prize money and Stripe Connect
Prize money is descriptive only. AwardKit displays the amount on your program page so entrants know what they could win, but you handle the payout to the winner directly.
This is different from entry fees, which use Stripe Connect to flow money from entrants to your organization. See Entry fees for the full guide.
Overview
The program page is your award program's home on the web. Customize the description, categories, awards, sponsors, and rules. Use it as the link you share with potential entrants.
Entry Fees
Configure entry fees for your award program on AwardKit. Default fee, per-category overrides, pricing tiers, and discount codes. Zero commission on every payment.