ACCE - American Chamber of commerce executives

Frequently Asked Questions

We want to submit long term initiatives for both synopses, is that acceptable? If so, do the supporting materials need to be only from the current year or can they be from previous years?

As long as the program was completed in the last two years, it is eligible for the synopsis. You can use any supporting materials, regardless of what year they are from.

With the change in eligibility requirements – requiring a chamber to wait three years after winning to apply again – is it three years from the winning year or three years from the year that corresponds with application submission materials?

A winning chamber will need to wait three years from the winning year, meaning if you win a Chamber of the Year award in 2010, the winning chamber will need to wait until the 2014 Chamber of the Year awards to apply again.

Are we allowed to provide supplemental information for the essays? Such as pictures, flowcharts, graphs, etc? If so, what is the best way to do this?

Yes, supplemental information can be provided as it relates to the essay question. They should be included as attachments to the essay question. Please clearly title your attachments and refer to them within your text. This will help the judges locate the correct supporting documents.

Just a note…more does not always mean better. We are reviewing a lot of information so keep it relative to the essay.

What kind of audit are you looking for? Our accountant has said there are many audits to choose from. Which is best for this award?

A financial audit or a financial review is probably sufficient. A financial audit will be completed by an accountant in accordance with the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). Chambers have financial audits and financial reviews done by an outside accountant or firm. An audit is more in-depth (and more expensive) so many chambers, depending on size, will choose a Financial Review instead, or in some cases flip flop between the two every year or few years. The key is an outside organization’s review of the chamber’s finances.

The chamber's 990 for this year will not be complete for the April 13th application deadline. Are we still eligible? What should we submit?

Yes, you are still eligible to apply for Chamber of the Year if your 990 is not yet complete for the year. Send us your last three 990s (ex. 2008, 2009, 2010) and write on your application when you expect to complete your current (ex. 2011) 990. We may ask that you send it later.

What is the cost to apply for Chamber of the Year?

The entry fee is based on the chamber's total revenue levels:

$200 - Annual total revenue $500,000 and under

$300 - Annual total revenue between $500,001 - $999,999

$400 - Annual total revenue between $1,000,000 - $1,999,999

$500 - Annual total revenue $2,000,000 and up

How do I submit my chamber's application?

All application entries, including each supporting document must be uploaded to http://upload.acce.org/cotyupload.asp by April 13, 2012
Each document should be saved as a pdf file using the initials of your chamber's name as well as the name of the document. For example, ACCEnewsletter.pdf. After all your documents are saved in this format, you are required to use the winzip.exe utility to package the application and all of its attachments in to one file. If you don't already have this utility you may download a free trial version free from this website by choosing the top green button labeled "Download WinZip Now" http://www.winzip.com/downwz.htm
To upload your documents, visit http://upload.acce.org/cotyupload.asp and click browse to attach your zipped documents.
All applicants will receive a confirmation email response within 24 hours of sending their application to ACCE.

I am writing my synopsis and think that looking at a sample synopsis would help get me started. Do you have any examples you could share?

Yes! We actually post the previous winners with their synopses on our website. These synopses should serve as excellent examples. Previous Winners

At the beginning of the 2012 COY Application Guidelines document, it seems to suggest that all files (when named appropriately) would be zipped and uploaded as one file. Yet, it mentions the upload process separately for the Section 3 supporting documents and the synopses. Should those pieces be uploaded separately? Or are they a part of the main zipped upload?

All pieces (labeled appropriately) should be zipped and uploaded as one file. We want to make sure that we have all of your pieces together when sent out to the judges and this is the best way to make sure all submissions are in the same place.

What revenue category does my chamber fall into? If we accept government funding for economic development or CVB activities, can we leave that out of our total revenue number?

If government or affiliate funding is used to fund (in part or in full) one of the highlighted program synopses from your application or if primary fiduciary oversight of said government or affiliate funds is the responsibility of your chamber board of directors, then that funding must be included in Annual Total Revenue.

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