Voice Awards Online Submissions

Welcome to the Voice Awards Online Submission!  Please read everything carefully before you click to submit your form at the end of these instructions.  Please contact us if you have any questions. 

Entry Guidelines

Entries categorized by DCTV channel’s programming blocks (health, youth, entertainment, etc.).  A panel of media professionals will judge all DCTV Voice Award submissions.  All submissions must meet the specific criteria of their selected category.

DCTV Voice Awards Programming Categories And Descriptions:

International: (Cultural/Diversity): Celebrating community diversity throughout the District.

Youth:  Programming geared towards, created, for and/or about youth.

News/Public Affairs: Educating the public on issues affecting our community.

Health: Promoting good health and nutrition practices.

Variety/Arts: Exploring DC’s arts and culture scene; Art performances, talent showcases entertainment talks.

Sports: Coverage of a sports activity or competition.

Enrichment: Religious, spiritual and wellness programming.

Entertainment: Performances, artist interviews, plays or other programs designed to entertain viewers.

Short Film/Documentary (Over 10 minutes): A program that covers a complete event, topic or storyline.

Sponsored: A program submitted through your membership, but produced by another party.  

Entry Rules:

  1. Producer may enter one (1) program per category;
  2. No more than three (3) entries total per producer;
  3. Program first air date must have been on DCTV between July 1, 2015 through June 30, 2016;
  4. If DCTV determines the program is not in the correct category, DCTV can remove a program entry.
  5. Previous winning entries cannot be re-submitted;

DCTV Voice “Community Choice” Award - All properly submitted DCTV Voice Awards entries will be automatically included in the “Community Choice” Award category.  All voting, for this award, will be conducted online at DCTV.org and is open to open to the general public.

Judging Information - DCTV will assemble a small group of media professionals to judge all DCTV Voice Awards entries.  Judges will award points in the following categories:

  1. Creativity – Idea originality, innovativeness and creativity 
  2. Implementation – Content clarity; Program has a lucid message that is well-structured and effective; Producer utilized appropriate format (talk show, talking heads, green screen, etc.) to execute idea; Project has a clear underlying tone or personality (playful, serious, light-hearted, etc.)            
  3. Community Impact – Program offers engaging dialogue and/or presentations that shed light on a specific community; Educates public/audience about a community or group; Encourages discussion and/or involvement within a community or group
  4. Aesthetic & Technical Quality – High quality images, shot composition, proper lighting, clean audio, appropriate use of camera and other production equipment (steady, focused, etc.).

DCTV Voice Awards Online Submissions:

Please complete the form by clicking the link below. Once we get your submission, you will receive an e-mail with instructions to upload your video(s) to our server. Please follow those instructions carefully. 

DCTV In-Person or Mail Submissions:

You have the option to drop off or mail in your submission to DCTV at 901 Newton Street, NE, Washington, DC 20017. You will be required to complete your entry form that can be downloaded here.  Please mark "Attention: Voice Awards" on any packages.  Important: You will need to complete a separate form for each entry. 

"Community Choice" Award:

Viewing and online voting for the “Community Choice” Award will be conducted from December 7 to December 21. DCTV members AND non-members are allowed to vote for your program during this time. 

Important Note: For the purpose of DCTV Voice Award guidelines, a “Producer” is person that has been involved in any of the production processes needed to create and complete a program (pre-production, production, editing, etc.).  “Sponsors,” who present completed programs to DCTV on behalf of a third party are not eligible.

CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT!

The DCTV capacity building grant program offers eligible nonprofits an array of benefits that build organizational communications and storytelling capability and provides an ongoing presence on cable television. We designed these grants to offer training and expert guidance to the nonprofit community, which enables you to robustly expand your impact within the DC community.

“Grant Level” is the amount of money your organization contributes to receive the grant. The grant term is initially one year and requires a very small organizational match. DCTV will provide documentation so that you can appropriately record “in-kind” services in your financial records. Grants may be extended or renewed with DCTV approval.