The BBB Spark Awards for Entrepreneurship celebrates emerging entrepreneurial businesses whose leaders demonstrate a high level of character, generate a culture that is authentic about its mission and genuinely connects with their community.
Applications are closed for this year.
Award criteria are based on these three principles:
Character
Leaders must be teachable and open to growing with ideas. Leaders habitually seek the truth, are open to criticism, and know that their own personal development is never complete.
Culture
Purposeful entrepreneurs start businesses for more than just the opportunity to be their own boss or fill a gap in the market. Instead, they create organizations committed to serving the needs of all their stakeholders and make intentional decisions about who they align with to bring their mission to fruition.
Community
The most successful entrepreneurs understand they are part of a community and commit to supporting those that supported them. They give back to worthy causes and treat other entrepreneurs and competitors as peers rather than opponents.
- Criteria & Eligibility
- Selection Process
- Entry Submission
The BBB Spark Awards for Entrepreneurship is open to for-profit organizations located within BBB Serving Northern Colorado and Wyoming's 38-county service area. To confirm you are eligible, contact Jami Jonckowski-Wiens at 970-488-2048 or jami@wynco.bbb.org.
Businesses must be in operation for at least 6 months but not more than 3 years at the time of application. Firms need not be BBB Accredited but must be in good standing with BBB.
A company is not eligible if any of the following conditions apply:
- They have earned less than a "B" rating from BBB
- There are indications they have not met their financial obligations
- They are a government agency
Entries are evaluated by an independent, voluntary panel of judges comprised of business and community leaders. Remember, since the judges do not know your organization, your video and written submission (including examples, stories, and documents) should provide a robust and accurate description of your organization's culture.
Winners will be announced in conjunction with the BBB Celebration of Ethics on April 22, 2025 at the Embassy Suites in Loveland. More than 500 business and community leaders attend annually.
You will complete responses to nine application questions that demonstrate how your business meets our award criteria based on Character, Culture, and Community. After each award criteria, you have the option to upload supporting documents (policies, testimonials, photos, etc.).
There is also a required video testimonial component, 3-minute (max.). This video should tell the story about how your business lives out character, culture and community, and why your business is worthy of winning the award. This video is your opportunity for our judges to hear directly from you. The video does not need to be professionally produced. A simple selfie video from your smartphone will suffice. Video submission can be completed via DropBox | YouTube.
If selected as a Spark Awards recipient, we will need full access and rights to your video to be used on BBB's website and social media accounts. By submitting this entry, you agree to these terms.
