The Process and Criteria
These Awards provide national recognition to Canada's outstanding women entrepreneurs – women who take an idea for a product/service, and often use their own capital to establish their business.
Eligibility Criteria:
- To be eligible for an Award, a nominee must be active in a profitable business registered and operating in Canada for three full years as of May 31st, 2009.
- At a minimum, this business must have three complete 12-month periods of financial statements.
View the RBC Application Workshop Presentation here
Selection Process:
- NEW: The Judging Committee will review each application that meets the eligibility criteria using the Judges' Scorecard
- The top candidates in each category will be subjected to a due diligence process carried out by Deloitte.
- Selected candidates will be required to send their most recent three years of financial statements directly to Deloitte. These statements will be treated as confidential, seen only by Deloitte, and reviewed on the basis of consistency of information, evidence of good financial practices and the financial strength of the company.
- A site visit will be conducted by Deloitte and references will be checked before one Award recipient is confirmed in each category.
- Judging and due diligence will be completed by September, 2009.
- Award recipients will be confirmed by October, 2009 and all finalists are invited to attend the RBC Canadian Woman Entrepreneur Awards Dinner to be held in Toronto on December 8, 2009.
- All other applicants will be notified in writing after final selections are made.
- Judges' selections are final and are not subject to any review.
Click here to purchase tickets to the Awards Gala.
Nomination Process: (Download Form)
The search for qualified nominees for the 2009 RBC Canadian Woman Entrepreneur Awards is underway! Do you know someone who meets the eligibility criteria? If so, we'd like to hear from you.
- Please complete the nomination form and send it to our address before June 29, 2009.
- We will send your nominee an application from for completion before August 4, 2009.
Or, if you would like to be considered for an Award, you may simply request an application form for yourself.
Application Process: (Download Form)
- On receipt of a nomination, each nominee will be mailed a letter of congratulations, which will acknowledge the nominator and an application form.
- To move forward in the selection process, the nominee must then submit a complete application package.
- A nominee may apply in only one Award category per year – please click here for the view of categories
- A PDF file of the Official Awards Application Form is posted on this web site and updated every year to correspond to the current year's program.
Applicants must provide the following information, prepared specifically for this Awards program:
1. Select and Apply to one Award Category (please select one only).Apply to the appropriate Award Category by submitting 250 words on what uniquely qualifies you to win this specific award and an additional 250 words on what uniquely qualifies you to be a recipient of the RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards (include information that is not communicated in your business plan or financials that you believe contributed to the success of you, your business and/or had an impact on your community)
2. Submit your business plan
Be sure to include business definition, company structure, competitive, growth and financial strategies and external references. If you do not have a business plan, please go to the RBC Application Workshop Presentation for guidelines on how to write your business plan.
3. Submit company financial data
The financial information is an important and quantifiable indicator of success for our judges. It is required that this section be completed for all Award categories. All the information submitted is confidential. Our judges are bound by a strict confidentiality agreement.
The application package must be typewritten in 12-point type and shall not exceed 10 single-sided pages. Up to five extra pages of attachments, media clippings, etc. may be submitted. No videos or products will be accepted. Five unbound copies of the completed applicate package must be provided. Materials will not be returned. Incomplete or late applications will automatically be disqualified.
You will be judged on your unique qualities as an entrepreneur, specific attributes that qualify you for the Award have been selected, your business strategy and success, and your application package.
A nominee may apply in only one Award category per year.
What happens if you win?
- The five winners of the 2009 RBC Canadian Woman Entrepreneur Award will be honored at a Gala Dinner on Tuesday, December 8, 2009 in Toronto, where each will be presented with an 18-carat gold pin designed by Tiffany & Co. (pictured, above) and a commemorative plaque.
- The Awards dinner receives national media coverage through our sponsors The National Post, and PROFIT magazine.
- Press releases will also be distributed to the winner's local media outlets.
- Past winners have gone onto much greater heights.
- Many have found this Award to be a stepping-stone to prominent board positions and recognition by other Award or professional recognition programs including Canada's Top 40 Under 40, placement on the PROFIT/Chatelaine Top 100 Women Business Owners List, Canadian Women's Mentor Award and the Order of Canada.
- Many nominees, applicants and past winners feel that the Award has opened new doors, generated respect and approval from their peers and customers, and in some cases, launched them into the international marketplace.
If the business is a Private Company:
The Woman Entrepreneur owning a private company must:
- Be the founder of the business or have had a significant impact on the company if acquired
- Own or control the majority of voting shares
- Hold the senior executive title or be the chief decision maker
- Be responsible for day-to-day management and the bottom line of the company
If the business is a Partnership:
- For a legal partnership between two or more women entrepreneurs:
- At least one of the partners must be a founder of the business; the partners applying for an Awards must hold the senior management titles and; be responsible for the day-to-day management and bottom line of the company. The Full names and signatures of the partners applying for an Award must be on the application form.
For a legal partnership between a man and woman entrepreneur:
- The woman entrepreneur must: be the founder of the business; hold the senior executive title or be the chief decision maker; be responsible for the day-to-day management and the bottom line of the company; if the partnership were to break up, the woman entrepreneur would retain control of the company.
If the business is a Public Company:
A woman entrepreneur owning a public company must:
- Be the founder of the company; or have had a significant impact on the company if acquired.
- Hold the senior executive title or be the chief decision maker;
- Be responsible for the day-to-day management and the bottom line of the company
The following business ownership structures are NOT eligible for these Awards:
1. Franchisees – While franchisees may use innovative business strategies to grow their operations, they are not founders of the original business concept and structure.
2. Non-Profit Organizations – This Awards program has chosen to honor women entrepreneurs. These are women who enter into a commercial venture, who in many cases use their own capital to assume the risk and responsibility of operating a for-profit business.
3. Associations – Associations are formed to represent a group of like individuals or business interests and are not established to develop a commercial venture.
Insider Tips :
For insider tips from Past winners visit
www.rbcroyalbank.com/business/women
For more information please contact:
Women of Influence Inc.
225 MacPherson Avenue, Suite A-West
Toronto, ON, M4V 1A1
Tel: 416-923-1688
Fax: 416-923-2862
E-mail: info@womenofinfluenceinc.ca
