Recognition
Summit Awards 2026
Kansas City, MO · July 28–30, 2026
Community Engagement · By Region
Community Engagement Award
Sustained attendance, connection, and community momentum.
Some communities fill chairs. Others build movements. This award goes to the community that made showing up a habit — where attendance signals trust, relevance, and belonging.
Measured by: Highest average QR attendance per event during the last year.
Entrepreneur Journey · By Region
Entrepreneur Journey Excellence Award
A seamless, high-quality experience from application to stage.
The communities that honor every presenter’s journey with care and intentionality create something more than an event. They create a launchpad.
Measured by: Most complete presentations in the 1MC website during the last year.
Growth & Momentum · By Region
Rising Star Award
New communities building something powerful — fast.
Being new is not a disadvantage. The energy and urgency of a younger community is exactly what this award celebrates.
Eligibility: Communities active for two years or fewer, actively hosting events.
Measured by: 100-point composite score — avg attendance/event (28 pts), presentations/month (22 pts), organizer team size (18 pts), pipeline/organizer (12 pts), event cadence (10 pts), sponsors (6 pts), platform login rate (4 pts).
Spirit & Culture · National
1MC Spirit Award
The organizer who makes their community feel like home.
This award does not go to the community with the most data points. It goes to the person who shows up every week and makes it matter — building a joyful, welcoming space for every entrepreneur who walks through the door.
Nominations: Submitted by Lead Organizers. Window: June 1–30, 2026. Submit to jcopper@1millioncups.com.
Ecosystem · Shared Award
The Ecosystem Builder Award
Full commitment to the Kauffman vision across both programs.
This award goes to the affiliate delivering FastTrac cohorts and running a 1MC community in the same ecosystem — not just a program partner, a movement builder.
Measured by: Total cohorts delivered combined with a weighted 1MC member count.
Program Delivery · National
The High Impact Affiliate Award
Program delivery at scale.
Some affiliates do the work quietly. This one does it loudly, consistently, and at a volume that moves the needle for the entire network. This award belongs to the organization that showed up the most for entrepreneurs this year, running cohort after cohort and putting more founders through FastTrac than anyone else in the network.
Measured by: Highest number of FastTrac cohorts delivered in the past 12 months. Tiebreaker: total cohorts delivered lifetime.
Program Delivery · National
The Sustained Excellence Award
Long-term commitment and consistent delivery.
Showing up once is easy. Showing up year after year, cohort after cohort, takes something different. This award honors the affiliate that has made FastTrac a permanent fixture in their community, not a pilot, not a one-time experiment, but a sustained, reliable presence for entrepreneurs who need it most. Longevity multiplied by output. That is the formula.
Measured by: A composite score of years active as an affiliate multiplied by total cohorts delivered. Score = Years Active × Total Cohorts.
Growth & Momentum · National
The Rising Star Affiliate Award
Newer affiliates making strong early progress.
Every long-standing affiliate was once brand new. This award recognizes the organization that has wasted no time making an impact, moving fast, delivering cohorts, and building momentum in a way that signals something big is coming. Being new is not a disadvantage here. In fact, the energy and urgency of a newer affiliate is exactly what this award celebrates.
Eligibility: Affiliates active for 3 years or fewer.
Measured by: Cohorts delivered divided by years active, rewarding pace over volume.
Ecosystem · Shared Award
The Ecosystem Builder Award
Full commitment to the Kauffman vision across both programs.
This award does not go to someone who chose one lane. It goes to the affiliate that saw the full picture and decided to build it all. Delivering FastTrac cohorts and running a 1MC community in the same ecosystem takes coordination, vision, and a deep belief in what entrepreneurship education can do for a community. This organization is not just a program partner. They are a movement builder.
Measured by: Affiliates that deliver FastTrac cohorts and operate an active 1MC community. Scored by combining total cohorts delivered with a weighted 1MC member count.
Facilitator Excellence · National
The Outstanding Facilitator Award
A facilitator who transforms the FastTrac experience from a program into a movement.
This award honors the FastTrac facilitator who creates an engaging, memorable cohort experience, brings additional resources to every session, and goes above and beyond to connect entrepreneurs to each other and to the broader ecosystem. They show up before, during, and after the cohort — because for them, it was never just about the content.
Nominated by: Program Directors, Course Managers, or Fellow Facilitators.