ECO Innovation Prize
The annual ECOsystems Conference convenes top professionals from the Environmental Council’s membership to grow, learn and connect. Attendees have the chance to win $10,000 to help power their critical work. The ECO Innovation Prizes or “ECO Prizes” celebrate the collective strength and creativity of our movement and are designed to help our members transform big ideas into big action.
What is the ECO Prize?
The ECO Prize is a cash prize awarded by the Michigan Environmental Council to member organizations at our annual ECOsystems Conference. We know you have important projects that are making impact in your community and across the state–these prizes are designed to give those projects a boost. Every Environmental Council member is eligible to apply so long as they are physically present at our conference.
Prize Breakdown
Three ECO Prizes are awarded at the annual ECOsystems Conference. The prizes are as follows:
Growing the Movement Prize ($10,000) – A project that expands our environmental movement to encompass more passionate advocates.
Policy Advocacy ($10,000) – A project that makes notable progress towards environmental policy change.
Innovation Prize ($10,000) – A project that goes outside-of-the-box of the other categories to push the boundaries of your work and drive results.
*Please note – ECO Prizes cannot be used for electioneering work or projects.
See how Planet Detroit used its ECO Prize
Truth and justice were awarded last fall in northern Michigan, and they were put to pen, paper and word processor a few months later in Detroit.
Member group and Detroit eco-journalism outlet Planet Detroit was one of the three recipients of last year’s ECO Prizes. It directed its earnings to The Detroit Writing Room, and its nonprofit arm Coaching Detroit Forward, to host a student journalism camp with a focus on environmental storytelling. The camp came to be this summer, when 18 high school students took to Wayne State University.
Eligibility & rules
Who’s eligible for the prize?
All 2025 Michigan Environmental Council members are eligible to apply for any of the ECO-Prizes so long as they are registered for the 2025 ECOsystems Conference, happening October 8-10, 2025 at Crystal Mountain Resort in Thompsonville. All recipients must be physically present at the conference to claim their prize.
Learn more about the conference & register
Can I apply for more than one prize?
You may submit separate applications for each prize, however only one project from each organization will be selected for consideration to showcase at the ECOsystems Conference.
What does the Prize application entail?
The ECO Prize application can be completed using the form below. It will ask you to upload a 1-2 page document answering the following questions. Applications for the 2025 ECO Innovation are open through Tuesday, September 30, 2025.
- Provide a high-level overview of your project.
- What is the environmental problem or problems your project addresses?
- Who are you impacting through this project? Your local community? A statewide audience?
- What are the measurable outcomes of your project? How do you know if your project is/was successful?
- What is your project timeline?
- How will you use the ECO Prize to make an impact on this project? What resources will the ECO Prize provide for the project or expenses will it cover for past projects?
- NOTE – All selected prize contestants must prepare a posterboard that will include highlights from your application along any additional photos/graphics that you feel help demonstrate the impact of your project. The posterboard will be displayed at the conference and will be available for attendees to browse as they prepare to vote.
How are winners selected?
All three ECO Prizes are “people’s choice” awards, meaning that your fellow Environmental Council members will vote to select prize winners in-person during our conference. As mentioned above, your project posters will be available for conference attendees to review as they vote. All voting will be anonymous and equitably weighted. Prizes will be judged using these simple criteria:
- Innovation – Which projects demonstrate unique creativity and thoughtfulness in addressing a problem? Which projects think outside-the-box?
- Impact – Which projects can show the strongest impact on an issue? Which projects employ data and measured results to showcase that impact?
- Resourcefulness – Which projects maximize impact in relation to inputs?
When will winners be selected?
Winners will be selected at the closing plenary session on Friday, October 10. Prizes will be awarded to winning organizations at this time.
Apply for the ECO Innovation Prize
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