Umbrella500 Impact Awards · 2026 · Applications close 10 September

Green Community Initiative Award

The people doing the work,recognised for it.

Cash and expert support for one initiative already creating real green impact where it operates. Open to an individual, a group of community members, a local association, a charity or a small NGO.

Start your application See the other awards

You'll create an account first — about a minute. One award per account, so pick the one that fits your work.

Apply in Arabic, English or French

Accepting entries now Applications close 10 September 2026 Winners announced late October 2026

Community-scale, not corporate-scale

This award judges the initiative, not the organisation behind it. A solo organiser, a handful of neighbours or a small association competes on equal terms with a bigger, better-resourced group — what matters is what you achieved with what you had.

Who it's for

Anyone running a real, community-based green initiative that is already operating and has already created green impact. The initiative must be driven by positive impact rather than profit.

Full eligibility is for members. Create your account — it takes about a minute.

What this award is not for

This is a community-scale award, and the test is scale and funding source rather than legal form. The following sit outside it:

Initiatives delivered as part of a large, institutionally funded international programme.
Organisations operating at national or international scale on substantial donor budgets.
Business support organisations — this award is not for business-focused activity.

If your work is business-focused, the Impact Startup Award is the one for you.

What counts as green impact

Any genuine effort, action, product, service or initiative that aims to protect the environment or move economic activity toward a greener, more circular model. It covers the work being done, not only the results achieved.

Circular economy — waste, reuse, repair and recycling
Resource efficiency — water, energy, materials
Clean energy and emissions
Pollution reduction
Nature and biodiversity
Sustainable production and consumption
Environmental awareness

The evidence you'll need

Every applicant sends evidence that the initiative is real and its green impact is genuine. Any of these work:

Photographs of the initiative being carried out
Video of it at work
Social media accounts or pages that document it over time
Photographs or video of the green impact itself, where you have them
Anything else that supports it — local press, a letter from the community or the municipality, records of materials collected

Evidence is not scored. Stronger documentation does not earn a higher mark — it only establishes that you qualify. If something is unclear we'll ask you once before deciding.

What we'll ask you

The form has three parts and saves as you go, so you can stop and come back.

1

About your initiative
2

Your green impact

Green impact means any genuine effort, action, product, service or initiative that aims to protect the environment or move economic activity toward a greener, more circular model. It covers the work being done, not only the results achieved.
3

Last details and consent

Almost done. These last few details help us reach you, and the consent below lets us act on your application.

What you win

What this award pays is for members

Create your personal account to see the prize, how it splits between cash and expert support, and the exact weight judges give each thing they score. It takes about a minute.

How your application is judged

First we verify the evidence — pass or fail. Verified applications are then scored, the top ten are shortlisted, and finalists pitch live online to the panel.

Green impact: How significant and credible is the environmental benefit delivered to the community?
Initiative and resourcefulness: What was achieved relative to the means available — ingenuity, persistence, self-starting effort.
Clarity and communication: How clearly is the initiative and its impact explained and evidenced?

What you achieved with what you had matters more than how big you are.

This award's timeline

Key dates

Applications close 10 Sep 2026

Verification and scoring Late Sep

Community vote and panel review Late Sep – early Oct

Finalists pitch live to the panel, online Early to mid Oct

Winners announced Mid to late Oct

Everything below is drawn from the award rules

Questions

No. There is no requirement for legal registration, a budget, or a minimum period of operation. Individuals and informal groups are welcome alongside associations and NGOs.

Not in itself — we ask about funding so that applications can be compared fairly. What sits outside this award is work delivered as part of a large, institutionally funded international programme, or by an organisation operating at national or international scale on a substantial donor budget.

This award is for community-scale work rather than business-focused activity, so business support organisations sit outside it. If your work is business-focused, the Impact Startup Award is the one for you.

The initiative's activity and its green impact must take place in a community in the wider MENA region, and at least one person overseeing it must be based there. Everyone else can be based anywhere — so a diaspora-led initiative can enter, as long as there is genuine oversight on the ground.

No — each account may enter one award only. Have a look at all three before you start, and pick the one that fits your work best.

The call is open

Create your personal account to apply.

Members see the prize, how judges weight each thing they score, and can apply right up to the deadline.

Start your application

1Name, email, password — about a minute

2Click the link we email you to verify

3You land back here, signed in, ready to apply

Already a member? Sign in

Each account may enter one award only — choose the one that fits your work best.

The Spark Innovation Hub

The awards are hosted on the Spark Innovation Hub — SPARK's community platform, and the reason an account here is worth having after October. It is where the region's entrepreneurs, funders and support organisations are already in one place: founders looking for a first customer, donors and accelerators looking for people to back, and the NGOs and chambers whose job is helping both find each other.

Your account is free to keep, and it stays yours whether or not you win.