The Waterloo Regional Heritage Foundation is a non-profit Corporation that assists in the preservation of the heritage and culture for the Region of Waterloo. The Waterloo Regional Heritage Foundation provides grants for investment in heritage-related endeavours and advises on a wide number of heritage issues throughout the Region. The Foundation defines Heritage as “what we receive from the past, what we live with today and what we pass on to future generations. Heritage can be cultural or natural, tangible or intangible, and can apply to all creations of the past that have acquired cultural significance with the passage of time.”
The Awards of Excellence, inaugurated in 1983, are intended to recognise outstanding contributions by individuals, institutions and organizations to heritage preservation in Waterloo Region, in such areas as archaeology, archives, culture, education, genealogy, history, literature, media, natural history and others.
Eligibility
- Award winners may be acknowledged posthumously.
- No serving member of the Waterloo Regional Heritage Foundation is eligible.
Deadline
- The deadline for nominations for the Awards of Excellence is the April 30, 2025.
Nomination Procedure
- The nomination application may simply be a letter signed by the nominator(s) that clearly details why the nominee is worthy of an award or a completed copy of the Foundation nomination form (found here or by contacting wrhf@regionofwaterloo.ca).
- Ensure that the application notes the specific award for which the application is being submitted.
- Clearly describe the outstanding achievement in enough detail to inform members of the Heritage Foundation who may not know the work of the nominee.
- Include supporting documentation such as photographs, drawings, written descriptions, reference letters, and a brief biography/background to the individual/organization.
- Additional letters of support, and/or supporting documentation such as newspaper articles describing the individual or the project, photographs, books or articles written by the nominee, conference proceedings, works of art, websites, reports or testimonials are encouraged.
- A list of the individual's contributions may also be appropriate.
- All nominations will be received in confidence and supporting documentation will be returned if requested.