CDA Foundation Humanitarian Award honoring Andrew Soderstrom, DDS Nomination Guidelines

Purpose

Established in 2008, the CDA Foundation Humanitarian Award recognizes California dentists for individual lifetime volunteer commitment and leadership that has had a broad impact on oral health and the improvement of the human condition or marked by actions that have enabled the dental profession to respond more fully to the individual needs of people at the local, state, national, or international level.

Award

Recipients are eligible to receive this award only once. This is an honorable recognition award and recipients of this award will be recognized at an appropriate CDA event, presented with a humanitarian award, and recognized in CDA and CDA Foundation publications in the fall. This award honors the late Andrew Soderstrom, DDS, one of the co-founders for the CDA Foundation’s flagship program CDA Cares. When funding is available, a monetary contribution may be given to a nonprofit of the recipient’s choice.

Eligibility Criteria

The nominator must be either a CDA member or a component dental society executive director. A nominator is limited to one nomination per award cycle.

Nominee must hold a California dental license (active or retired).

Selection Criteria

Nominee must exemplify the following humanitarian ideals and attributes: 

  • Contributing significantly to alleviate human suffering and improving the quality of life and oral health of those served;
  • Demonstrating a lifetime of outstanding humanitarian volunteer accomplishments that bring honor to the profession; 
  • Serving as an inspiration to the dental profession;
  • Showing, through the scope of work undertaken, a lifetime commitment to humanity and selflessness in regard to direct personal or organizational gain or profit;
  • Establishing a legacy that is of ongoing value and benefit to others;
  • Demonstrating the highest level of compassion, respect, integrity and professionalism in the care of patients and families, while recognizing sensitivity to their religious, cultural and ethnic differences;
  • Creative interventions and awareness of the impact that illness has on the physical, emotional, social and spiritual lives of patients and their families; and
  • Teamwork and leadership.

Required Attachments

Nominators must submit the following items with the online application:

  • A curriculum vitae/resume highlighting the nominee’s lifetime of humanitarian contributions (maximum three pages total); and
  • One letter of support signed and printed on organization letterhead or personal stationery, from an individual other than the nominator. (maximum two pages)
  • Other supporting documentation (maximum three pages cumulative total) to substantiate and fully present the character and lifetime achievement of the nominee at the discretion of the nominator (testimonials, narrative, photographs, brochures, news articles, etc.).

Disqualification

Funding will not be provided to any “disqualified person,” as defined in Internal Revenue Code section 4958. Such persons include: (i) any person who is in a position to exercise substantial influence over the affairs of the CDA Foundation, or who was in such a position during the preceding five years, including voting members of the CDA Foundation Board of Directors and the officers and staff of the CDA Foundation; (ii) any family members of the above class of persons, including spouses, brothers and sisters (whole or half), and their respective spouses (whole or half), ancestors, children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren; and (iii) any entity in which the above two classes of persons holds more than a 35% interest.

Nomination Period

The CDA Foundation will accept online applications from April 1 to May 31st each year.