Sure!

1. To increase awareness of the kindness and compassion around us by capturing photos demonstrating these virtues
2. To educate and inspire the general public through wide sharing of the impactful content generated by the program
3. To engage photographers to be an integral part of this transformational program and both recognize and reward them for their efforts
4. To create more joy, harmony, connection, collaboration, gratitude, and compassion through these photos
5. We use the best of the images to share with others by streaming them directly into places of higher stress. There is much science behind this.

Yes! The contest is completely free to enter.

The winners will be announced in June, 2022.

The finalists will be announced at the end of May, 2022.

A total of 40 finalists are selected by both the online community (public choice) and Envision Kindness staff. To be one of the top 10 finalists from public choice, you must have the most shares, votes, comments and likes during the voting period   Votes, shares, and comments all count to points. The images with the top 10 point totals will become finalists. The other 30 finalists are selected by Envision Kindness staff based on the quality of the photo, the message of the photo, and information included by the photographer explaining what is happening in the photo. The winners will be chosen from our finalists by our panel of distinguished judges.  This year we are adding a new category and prize to honor Caring and Connection during the pandemic.  The Envision Kindness staff will select up to 10 additional photos to be considered for that prize. The Our World Is Kind judges will pick the best image from that group.

Only one prize is awarded for any image.  If an image is selected for more than one prize, the prize with the greatest value will be awarded.

Kindness appears in many different forms. Our website also provides some ideas and we also encourage you to draw inspiration from last year’s finalists and winners. Some examples and ideas include:

1. People helping other people: volunteers for a good cause; helping someone by comforting them, offering them food or money, helping the elderly, young or disabled; leaving a note for someone, etc.
2. Kindness in Nature: People helping animals. Animals helping people. Animals helping each other.  Taking care of the environment; planting a tree.
3. Community: We really want to see photos from organizations that do good and kind work. Like donating blood, building homes or schools; taking care of the poor, sick, or disabled; taking care of veterans; advocating for peace, love, kindness, and compassion.

Our aim is to share images of kindness with as many people as possible to inspire more kindness. We also know that these images make people feel good. We include it as part of the contest so that you can inspire your own family, friends, and network with your good work. As we value what the public thinks, we have also created an award for Public Choice to celebrate that, too.  And because there can also be photos that are terrific and that should also be considered, we will select 30 of the best that were not included in the top vote recipients. So there are two ways to be selected as a finalist! 

This year, we have also created a new category to celebrate the good work nonprofits and charities are doing in our communities. Ten photos will be selected for consideration for this prize, which will be awarded by our judges.  

To be one of our top finalists by points, you must have the most points.

How do you get points? Points are credited every time someone votes for your photo on the contest website.  In addition, you get points from shares, likes or views of your photo on social media! A person can vote once every calendar hours. You can also get votes when someone comments on your photo! The contest administrators reserve the right to delete (and disqualify) any comments that are negative or do not pertain to the contest. The more you and others share your photo, the better your chance. This also helps to spread and promote kindness.

Yes! If you were not a top vote-getter, you still may have a chance. Envision Kindness will choose up to 30 photos (not in the top 10 vote recipients) as additional finalists to move on to the judging round.

10 additional photos will be considered as part of a separate category, the Nonprofit Honoree Prize, and the judges will select a winner from that set of photos.  Similarly, 10 photos will be considered as part of the Caring and Connection Prize, with the judges selecting a winner from those.

The Nonprofit Honoree Prize will be awarded to the photo that most powerfully tells the story of a nonprofit (charity), a NGO, or an organization making a positive impact in their community. This is a separate prize category and will not be judged with our top 40 finalists. The Envision Kindness staff will select up to 10 additional photos to be considered for the Nonprofit Honoree prize. The Our World Is Kind judges will pick the best image from that group. Only one prize is awarded to each photo.  If an image is selected for more than one prize, the prize with the greatest value will be awarded. 50% of the prize will go to the photographer, and 50% will go to the featured nonprofit. Do you know a nonprofit doing amazing work in your community? This category could be for you!

No. Due to the large number of submissions, only photos eligible for prizes will be notified of their status after the judging period ends. This includes the top 40 finalists (10 selected through voting and 30 selected by Envision Kindness) and the top ten photos eligible for the Nonprofit Honoree prize as well as the Caring and Connection prize.

Each photo must be a separate submission. You are allowed up to five submissions.

Yes, but photographs must be uploaded by 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time on May 15, 2022.  We follow US law in awarding all prizes–unfortunately, photographers from some countries may not be eligible to receive the prize money. In that case, we will donate the prize money to an international charity in the photographer’s name.

Yes.

Yes.

In order to be displayed in our online gallery without being stretched or distorted, photographs must be submitted in .jpeg, .jpg or .gif format, edited for the web, at least 3,000 pixels wide, 300 dpi, Adobe RGB, and no larger than 10 MB in JPG or TIFF. Mobile photographs must be submitted at their highest resolution.

Yes. Please check that your photo is a high-resolution image. Most smartphones have the capabilities of taking high-resolution images.

Yes, you may submit work that has been previously submitted to an Envision Kindness competition. However, in an effort to promote the creation of new work, we encourage you to submit new photography as much as possible. Please note that photos that have received awards (i.e. First Place, Public Choice, Non-profit, or Honorable Mention) are not eligible for resubmission.

Please email further questions or comments to [email protected].