The mission of the United Catholic Music and Video Association (UCMVA) is to support, encourage, and promote the development of all forms of Catholic Music and Video.
I. Purpose- The Unity Awards help the UCMVA accomplish its mission by giving public recognition by the members of the UCMVA to those persons who have demonstrated excellence or significant accomplishments in the field of Catholic Evangelization through music, video and media.
II. Voting Eligibility- All persons who are members in good standing of the UCMVA in any eligible membership category, or who have submitted a complete membership application accompanied by the prescribed membership fee, by March 15th (This year 2001, has been extended to July 31st) of any year shall be entitled to vote in the Unity Awards selection process with respect to the awards to be presented during that calendar year. Members in all Professional, Platinum, Benefactor, and Patron categories shall be entitled to enter and vote in all Unity Awards categories.
III. Award Eligibility-
A. The eligibility period for all award categories shall be 12 months beginning on the 1st day of April, and ending on the 31st day of the March prior to the presentation of the awards with the exception of the first and second Unity Awards, the eligibility period has been extended to July 31st, 2001. Product must have General Distribution in the United States. General Distribution is defined as (a) Mail order and/or retail sales for a recorded music/video product that is marketed nationally. The UCMVA reserves the right to request invoices of shipment from the manufacturer to substantiate the release date eligibility.
B. The UCMVA has authorized the following lyric criteria for all song and video entries in the Unity Awards: "For the purpose of Unity Award eligibility, the lyrics of all entries in the Album and Song categories will be based upon Tradition, Magestarium, and Scripture."
C. The UCMVA has authorized the following artist criteria for the Unity Awards: "For the purpose of Unity Award eligibility, all artists nominated must be actively evangelizing within the Catholic Church."
IV Balloting Process- The balloting process for the Unity Awards shall consist of an Entry Form from the United Catholic Music and Video Association, and two separate ballots, which shall be mailed to an independent accounting firm approved by the UCMVA. Such ballots shall be mailed to all eligible members of the UCMVA from a list provided by the President of the Association. All such ballots may only be returned to the address designated; faxes shall not be accepted. The content of each shall be as follows:
*Entry Form- Shall contain appropriate instructions and provisions for submitting entries in specific Unity Award categories. The United Catholic Music and Video Association reserves the right 1: To disallow entry forms that have insufficient information to verify the entry eligibility and forms for which no contact is readily available. 2: To place any entry into the category it deems appropriate and to rule on the eligibility of any product. 3: To withdraw any category in any year if the Association determines there is an insufficient number of eligible entries in that category (less than 5) and, at the Association’s discretion, to place those entries in another category.
*First Ballot- Shall list, in alphabetical order, all eligible entries receiving three or more votes or one vote from a Record, Video, or Publisher Company with the exception of Song of the Year, which requires five member votes.
*Second Ballot- Shall list, in alphabetical order, the Nominees which consist of: The three entries in each category, which received the most votes in that category on the First Ballot (with the exception of Song of the Year which shall list ten.)
A. On the entry form, not more that three member entries may be made in any one category. On the first and second ballots not more than one vote shall be cast in any category.
B. In the event of a tie vote on the first ballot for fifth place (tenth place in the Song of the Year), the number of finalists for that category will be increased in order to include all entries which are tied. In the event of a tie vote on the second ballot, both/all recipients receiving the highest number of votes will be awarded a Unity Award.
C. Only the names of the final nominees selected in each category (and the ten final nominees in the Song of the Year category) as a result of the tabulation of the first ballot, and of the Unity recipient(s) in each category resulting from the tabulation of the second ballot, shall be made known to the United Catholic Music and Video Association by the independent accounting firm employed to tabulate such ballots. The number of votes received by any particular nominee shall not be disclosed to anyone by said accounting firm unless so directed by resolution adopted by the UCMVA.
VI. Announcement of Recipients- Prior to the announcement of the recipient(s) at the annual Unity Awards presentation or such other event as may be selected by the United Catholic Music and Video Association, the name of the recipient(s) of the Unity Award in any category will be disclosed by the accounting firm tabulating the ballots only to the President of the UCMVA. Such disclosure will be restricted to persons who, in the President's judgment, require such information in connection with the production and/or broadcast of the Unity Awards presentation.
UCMVA 2001 Balloting Schedule
{Extended Scheduling}
Aug
1st
All Entry Forms Mailed
Aug 15th All Entry Forms Due
Aug 15th All Product Due
Sept 1st
1st Ballot Mailed
Sept 15th
1st Ballot Due
Oct 1st 2nd Ballot Mailed
Oct 15th 2nd Ballot Due
Dec. 1, 2001 2nd Annual Unity Awards