2026 AWARD PROGRAM
SNOWFLAKECOMMUNITY AWARDS
Celebrating the people who make our community extraordinary
The Snowflake Community Awards honor the individuals and groups who uplift, educate, and inspire others across the Snowflake ecosystem. From community leaders to educators to open source innovators and AI pioneers, these awards spotlight people who are making an outsized impact across the data community.
about
Celebrating the builders, mentors, and educators who make the ecosystem stronger.
Each year, the Community Awards will recognize standout contributors who embody the spirit of collaboration, generosity, and innovation that strengthen the Snowflake community.
Contributions we celebrate
Hosting meetups, publishing technical tutorials, mentoring others, and helping the community learn, build, and innovate with Snowflake.
Who can be nominated
Builders, educators, community leaders, and open source contributors who strengthen the ecosystem through their time, expertise, and creativity.
How winners are recognized
Winners will be announced during the BUILD Global Event and featured across Snowflake community channels.
Six categories of community excellence
Awards span two tracks: the Individual & Group Track, which focuses on an individual’s or team's journey, and the Impact & Excellence Track, which focuses on the output, the code, or the innovation.
Individual & Group Track
Community Champion of the Year
Recognizes an individual who consistently uplifts the Snowflake community through mentorship, advocacy, and sustained contributions across multiple programs and channels.
Technical Educator of the Year
Recognizes an individual creating exceptional technical learning experiences — blogs, videos, tutorials, workshops, or courses that help others understand and apply Snowflake technologies.
Community Builder of the Year
Celebrates those who weave the fabric of our community — from meetups to large-scale initiatives, creating inclusive spaces for collective growth and shared learning.
Rising Community Leader of the Year
Recognizes an emerging contributor who has made a meaningful impact within their first year of active participation in the Snowflake community.
Open Source Impact
Honors the individual or group whose open-source contributions serve as a force multiplier — the tools, frameworks, and libraries that empower the community to build faster and solve complex data challenges.
AI Excellence
Honors the individual or group demonstrating exceptional mastery of Snowflake's AI-driven development tools, leveraging tools like Cortex Code to transform how they build, assess, and optimize data pipelines.
How the Awards Work
Nominations
June 1 – July 1, 2026
Community members can nominate individuals who have made meaningful contributions to the Snowflake ecosystem.
Finalist Selection
An internal panel evaluates nominations based on impact, quality of contributions, consistency, reach, engagement and alignment with community values.
Community Voting
August 15 – September 15, 2026
Finalists are announced and open for community voting.
Winner Announcement
November 2026
Winners are revealed at BUILD Global and celebrated across Snowflake community channels.
Eligibility
Snowflake Community Awards eligibility:
Open to customers, partners, consultancies, startups, independent contributors.
Requires meaningful contributions (e.g., educational content, mentorship, open source contributions, events or other community leadership) within the past 12 months.
Snowflake employees are not eligible.
Self-nominations are encouraged.
What Winners Receive
Snowflake Community Award winners receive:
An official Snowflake Community Awards trophy
Recognition during the BUILD Global event
Promotion across Snowflake channels
Community spotlight highlighting contributions
2026 awards program
Frequently AskedQuestions
Find answers to the most common questions about the Snowflake Community Awards.
Anyone can submit a nomination — colleagues, peers, community members, or Snowflake employees. You do not need to be a Snowflake customer or part of a specific program to nominate someone.
Yes. You can submit as many nominations as you'd like, across any or all categories.
Yes. An individual or group may be nominated in more than one category. However, they can only win one award.
Yes. Self-nominations are permitted and encouraged. We recognize that sometimes you're the best person to describe your own impact.
Winners will be announced at BUILD Global in November 2026 and featured across Snowflake community channels.
To recognize community impact around the world, one winner per category will be selected from each region: Americas, APJ, and EMEA — resulting in three winners per category.
No. Snowflake employees are not eligible to receive awards but are welcome to nominate community members.
Yes. Community Builder of the Year, Open Source Impact, and AI Excellence accept team and group nominations. Groups will receive one trophy per team.
Strong nominations include specific examples, measurable impact (i.e., numbers, metrics, outcomes), and supporting links to blogs, repos, talks, or other evidence. Nominations without supporting evidence may receive lower scores during judging.
Nominations are evaluated by a review committee for impact, quality and consistency of contributions, reach and engagement and alignment to community values. Finalists advance to a community voting round, which accounts for 30% of the final score. Winners are determined by a combination of committee scoring and community votes.
