Saturday May 16th, 2026 6:00PM - Denver Art Museum
Nominations for the Excellence in Nursing Awards are Now Closed.
Nominations for the 2026 Nursing Excellence awards are now closed.
Check back soon for more information on our chosen finalists.
Help us Celebrate 40 Years of Excellence!
Help us make this milestone gala unforgettable. Join our "40 for 40" initiative. Every $40 donation to our ‘40 for 40’ initiative goes directly to the Colorado Nurses Foundation Scholarship Fund.
About the Excellence in Nursing Awards
Nursing Administration
Executive (CEO, CNO or Director Level)
Leader/Manager
Research and Quality Improvement and Health Care Policy
Nursing Research
Quality Improvement
Health Care Policy
Nursing Education
Academia
Nursing Professional Development
Nursing Eminence
Acute Care Clinical Practice
RN
LPN
Clinical Advanced Practice RN
Long Term Care, Rehabilitation
RN
LPN
Community Nursing
RN
LPN
Nurse Led Teams
The Colorado Nurses Foundation is committed to making a collective impact on a diverse, inclusive, and equitable care environment for all Colorado nurses and the Coloradans they serve. We embrace the uniqueness of all nurses and the kaleidoscope of humans of every race, color, religion, national origin, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, disability, age, veteran status, or immigration path who call Colorado home. Our commitment to these values is central to our mission and guides the development and implementation of our programs and initiatives that foster nursing excellence and promotes the leadership role of nurses to create a sustainable health care system for Colorado. One of these programs is the Excellence in Nursing Awards for Nursing Excellence.
Purchase Tickets
Ticket sales close promptly at 5 pm MST on 5/1/2026.
Please reach out to info@conursesfoundation.org if you still wish to attend, and we will do our best to accommodate you. No additional tickets can be added after Sunday, 5/3/2026.
As a non-profit that needs the sales from this event to be able to put it on, we are not able to offer refunds for purchases.
Traveling to join us for the event? Book your room with our discounted rate at The Element Hotel.
Become A Sponsor
General sponsorship sales for the gala have closed. Still interested in sponsoring? Send an email to info@conursesfoundation.org, and we will do what we can to assist you.
Partners
As we have in the past, CNF is partnering with Regional AHEC’s and Associations to receive nominations and select recipients. Our partners are:
Denver Regional Nurses Association
Centennial AHEC
San Luis Valley AHEC
Pikes Peak Nightingale Association
Southwest Collaborative Committee
Nightingale Western Colorado
These Regional Partners will receive the nominations from their areas and will select their finalists, to be called Luminaries, and submit them to the State Selection Committee. The State Selection Committee will be comprised of representatives from each of the Regional Partners, CNF Board Members, and previous Excellence in Nursing Award Recipients. The State Selection Committee will select the sixteen Excellence in Nursing Award Recipients. All the Nominees and Luminaries will be honored at the Excellence in Nursing Awards Gala to be held May 16, 2026, at the Denver Art Museum. The Excellence in Nursing Award Recipients will be announced at the Gala. Proceeds from the Excellence in Nursing Awards Gala will be used to support the CNF Nursing Scholarship Program.