The ALCM Raabe Prize for Excellence in Sacred Composition is awarded every two years for a single musical work, published or unpublished and written within the last five years, but that work should reflect a larger history of excellence on the part of the composer who need not be Lutheran. While any sacred piece may be submitted, works that include the voice or voices are preferred over those for instruments alone. The $2000 monetary award is shared equally by the winner and a musical or ecclesiastical organization chosen by the composer.