Rick Graf, for whom the award is named, was an activist within the Iowa City community as well as nationally. He was serving his first term on the City of Iowa City Human Rights Commission when his life was cut short by complications from AIDS in July 1995. Rick had served on the Ryan White Care Consortia and the Johnson County AIDS Coalition Board. He was a co-founder of the University of Iowa Gay Liberation Front, the first university-affiliated gay group in the country. He also co-founded ICARE (Iowa Center for AIDS Resources Education) and RFD, a magazine for rural gay men everywhere. The Rick Graf award recognizes the long-term commitment of an individual, business, or individual with a service organization, to a specific cause or for the benefit of a specific group of persons.
- 1996: Theresa Kopatich
- 1997: Brian Thomas
- 1998: James L. Harris
- 1999: Phyllis Harper-Bardach
- 2000: Susan Buckley
- 2001: Minnette Doderer
- 2002: Mary Palmberg
- 2003: John-Paul Chaisson-Cardenas
- 2004: Philip Mears
- 2005: Valerie Kemp
- 2006: Christine Mullen
- 2007: Robin Butler and Janelle Rettig
- 2008: Chris Klug
- 2009: BarbouRoske Family
- 2010: Sergeant Denise Brotherton
- 2011: Amy Correia
- 2012: Joan Vanden Berg
- 2013: Working Group Theater
- 2014: Diane Finnerty
- 2015: Stephanie Van Housen
- 2016: Pilot Club of Iowa City
- 2017: Stella & Bram Elias
- 2018: Dr. Jack Stapleton
- 2019: Elizabeth Bernal
- 2020: Eric Harris
- 2021: Tracy Jon Sargeant
- 2022: Na Li
- 2023: Kim Painter
- 2024: Leonard Sandler
