Award criteria

1. What is this Award?
This Award, which is similar to The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise, recognises the vital role played by the hundreds of thousands of voluntary groups in the community. Its announcement in 2002 marked the occasion of The Queen’s Golden Jubilee.

2. How long will the scheme last?
This is an annual Award that will be a lasting legacy of the Golden Jubilee.

3. What is it being given for?
The Award recognises outstanding achievement by groups of two or more people in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man who volunteer their own time to enhance and improve the quality of life and opportunity for individuals or other groups in the community.

4. What are the criteria?
A successful group will have demonstrated that it:

• meets a particular need;
• provides community-focused voluntary activities of a very high quality;
• has generated a high level of goodwill and respect amongst those it serves and the community as a whole;
• has evolved locally and is locally run; and
• has a proven track record of active involvement in the community, normally over a period of three years or more, for the social, economic or environmental wellbeing of local individuals or groups.

5. Who is eligible?
A group (two or more persons) may be nominated for the Award if:

• it is providing a high quality service to benefit individuals or groups in the community;
• it is operating and providing a service in the United Kingdom;
• it has been operating for a minimum of 3 years (exceptions may be made for short-term projects); and
• it is made up entirely of volunteers (including trustees), or it includes some paid staff, but they must be in the minority of those involved.

6. Will groups operating abroad be eligible?
No. This is an Award for those working in the UK. Those working abroad are more appropriately recognised under the Honours system.

7. What about charities?
Many small organisations and groups are registered as charities, and there are groups of volunteers working under the auspices of larger charities. All of these are eligible, provided they are not simply fund-raisers. In other words, groups must also provide a service to the community in addition to their fundraising activities. Example of services are concerts, fêtes and hospital café facilities.

8. What about the contribution made by individuals?
Their invaluable contribution can be recognised through the Honours system.

9. Can you give examples of the sort of group that will be eligible?
There are dozens of possibilities, but some examples are groups that:

• improve the local environment;
• contribute to crime prevention and community safety;
• run community centres and village halls, youth clubs or community-based sport clubs;
• provide facilities for children (eg holiday playschemes or after-school clubs);
• support those involved in drugs and alcohol misuse;
• provide support or special facilities for groups such as elderly or disabled people;
• support victims of crime;
• work with families, particularly those facing hardship;
• address the specific needs of black and minority ethnic communities; or
• run self-help groups, eg for the families of sufferers of rare diseases.

10. How many Awards will be given each year?
This will depend on the number and quality of the nominations received.

11. Why were 200 given for 2003?
To mark the first year of this special Award and to:

• acknowledge the diversity of voluntary groups;
• recognise those that are making an outstanding contribution; and
• get a meaningful spread of Awards across the UK by area and type of group.

12. What will the winners get?
A certificate signed by The Queen and a commemorative piece of crystal for display at the group’s main place of operation. The Awards will be presented on behalf of The Queen by the Lord-Lieutenant for the county in which the group works.

13. What will the award and certificate look like?

14. For how long will groups hold the Award?
For as long as they continue to function. The Award is linked to the year in which it is won (eg ‘The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service … 2008’) with winning groups being able to use that title, for example on their letterheads, if they have them.

15. When are the winners announced?
The Awards are announced on 2nd June each year (the anniversary of The Queen’s Coronation). The next round of Awards is launched simultaneously.