The Volunteering Awards

Volunteering awards in the UK

Volunteering awards fall broadly into two groups: those that recognise individuals and those that recognise volunteer groups. Many charities, professional bodies and community organisations run volunteering awards of their own.

Local councils often hold annual community or civic awards. Universities and colleges may recognise students who volunteer, and membership bodies can run awards for their own volunteers. Young people may be put forward for schemes such as the Diana Award, which has its own eligibility and nomination guidance.

Individuals can also be recognised nationally. Anyone can nominate another person for an honour through GOV.UK. Nominators put someone forward for consideration, but they do not decide which honour, such as a British Empire Medal or an MBE, the person receives. The Prime Minister's Points of Light award has also recognised individual volunteers; check its website to see whether nominations are currently being accepted.

For volunteer groups, the highest award in the UK is the King's Award for Voluntary Service.

The King's Award for Voluntary Service

The award was created in 2002 to mark Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee and was known as the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service. It was renamed in 2023 following the accession of King Charles III.

It is given each year to volunteer groups for their work in their local communities. It is the equivalent of an MBE for a group, and the award is held for life.

The scheme is run by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Nominations are assessed locally through the relevant Lord-Lieutenant, the King's representative in the area. A national committee then makes recommendations, and the final awards are approved by the King.

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Who can be nominated

The award is open to voluntary groups across the UK, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. To be eligible, a group must meet the scheme's current requirements, including the following:

  • it is made up of at least two people
  • most of the people involved are volunteers
  • more than half of the volunteers have the right of residence in the UK (check the guidance for how this applies in the Crown Dependencies)
  • it has been running for at least three years
  • it provides a specific and direct benefit to its local community
  • it is led by volunteers

A local branch of a larger organisation can be nominated only if it meets the scheme's independence requirements. In practice, this means the branch must have enough local control over how it is managed and how its money is handled; a local address or local volunteers alone are not enough. The national organisation itself is not eligible.

The rules also set out exclusions, for example for groups whose only purpose is fundraising or making grants, and for activity that counts as statutory or public service provision. The list above is a summary, so read the full eligibility rules on the official King's Award for Voluntary Service website before nominating.

How nominations work and what recipients receive

A group cannot nominate itself. The nominator must be independent of the group, so current volunteers, staff and trustees cannot make a nomination, and the guidance also restricts people with recent past involvement. Two supporting letters are needed, and their authors must meet the same independence rules.

Nominations are made online during an annual nomination window. Recent rounds have run from 1 September to 1 December, but check the official website for the opening date, deadline and award year, as the year you nominate and the year awards are made are not the same.

Assessment takes several months. Recipients are announced on 14 November, the King's birthday, and receive:

  • a certificate signed by the King
  • a domed glass crystal, often presented by the Lord-Lieutenant at a local ceremony
  • an invitation for two representatives to attend a royal garden party, generally the following year
  • the right to use the award's logo on their materials

The award does not include a cash grant. It gives public recognition to a group's work, which some groups mention in publicity or funding applications.