Volunteer Awards Criteria

Depending on the type of organization, group, or association you are running, you can have different criteria for giving out volunteer awards. While you may choose to tailor your awards to the specific aims of your organization, you can apply a few standard criteria that many groups share when honoring their volunteers.

Special Projects

• While all volunteers provide help to an organization, group, or even at the state level, those who go above and beyond often prove deserving of an award. This is especially true of individuals(s) who create a special project to work on, one sanctioned by the hosting organization and carried out with ardor by the volunteer. These special projects can be small or large-scale efforts to tackle a significant problem.

Leadership

• In many states, like Iowa, awards go out from the governor's office to volunteers that have shown tremendous leadership skills. These individuals are generally recommended by a coworker, volunteer organizer, or other member of an organization to receive an award for the way in which they lead others. This leadership quality comes only in regards to instances of volunteering or for charitable work.

Role Model

• While being a role model can certainly carry qualities of leadership, individuals can serve as role models for a small or significant part of their community without leading it. For these people, a volunteer award can recognize their efforts to serve as a positive influence to a targeted group at trouble, and has worked with that group to help them achieve or work towards their goals.

Recruitment

• One of the most difficult aspects of charity and non-profit work is finding people to volunteer their time. Some awards recognize those individuals who not only volunteer for a certain group or organization, but who also work hard to recruit new volunteers to the cause. This can help the organization by providing manpower and by reducing the workload of paid members, allowing them to focus on other aspects of their work.