Nomination Guidelines

ELIGIBILITY

1. Nominees must have been engaged in volunteer activities for a minimum of one year in North Carolina and benefited a community or communities in the state in a substantial, important or unique way.  Volunteer service performed outside the state or out of the country will not be considered. 

2. Students receiving course credits for their volunteer activities are ineligible unless the nomination is based on volunteer service that extends beyond the course requirements, in which case it must be clearly indicated in the nomination statement.

3. National Service volunteers must be nominated for service above and beyond that which is required of them in their national service program.  Volunteer time recorded in a national service program will not be eligible. 

4. Previous award recipients from within the past 10 years are ineligible.

5. Nominees are ineligible if they receive compensation for their service. 

6. Nomination cannot be based upon court-mandated community service.

7. Nomination cannot be based upon serving as a “loaned executive.”

8. Self-nominations are not allowable.

9. Family members may not nominate another family member for an award or serve as a reference for their nomination. 

10. Group/team and corporate volunteerism nominations must be made by those external to the group/team or corporation/business.  

11. All nomination submission requirements listed below must be met.

12. Director of Volunteers who are paid for their service must be nominated in the non-volunteer service category.

IMPORTANT SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

1. All nominations must be submitted on the 2018 Governor’s Volunteer Service Award nomination form.

2. Only fully completed nomination forms will be accepted.  Sections 1-5 must be completed. Incomplete nominations will not be considered for the award.

3. At least one reference is required for each nomination.

4. The nomination form must be signed and dated by the nominator and reference.  Forms without these required two dated signatures will be considered as incomplete and not considered for the award.

5. The nominator may not serve as one of the reference.

6. The system will not allow you to submit additional attachments or support documentation (photographs, news articles, etc.) and these items cannot be submitted separately in some other way. Award selection will be based solely on information provided on nomination forms. 

7. Only two nominations will be accepted from one organization or nominator; please limit yourself to nominating one group/company team and one individual, regardless of category. You cannot nominate yourself or a group that you are a part of. 

AWARD SELECTION

• Award selections are based on the nominee’s volunteer efforts and commitment of time, accomplishments, community impact and enhancement of the lives of others, as described on the nomination form.

• Nominations are received and evaluated at the county level. The county may submit up to ten nominations to the Commission to be considered for the Governor’s Volunteer Service Award.  One of the nominees may be recommended as a nominee for the Medallion Award, the state’s highest level of volunteer recognition.  The county may also recommend one non-volunteer (paid) Director of Volunteers to be considered for a Medallion Award. 

• The Commission will select award recipients based on merit and eligibility. Recipients are selected without regard to race, religion, gender, national origin, or physical/mental disability.

• Nominations for the Governor’s Medallion Award are reviewed and evaluated by a statewide review panel that determines the recipients of the award.  The award is given to the state’s top 20 volunteers and one paid Director of Volunteers.  

TIPS FOR WRITING AN EFFECTIVE AWARD NOMINATION

• Nominators play a crucial role in the nominating process. Nominations that are well-written and thorough may be more likely to result in the volunteer receiving an award.
• Carefully review the eligibility requirements to ensure the nominee is eligible to receive the award. Nominations are disqualified if the volunteer doesn’t meet the eligibility requirements.
• Select the volunteer service categories that best describe the person you are nominating. If the volunteer meets the criteria for multiple categories, please select all categories that apply to their service.
• Adequately complete the nomination form, especially sections that include a “Completion Required” statement. Nominations are eliminated if required and critical information has not been submitted.
• Remember, all nominations are evaluated and scored by multiple reviewers and may not know anything about the nominee, other than what is on the nomination form. The more thorough and well-written the nomination is, the better.
• Reviewers rely on the nominator’s descriptive words and examples to assist them in determining and understanding the volunteer’s attributes and contributions.
• Be concise and direct. Write the nomination from the heart, but provide information that is clear, concise and easy to read. Reinforce what you are saying with observations, facts and concrete examples. Too much information can be as harmful as too little information.
• Include numbers. How many hours has the volunteer donated? How much money did they raise? How many students were helped? How many meals were delivered? Statistics can help reinforce the accomplishments of the nominee.
• Be sure the information provided on the nomination form is relevant to the section of the form in which it is provided. If reviewers have to search for required information because it is in the wrong section or not relevant to the section it is in, they will have a more difficult time evaluating the nominee’s accomplishments.
• All volunteers are worthy of recognition, but your nominee is being nominated because they are outstanding and their exemplary service distinguishes their efforts from the efforts of other volunteers. The information provided on the nomination should reflect this and help the reviewers understand what stands out about your nominee that makes them outstanding.
• All volunteers are nice and wonderful people who give of their time to help others. Recipients of this award should possess unique characteristics that elevate their stature as a volunteer. Words that create a unique picture of your nominee and their characteristics are helpful.
• Be sure to describe why your nominee’s commitment, accomplishments and special skills/qualities are distinguishable over other volunteers. Share what stands out and what truly makes this volunteer outstanding and worthy of the award.
• Reviewers will want to have a clear understanding of the nominee’s outstanding volunteer accomplishments that have made an impact in helping to meet critical needs in their community. Remember to provide specific details and cite examples in the appropriate section of the nomination form.
• Be sure to proofread your statements. Grammatical errors and misspelled words detract from the quality of the nomination.
• Be sure the completed nomination form is submitted by the deadline (Sunday, February 25, 2018.)
• Be sure the nomination identifies a nominator and two references. The nominator cannot serve as one of the references.