Eligibility Guidelines for the Fairfax County Volunteer Service Awards

Nominations are now closed.

To more information on the 2012 Fairfax County Volunteer Service Awards, please select one of the following areas:

General Guidelines

Competitive Award Categories

Benchmark Award Categories

General Guidelines:

Nominations must be received via online application to Volunteer Fairfax.
Nominators must obtain approval from the person or group being nominated prior to submission.
The nominee must be a resident of Fairfax County, the City of Fairfax, the City of Herndon, the City of Vienna or the City of Falls Church.
The volunteer service must benefit the Fairfax County community.
Nominated volunteers must have provided service during the 2011 calendar year; however, service provided prior to this year can also be included.
Service provided may not include hours served as part of an academic requirement.
Volunteers may nominate themselves.
Nominations are subject to verification.
Staff members compensated by salary or any other compensatory means are not eligible.
Nominees (individuals or groups) may only be nominated for one competitive Service Award and one Benchmark Award.
All decisions made by the independent panel of judges are final.

Competitive Award Categories:

ADULT VOLUNTEER GROUP: Nominees should be a group of three or more adults, over 18 years of age, whose combined efforts contributed outstanding service to the community in 2011.
YOUTH VOLUNTEER GROUP: Nominees should be a group of three or more youth, 18 years of age or younger (as of December 31, 2011), whose combined volunteer efforts contributed outstanding service to the community in 2011.
SENIOR VOLUNTEER: Nominee should be an individual, 60 years of age or older (as of December 31, 2011), who demonstrated outstanding volunteer service in 2011.
CORPORATE VOLUNTEER: Nominee should be a private, non-charitable business or employee volunteer group thereof that has demonstrated exceptional service to Fairfax County and the Washington, D.C., Metro region community in 2011.
VOLUNTEER PROGRAM: Nominee should be a charitable, private nonprofit or public organization that demonstrated effective volunteer management practices though its creative, innovative and/or greatly increased use of volunteers in 2011.
ADULT VOLUNTEER 250 AND MORE: Nominee should be an individual over 18 years of age (as of December 21, 2011) who demonstrated outstanding volunteer service and completed 250 hours of service or more.
ADULT VOLUNTEER 250 AND LESS: Nominee should be an individual over 18 years of age (as of December 21, 2011) who demonstrated outstanding volunteer service and completed 250 hours of service or less.
YOUTH VOLUNTEER: Nominee should be an individual, 18 years of age or younger (as of December 31, 2011) who demonstrated outstanding volunteer service in 2011.
FAMILY VOLUNTEER: Nominee should be a family unit whose combined volunteer efforts demonstrated exceptional community service in 2011.
COUNTY VOLUNTEER - New!: Nominee should be an individual who demonstrated outstanding volunteer service through a Fairfax County Government agency in 2011.
FAIRFAX COUNTY VOLUNTEER PROGRAM - New!: Nominee should be a Fairfax County Government Volunteer Program that demonstrated effective volunteer management practices though its creative, innovative and/or greatly increased use of volunteers in 2011.
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT: Honors an individual who, over the course of at least 15 years, has made significant contributions to Fairfax County through volunteer efforts.
RISING STAR: Nominee should be a new volunteer who has been with the same organization for at least two years, acquiring more than 350 hours of service.

Benchmark Award Categories:

IMPORTANT: For Benchmark Awards ONLY, Nominator / Organization may nominate up to THREE volunteers for this award. Any additional Benchmark nominations will incur a $35.00 fee. An invoice will be sent upon receiving completed nomination forms for additional applications.

EXCEPTION: Organizations that have numerous locations or branches, such as the Fairfax County libraries, parks and schools, may nominate volunteers on a per branch basis, therefore eliminating this additional fee.

YOUTH 100: Nominee should be an individual, 18 years of age or younger (as of December 31, 2011), who has given at least 100 hours of service to a particular agency in calendar year 2011.
250: Adult Nominee who has given 250 hours of service to a particular agency in calendar year 2011.
500: Adult Nominee who has given 500 hours of service to a particular agency in calendar year 2011.
1,000: Adult Nominee who has given 1,000 hours of service to a particular agency in calendar year 2011.

Please direct questions about the nomination process or the Volunteer Service Awards to Kelsey Haynes, 703-246-3825.