Introduction
The King’s Award for Voluntary Service (KAVS) celebrates the outstanding work of local volunteer groups across the UK and nominations for 2027 are now open and will close 1st December 2026.
Lincolnshire has many excellent volunteer-led organisations and you are encouraged to nominate these for this prestigious royal accolade.
The award is made for life and is the equivalent of an MBE.
The key points of note are;
- The organisation must clearly be volunteer-led – all key decisions must be made by the volunteers, not paid staff. The ratio of volunteers to paid employees will also be a factor.
- There must be evidence that the organisation is an outstanding exemplar. They must go above and beyond other groups in their field measured nationally.
Other factors:
- Number of beneficiaries
- Reaching the vulnerable and marginalised
- Impact on the community
- Governance
- Not mainly raising money for other charities
- Scale and complexity
Nominator Eligibility Criteria
Please note the group cannot nominate themselves, they must be nominated by someone else.
The nominator must:
- be a member of the public with a good knowledge of the group’s work (such as a beneficiary or long-term supporter)
- be able to supply two separate letters of support from two additional people who know the group well
The nominator must not:
- be a volunteer, employee or trustee of the group, or in any way involved with the running of the organisation
It is imperative that nominators are independent, and members of the group cannot nominate themselves. This is very important, as KAVS is a national Honour.
Group Eligibility Criteria
KAVS awards are intended for groups that are led by volunteers and provide a benefit for local communities.
The group must:
- be made up of three or more people
- be based in the UK, Channel Islands or the Isle of Man
- have been in operation for at least three years before nomination
- have over half its volunteers eligible to reside in the UK
- be led by volunteers, not by paid staff; over half its members should be volunteers
- provide a specific and direct benefit to the local community
The group must not:
- have been nominated for a QAVS/KAVS* award in the past 3 years
- have already received a QAVS/KAVS* award
- operate as a national organisation, as QAVS/KAVS* is aimed at local volunteer groups
- have fundraising or grant making as its primary focus
- be based within or in support of a public service, unless they have a separate identity from the public service organisation
- operate solely for the benefit of animals, unless it can demonstrate that its work provides significant other benefits to the local community (for example, therapy pets)
*QAVS changed its title to become KAVS (The King’s Award for Voluntary Service) in 2023.
How to Nominate
For more information on how to nominate and to nominate, please follow this link to the King’s Award for Voluntary Service website.
