Our Volunteer Impact Awards shine a spotlight on the amazing contributions of our volunteers, and the impact they have on people affected by MS. The awards are how we recognise volunteers who have gone above and beyond.
There are two parts to the awards:
- An ongoing Volunteer Impact Award scheme, where volunteers receive a certificate and a badge, to celebrate their achievement.
- An annual Volunteer Impact Award event where we announce volunteers shortlisted and the overall winner in each of six categories.
Nominations
Nominations can be submitted by volunteers, staff members and anyone who uses our services. Nominations are made via our online nomination form and will be assessed by the Impact Awards Assessment Panel. Nominators are asked to nominate in one of six award categories. You can find out more about this, and make a nomination, here.
The Panel meets quarterly to decide if nominees will receive an award.
Panel membership
The Impact Awards Assessment Panel brings together experienced volunteers from across a variety of volunteering roles. Where possible, the makeup of the Panel reflects the demographic diversity of our MS community.
The Panel currently consists of up to 10 volunteers, supported by a staff member from the Volunteering Team. Volunteer Panel members serve a maximum of two, two-year terms. The Panel makes decisions on awarding Volunteer Impact Awards if at least five members are present at an assessment meeting.
If a member of the Panel steps down during the term, or their volunteering role comes to an end, we undertake a recruitment campaign to find a replacement.
Panel meetings
Members of the Panel attend quarterly virtual meetings to provide their opinion on whether nominees should be awarded a Volunteer Impact Award. Details of nominations are anonymised before being provided to members of the Panel two weeks before the meeting for their consideration. This ensures that nominations are all reviewed objectively on their own merits without any unconscious bias.
The Panel looks for nominees who have gone above and beyond regular volunteering. Panel members use the following scoring system to assess this:
1-2 points: No evidence of impact provided.
3-4 points: Little evidence of impact provided. Likely not to have gone beyond standard volunteer activity/role or impact limited to one individual.
5-6 points: Some evidence of impact provided. Some evidence of going beyond a standard volunteer activity/role but patchy/inconsistent, not clear and compelling.
7-8 points: Good evidence of impact provided. Clear and compelling and impact clearly beyond a standard volunteer activity/role.
9-10 points: Strong/significant evidence of impact provided.
If the average score from the Panel is seven or above, a Volunteer Impact Award will be issued.
Being recognised with an Impact Award
Volunteers who receive an award will be given a personalised certificate and badge.
As part of the nomination form, nominators are given two options:
To receive the award certificate/s and badge/s to present to the volunteer/s receiving the award/s. We ask that those are given to volunteers as soon as possible, and no later than three months after awarding.
For the certificate/s and badge/s to be sent directly to the volunteer/s.
What if my nomination isn’t successful?
If a nomination is unsuccessful (having not received an average score of seven or above from the Panel), we’ll contact the nominator to let them know. We’ll ask for further evidence to so that the Panel is better able to assess the impact of that volunteering. If enough extra information is provided, the nomination can then be re-assessed at the next Panel meeting.
Volunteer Impact Award ceremony
The annual ceremony takes place virtually in November. Volunteers who’ve received an award in the year since the previous ceremony are automatically put forward to be considered to win the overall award in one of the six categories.
The Panel shortlists three volunteers, or groups of volunteers, for each category, and selects one winner from these. The category they’re included in is decided by the Panel, based on the information in the nomination form. These volunteers are invited to appear online at the award ceremony, where the winners are announced.
Winners at the ceremony are awarded with a trophy, which is inscribed with their name, or group name, and posted to them.
Key dates
The Panel meets quarterly to review nominations from the previous three months. The next dates are:
2 October 2023
15 January 2024 (to review nominations received October-December 2023)
The annual award event is due to take place in the last week of November.
