The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service is the highest award given to volunteer groups across the UK.
Any group of 2 or more people doing volunteering work can be nominated for the award. The majority of the group must be volunteers, and more than half the volunteers must have the right to live in the UK. 
To be nominated they should do work that:
• provides a service and meets a need for people living in the local community
• is supported, recognised and respected by the local community and the people who benefit from it
• is run locally
Volunteer groups should have been running for 3 years or more to be nominated.
When you nominate a group you also need letters from 2 people who support your nomination and are independent from the group you’re nominating - for example:
• someone who benefits from the group’s work
• someone who’s aware of the group’s work
The letters must include:
• how the group helps the local community
• how you know the group
Winners get a certificate signed by the Queen and a domed glass crystal. Representatives from the group may also be invited to attend a royal garden party.
Local assessment panels look at all the nominations and decide which ones to send to the National Award Committee.
The committee makes recommendations to the Cabinet Office, which sends a final list to the Queen for her approval.
Winners are announced on 2 June every year.
For further information and to apply, visit: www.gov.uk/queens-award-for-voluntary-service/overview, or email: [email protected]
Deadline: Submit your nomination by 16 September 2016 to make sure your group is considered for the 2017 awards.