FAQs
Q 1 Are there any different categories of Award?
There will be two major categories of award:
A. The NSW Volunteer of the Year Award
The first round of judging for these awards will take place at regional level. At each regional level there will be an overall winner and, depending on numbers of entries, awards for Youth and Seniors.
The winners of the NSW Volunteer of the Year Award will be selected from the Regional winners. There will also be awards for Youth and Seniors.
B. The NSW Corporate Volunteer Award
This award will be open to volunteers who are sponsored by their employers and are released from employment to carry out volunteer activities.
We expect that the great majority of nominations will be for category A. Nominations for category B will relate to volunteers who carried out their volunteering as part of a corporate volunteering program.
The judges will reserve the right not to make an award for the Youth or Seniors category for a particular region if the number of entries does not warrant such an award.
Q 2 Who is eligible for nomination for the Awards?
To be eligible for nomination for the NSW Volunteer of the Year Award:
- Nominees must be Australian Citizens or Permanent Residents with residency in NSW.
- Aged over 15 years of age
- Nominees must have been involved in volunteering for the equivalent of at least 100 hours over a 12 month period.
- Nominees must have volunteered for a legitimate not-for-profit organisation.
- Communities in NSW must be significant beneficiaries of the nominee’s voluntary work.
To be eligible for nomination for the NSW Corporate Volunteer of the Year Award:
- Nominees must be Australian Citizens or Permanent Residents with residency in NSW
- Over 15 years of age
- Nominees must be sponsored by their employers and released from employment to carry out volunteer activities.
- Nominee must have volunteered for a legitimate not-for-profit organisation.
- Communities in Australia must be significant beneficiaries of the nominee’s voluntary work.
Q 3 What is the definition of a volunteer?
The Centre for Volunteering’s formal definition is:
A volunteer provides a service through a formal organisation, by choice, without financial remuneration and for the benefit of the community.
For those who have volunteered as part of a corporate volunteering program, it is understood that for some or all of the time volunteered, the nominee will have been paid by his or her employer.
Q 4 What is a legitimate not-for-profit organisation?
A not-for-profit organisation is an organisation that puts all of the funds it earns or raises back into the organisation.
This definition aligns with the definition of a community organisation used by the Prime Minister’s Community & Business Partnerships Awards:
“A Community organisation is an entity operating in Australia whose primary purpose is to provide a service to the community. Any profits from its operations are re-directed to the benefit of the general community (for example: registered charities and not-for-profit associations)”.
Q 5 Does a nominee still have to be working with the nominating organisation or organisation with which he or she volunteered?
No – provided the nominee did not finish working with the organisation before June 2007.
Q 6 Can an individual nominate themselves or does it have to be from a third party?
All applications must come from someone other than the nominee volunteer as they are in the best position to communicate the achievements and contribution of the nominee.
However the nominee must agree to be nominated and must sign the nomination form. An unsigned form will not be eligible to be judged.
Q 7 What are the geographic regions that apply to the Awards?
For the purposes of the Awards, the State has been divided into 11 country regions (based on the Department of State and Regional Development’s regions) and 5 Sydney regions – as follows:
- Northern Rivers
- Mid North Coast
- Hunter
- Central Coast
- Illawarra
- South Coast/Capital
- Murray
- Riverina
- Central West
- Orana/Far West
- New England/Northern Inland
- Sydney Greater West (including Blue Mountains)
- Sydney North
- Sydney East
- Sydney Inner West
- Sydney South/Macarthur
Q 8 How are nominations made?
Nominations are made using the official nomination form which can be downloaded from www.volunteering.com.au Completed nominations should then be mailed to the Award Secretariat at the address in the nomination form.
Q 9 How many nominations can I make?
One nomination per nominator.
Q 10 When do nominations close?
Tuesday, 30 September 2008
Q 11 When are the winners announced?
The Regional Winners will be announced in October and November 2008.
All Regional Winners will be invited to attend the 2008 NSW Volunteer Award Ceremony in Sydney on Friday, 5 December 2008, International Volunteer Day, when the winners will be announced.
Q 12 Who judges the Awards?
NSW Volunteer of the Year Award
There will be two levels of judging for the NSW Volunteer of the Year Award.
The initial judging of all entries will be by a panel of judges drawn from experienced people working in the not-for-profit (NFP) sector. These judges will work for NFP organisations in a paid and voluntary capacity.
Additional judges may be seconded from areas such as academia and government. The initial judging process will select the finalists for each region.
A finals judging panel will be responsible for selecting the overall State winner and the winners of the Youth and Seniors awards.
Corporate Volunteering Award
The judging panel will be drawn from NFP organisation managers, corporate executives with experience in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) or others with appropriate experience in CSR, volunteering or related areas.
Note: To avoid any potential conflict of interest concerns, judges will not be allowed to judge any nominations for people whose work has been for the organisation for which that judge works or with which that judge has a significant association.
Q 13 What are the judging criteria?
The judging criteria comprise a range of factors and will include:
- Demonstrated benefit to the local community, region or State
- Evidence of initiative and innovation
- Capacity building and sustainability
- Length of service and number of hours of the nominee
- An explanation of what is outstanding about the nominee and the work for which he/she is being nominated
- Any obstacles which the nominee may have had to overcome to achieve the outcomes of their work
Q 14 What happens if I fill in my nomination form incorrectly?
Should your nomination form be incorrectly completed you will be contacted and your nomination will be returned to you. You will have the opportunity to submit a revised application as long as it is received prior to the closing date.
Q 15 Can I photocopy the nomination form?
Yes – the nomination form does not have to be an original.
Q 16 Do I include support material and the referee’s letter with my nomination?
The names and contact details of two referees who can be contacted if necessary must be provided in section three of the nomination form. See also 18. below.
Q 17 How do I know if you have received my nomination?
All nominations will be acknowledged by mail or email by the Awards Secretariat within 3 weeks of submission.
Q 18 Can I submit videos or audio cassettes with my nomination?
No, written submissions only. Any supporting material should be limited to brief printed matter such as a newspaper article, newsletter article etc.
Q 19 Will Nominations be returned?
Nominations and support material will not be returned at the conclusion of the Award.
Q 20 What benefits does the Award bring to the winner(s)?
Winners each receive a trophy and a cash prize to be donated to the not-for-profit organisation of their choice:
- NSW Volunteer of the Year
- $1500 to NFP organisation
- NSW Youth Volunteer of the Year
- $1000 to NFP organisation
- NSW Senior Volunteer of the Year
- $1000 to NFP organisation
- Regionnal winners
- $200 to NFP organisation
