Award Nominations will open Monday, December 2, 2019!
- The community submits nominations.
- The community casts votes to select the award finalists.
- UWECI Young Leaders Society evaluates finalists and chooses a winner in each category.
- UWECI announces the winners at our annual recognition event in April.
- Winners in each category receive $500 to donate to a nonprofit of their choice.
Award Descriptions
All awards are judged based upon the outstanding contributions to a nonprofit organization.
Emerging Volunteer Award: Honors individuals in high school, college, or young professionals under the age of 40 who have made significant volunteer contributions to improve the community.
Lifetime of Volunteer Service Award: Recognizes and celebrates an individual who has shared their skills through volunteering and positively impacted the community throughout their lifetime.
Community Family Volunteer Award: Honors a “family,” however you define it, that has made volunteerism a core value and contributes significant time to help community-based organizations.
Civic Business Volunteer Award: Honors a community-minded business that demonstrates sustainable and transformational volunteer efforts to create a culture of community engagement.
Visionary Partnership Volunteerism Award: Honors a bold and innovative individual or group who—through collaborative volunteer efforts—is a visionary in creating solutions to meet the needs of the community.
Hand Raisers Volunteer Award: Honors a volunteer who shows commitment to helping impact a program in one of United Way’s focus areas of Education, Financial Stability, or Health.
Nomination Guidelines
- The nominee’s volunteer time must be in United Way of East Central Iowa’s service area (Benton, Cedar, Iowa, Jones, or Linn Counties).
- Nominee’s volunteer organization must be a nonprofit 501(c)(3) and serve the community at large. Religious or professional groups providing services only to their members are not eligible.
- You may nominate only ONE outstanding volunteer or group per category. You may not enter the same volunteer or group in additional categories.
- The volunteer could not have received financial compensation for the volunteer service. Reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses, such as gasoline, is acceptable.
- We cannot return submitted materials, and through submission, you give permission for future use in promotions or editorials.
- You may submit nominations for each of the six categories. You must complete one form for each category.