The hunt for ‘Britain’s Best Volunteer’ is on!

Markel UK, the specialist charity insurer and Small Charities Coalition, the support organisation for small charities, have come together to launch the Britain’s Best Volunteer award,  to reward those who volunteer their time to help small, and often local, charities, community groups and not-for-profit organisations.

The UK public will be given the opportunity to nominate a volunteer they know who they think best deserves the award. Nominations will be judged against a range of criteria including how long they have volunteered for; if they have overcome personal challenges; how their work has inspired others; and the impact their work has had on their charity.

The winner of the award will receive £1,250 for the charity or charities of their choice and a personal prize of a holiday voucher worth £1,000, while runners up will receive £250 for a charity of their choice and a personal prize of an iPad mini.

From today members of the public will be able to make their nominations online at http://www.markeluk.com/britains-best-volunteer/nominate-vote.aspx, which will remain open until February 21.

Following the nomination stage, a judging panel of Alex Swallow, CEO of Small Charities Coalition, Michael Scott Investing in Volunteers (IiV) Manager – England and Andy Partington, Director of Markel UK, will select a shortlist of finalists who will be eligible to win the Britain’s Best Volunteer award. Members of the public will then be able to vote online for their favourite finalist from March 3 to March 21.

Nominees must be over 18 and must be volunteers for a charity or community group with an income of less than £1m. Volunteers may hold any position within the organisation providing they are unpaid.

Andy Partington, from Markel UK said: “It’s very often at the local level that work for charities can have the greatest impact but it’s the big national organisations that get all the publicity. We wanted to give people the chance to celebrate the outstanding and dedicated work that so many people give to the smaller, local charities, as well as giving the winner something to enjoy and their organisation some financial support. The finalists will also have the opportunity to talk about what they and their charity do, and that should help in their visibility and their fundraising.”

Alex Swallow at Small Charities Coalition added: “The great work of smaller charities can often slip under the radar. It’s thanks to volunteers all over the UK that these smaller charities and organisations can continue to thrive, so we wanted to highlight and recognise the efforts of these outstanding individuals.”

 

Key dates

 

Nominations open:                                 3^rd Feb

Nominations close:                                 21^st Feb

Finalists announced:                               3^rd March

Voting open:                                          3^rd March

Voting closes:                                        21^st March

Winner announced:                                24^th March

Please get nominating and help us find ‘Britain’s Best Volunteer’!