2027 Nominations Form - South Carolina Governor's Volunteer Awards

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AmeriCorps SC UWASC Together SC lockup
Overview
Nominator Information
In this section, please insert contact information for yourself as the nominator. If you are self-nominating, you will enter this information again on the next page. You do not have to be affiliated with an organization to complete the application.

(for you as the person filling out this form) e.g. "John Smith"

(for you as the person filling out this form) e.g. "(555)555-5555"

(for you as the person filling out this form) e.g. "john.smith@exampleemail.com"

(on behalf of your organization with you as the person filling out this form) e.g. "ABC Nonprofit"

What are the Governor's Volunteer Awards?
The Governor's Volunteer Awards are an annual partnership of Office of the SC Governor, the Together SC peer network Volunteer Administration Alliance, AmeriCorps SC, and the United Way Association of South Carolina.

Save the Date!
  • What: 2027 SC Governor's Volunteer Awards 
  • When: March 2, 2027 (tentatively 10:30AM-3:00PM)
  • Where: Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center – 1101 Lincoln St., Columbia, SC 29201
  • In Conjunction With: Together SC Summit
Nominee Eligibility Criteria:
  • Must be a South Carolina resident; and
  • Must be performing volunteer services in South Carolina; and
  • All nominees must have served without financial gain, except for nominees in the category of Business Volunteer Group and Volunteer Administrator of the Year, and did not solely participate through philanthropic monetary donations; and
  • Nominees must have been actively involved in volunteering and/or civic engagement within the past twelve months in the category of service for which they are nominated; and
  • Cannot be a self-nomination or mandated/requested nominations by clients; and
  • Previous winners are ineligible for the same award category
Individual Award Categories:
  • Rising Star Volunteer of the Year: An individual who has committed as a volunteer of under ten (10) years to a cause, organization, community, demonstrating profound initiative and demonstrating humble initiative in their service or civic engagement. (This could be a newer volunteer who has inspired additional volunteerism or service, a board member who has inspired organizational transformation, or similar.)
  • Direct Service Volunteer of the Year: An individual who has been boots on the ground with sleeves rolled up, literally or metaphorically, to provide direct one-on-one volunteer service to an individual, organization, or the community, demonstrating humble commitment and initiative.
  • Youth Volunteer of the Year: An individual age 25 or younger, who has excelled in service to an individual, organization, or the community, demonstrating and performing with commitment and initiative. 
  • Legacy Volunteer of the Year: An individual who has been involved as a volunteer with ten (10) years or longer of continual voluntary service and has excelled in service to an individual, organization or the community, demonstrating and performing with commitment and initiative. This individual may be living or has passed away within the past year.
  • Robin Burns Volunteer Administrator of the Year: An individual who is involved in volunteer administration and demonstrates exemplary service to their community, the profession of volunteer administration, and their agency or organization.
  • AmeriCorps SC National Service Volunteer of the Year: A currently serving AmeriCorps national service member who has gone above and beyond to demonstrate how AmeriCorps improves lives, strengthens communities, and fosters civic engagement and volunteerism. Nominee to be selected by the SC Service Commission.
Group Award Categories: 
  • Business Volunteer Group of the Year: A corporation, business, for-profit, or trade association that has demonstrated intentional, ongoing direct service volunteer  or civic engagement commitment to the community. (This award is not based on philanthropic or charitable giving.) 
  • Community Volunteer Group of the Year: A group that has been instrumental in designing or sponsoring a program or project to benefit an individual, organization, or the community, demonstrating and performing with commitment and initiative. (This could include a neighborhood group, civic club, rotary club, family, and the like.)
  • Youth-led Volunteer Group of the Year: A group of students who have excelled in service to an individual, organization, or the community, demonstrating and performing with commitment and initiative. The voluntary nature of the service is a critical factor. (This could include a university/college group, high school civic groups, ad-hoc student volunteer groups, etc.)
How to nominate someone for an award:
  • First, note that you must nominate someone else for an award AND must provide an additional reference of someone who can confirm their volunteer service! 
    Submitting a nomination is your small but important 15-minute volunteer act to recognize the other person or group's significant contributions. A reference may include a volunteer admin/manager, Executive Director of the organization, or someone who can verify the nominee's volunteer service impact. You are welcome to share with the nominee that you are nominating them. 
  • Second, fill out and submit this form to submit your nomination!
    Note that you can save your progress and return to the form if you need more time to complete.
  • Finally, you are welcome to submit multiple nominations for different individuals and groups for awards.
    You cannot (yourself) nominate the same individual or group twice, but you can encourage others to also nominate the same people you are nominating.     There are only ten awards that are given each year, so submitting a nomination is an honor in itself. 
When must nominations be submitted by?
Nominations for the 2027 Governor’s Volunteer Awards will open Thursday, October 15, 2026, and will close Friday, November 20, 2026, at 11:59PM EST.

Who should I nominate?
The Governor's Volunteer Awards are distinctive honors that are given to individuals and groups that have made profound contributions to volunteerism and civic engagement. 

For reference, the award recipients of the past two years can be found here: 
2026 Award Recipients [link]
2025 Award Recipients [link]

Who can I contact with event or technical questions?
  • Event liaison: Mallory Panuelo, mallory.panuelo@uwasc.org, 803-908-3760
Individual Award - Nominee Information
In this section, you will enter information about the individual or that you are nominating for an SC Governor's Volunteer Award. Please enter information about the nominee below.

e.g. "Jane Examplar"

e.g. "(555)111-2222"

e.g. "jane.examplar@serviceexampleco.com"

(Full mailing address including city, state and zip) e.g. "1234 Sample Dr. Apt 56 Charleston, SC 55055"
Group Award - Nominee Information
In this section, you will enter information about the Organization or Group that you are nominating for an SC Governor's Volunteer Award. Please enter information about the nominee below.

e.g. "Do-Gooder Corp"

e.g. "Arnold Sampleman"

e.g. "(555)111-2222"

e.g. "jane.examplar@serviceexampleco.com"

(Full mailing address including city, state and zip) e.g. "1234 Sample Dr. Apt 56 Charleston, SC 55055"
Nomination Category
*Note: Please know that the SC Governor's Volunteer Awards Selection Committee may at its discretion consider your nominee under other categories and may change a nominee’s category; you will be informed of any changes. You selecting a category for consideration helps our review committee better understand the intended focus of your nomination.

Reminder - detailed descriptions of each award category are listed at the top section of this nominating form.

Reminder - detailed descriptions of each award category are listed at the top section of this nominating form.
Nomination Questions



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(Please note: There is a 100 word limit to this question)

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Please include email and/or phone number to provide at least one way this reference can be contacted.

Please include email and/or phone number to provide at least one way this reference can be contacted.


(Please note: There is a 1,000 character limit to this question)

Agreement

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