The King's Award for Voluntary Service
2nd of September, 2025
Call to Nominate Lancashire Volunteer Groups
for Prestigious King's Award
Do you know a voluntary group that deserves recognition for the work it does? Why not consider nominating it for a national award?
Robert Webb JP DL, Chair of the Lancashire Panel for The King’s Award for Voluntary Service (KAVS) said:
“The King’s Award for Voluntary Service is the highest honour that can be bestowed upon groups of this kind and is equivalent in status to the MBE. Every day, millions of people across the UK are making a difference by volunteering and each year, outstanding examples of this work will be celebrated through The King’s Award for Voluntary Service.
“As such, The King’s Award not only serves to provide recognition of volunteer groups but also demonstrates the high respect in which volunteering is held. Its purpose is to recognise exceptional groups of individuals who are giving their time freely for the benefit of others and are making a real difference in the communities they serve.
“Groups must be nominated for the Award - self nomination is not permitted. A group (three or more people) can be nominated if it is based in the UK, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man and has to have been volunteering for the benefit of people in the UK or overseas for at least three years, and more than half its members must be volunteers who have the right of residence in the UK. It must provide a specific local benefit and Groups solely concerned with fundraising for charitable purposes or operating solely for the benefit of animals are not eligible.”
Previous winners have been extremely proud to have received this prestigious accolade and speak very highly of the impact the Award has had on their organisation – it has increased morale; given them a renewed sense of purpose and a determination to continue their work in their local communities and has also helped gain grant funding.
The KAVS Team at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, administers the Award and will happily help with any queries. You can contact them by email: kingsaward@dcms.gov.uk or Tel: 0207 271 6206.
Further details on eligibility criteria and the nomination process (which is a fairly straightforward online system) are available from: https://kavs.dcms.gov.uk/
The nomination window for the 2026 awards is now open and will close on 1st December 2025.