Back for a sixth consecutive year, C3SC’s flagship event promises to bring volunteers, communities and organisations together once again to celebrate volunteering in Cardiff.

The Cardiff Volunteer Awards is C3SC’s annual awards ceremony held to recognise the fantastic contributions and achievements of volunteers, community groups and organisations for their efforts of going above and beyond to support everyone in our local communities. Now in its sixth year, the Cardiff Volunteer Awards has gone from strength to strength with last year’s event receiving over 75 nominations and accommodating over 200 people at the venue. This year, we need your help once again to continue recognising individuals and groups, new and existing, who make a difference every day while sacrificing a moment of their time. Let’s come together to celebrate all that volunteering has to offer in Cardiff. This year’s award ceremony will take place on Wednesday, 13 November 2024. Follow us on social media to receive updates regarding venue and timings!

Last year’s awards ceremony was held in a hybrid format to allow all our members and local communities to participate in their preferred way. Stay tuned for where this year’s awards ceremony will be held with the option to also join us online via Zoom!

Categories

The awards categories for this year’s #CVA2024 are:

• Volunteer of the Year (Over 25 years of age) – awarded to a volunteer in this age category who has made a significant impact in their community through volunteering
• Young Volunteer of the Year (25 years and under) –for a volunteer in this age category who has made a notable difference in their community through volunteering
• Volunteer Group of the Year – Any group of 3 or more volunteers that work together; this could be a not-for-profit group whether constituted or non-constituted, a registered charity, or a social enterprise.
• Volunteer Coordinator of the Year –A person who supports others to volunteer or coordinates volunteering activities – including volunteer managers, coordinators or someone who leads a voluntary team, group, or organisation.
• Trustee of the Year – a trustee or member of a management committee who has supported their group to achieve positive outcomes through positive leadership and teamwork
• Outstanding Community Volunteer – An individual with many years of service who has made a longstanding contribution or significant change to our communities through volunteering this year.
• Inclusive Business of the Year –A third, public or private sector organisation which has developed inclusive, ethical, and sustainable working practices – through promoting volunteering, employee-led initiatives, Employer Supported Volunteering, inclusive partnership working, fair investment and/or pro-bono work.

The following categories are not open for public vote. Winners are selected from the volunteering-wales.net portal and will be announced at the Awards ceremony:

• VW Most Active Volunteer
• VW Most Active Provider

The final category is decided based on the impact youth grant projects made on communities working with particular target groups and priority target areas. The winner of this category is selected from the 2023-24 projects.

• Youth Led Grant Project of the Year

Nominations are now OPEN! The deadline to submit a nomination is Tuesday, 1 October at 5pm.

Sponsorship

Do you want to sponsor the Cardiff Volunteer Awards 2024? Call us now! Limited spaces.

Would you like to support volunteers and our local communities in Cardiff by becoming a CVA Sponsor? Every year, we look for sponsors to provide financial support for our Awards – by purchasing one of our sponsorship packages, making a monetary or gifts in-kind donation (via product or service), or by purchasing a stall to be held at our event. This is a wonderful opportunity to progress your Corporate Social Responsibility goals and values, and benefit from the publicity of your support for thousands of volunteers who give their time freely to support their communities.

Our Sponsorship Package is divided into 4 tiers to suit different budgets – please note each tier will have differing features and benefits:

• Level 1 at £300
• Level 2 at £800
• Level 3 at £1,500
• Level 4 at £4,000

Please contact us on 02920 485 722 or email us at [email protected] to discuss and start making your offer.

FAQs

Who is eligible to be nominated?

We welcome nominations from individuals and groups in Cardiff. Nominees must either live in Cardiff or undertake their volunteering work in Cardiff. The groups nominated must be based in Cardiff or work in Cardiff. Permission must be sought from the person or group nominated.

Please note that individuals cannot nominate themselves.

Can I nominate more than once?

Yes! You can nominate more than one individual or group at a time. Please submit a new form for each application and make sure each individual or group are aware of the nomination. This also includes nominating the same individual or group for different categories. E.g. The same individual nominated in two categories will be treated as two nominations.

I want to nominate but don’t know how. Can you help?

Once the nomination rounds are open, we will look to arrange some information sessions on how to make your nomination.

However if you prefer, the Team @C3SC would be more than happy to assist you with the nomination form, and any access requirements you may have. Please get in touch with the Cardiff Volunteer Centre team at [email protected].

I made a mistake on the nomination form I submitted. What shall I do?

If you have submitted a nomination form but feel that you have made a mistake, please get in touch with us as soon as possible to make the necessary changes. Contact us at [email protected] with your name, organisation and nominee details and one of the team will be in touch.

How are the Winners decided?

Once the nomination round closes, all nominations are sorted into their respective categories ready for the judging panel to review the applications before meeting formally to discuss their scoring. Each judge will score independently from each other to remove any biases.

Please note that while some nominees may be nominated by multiple people, this will not have any effect on the scoring as to keep the process as fair as possible.

Can I complete a nomination in a different language?​

Absolutely! The nomination form is on Microsoft Forms. We have enabled multilingual input from community languages, including Arabic, Urdu, Spanish, French, Polish, and Ukranian.

When will we find out who won?​

Winners of the Cardiff Volunteer Awards are announced live at the awards ceremony event! Winner information is not publicised or shared anywhere publicly before the ceremony.

CVA Sponsors and Partners