Volunteer Awards

Volunteers are the core strength of UPFNA, helping it to deliver mission objectives. The volunteers range from students fulfilling community service, to volunteers passionate about charity and serving to raise awareness and managing operations in various capacities. UPFNA appreciates the time volunteers commit and serve. To foster the culture of volunteerism, UPFNA has taken steps to become empowered to issue the Presidential Volunteer Service Award  (PVSA.)

UPFNA is now approved to issue PVSA to eligible volunteers. The service award is a celebration of accomplishment of volunteerism. Being the top award with Presidential seal, it sets the volunteers in elite standing. The award is issued on completion of targeted hours of service a 12-month period, in different tiers, such as bronze, silver, and Gold.

The UPFNA volunteers are encouraged to utilize the hours of service with forthcoming activities and programs throughout the year. The designated coordinator for UPFNA will help with validating and recording the hours of service. Besides volunteer service as part of UPFNA, the volunteers may request recognition for service hours they spend in other eligible contexts. UPFNA will aggregate those service hours also, provided they are satisfactorily verifiable.

Presidential Volunteer Service Award – FAQ

What is the President’s Volunteer Service Award? (PVSA)

The President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation established the President’s Volunteer Service Award in 2003 to acknowledge the vital contribution of volunteers in reinforcing America’s strength and national character. This accolade pays tribute to individuals whose service positively impacts communities across the country and motivates others to follow suit.

Through each administration, the PVSA has persisted, commending volunteers who dedicate their skills and time to address some of our nation’s most challenging issues.

Administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service and co-managed with Points of Light, this initiative empowers Certifying Organizations to recognize their most outstanding volunteers.

Eligibility Guidelines

Eligible Service includes unpaid acts of volunteer service benefiting others. Volunteering​ is the practice of people working on behalf of others or a particular cause ​without compensation​ for their time and services. Be ​logical and uphold the values of integrity​ as a volunteer. Only the ​actual amount of hours you volunteer counts ​for PVSA. Time spent traveling, sleeping, eating, and socializing, etc. does not count toward your total service hours. In general, for activities to qualify as community service, they should:

Be for the benefit of others

Give service to an area in need

Not involve payment/monetary compensation

Be voluntary, meaning you are not being required to do service for any reason (e.g., for a class grade)

​Who is eligible to receive the award?

Only Permanent Residents (Green Card holders) and Citizens are eligible for these awards.

Award Level and age groups:

Award Packages

Bronze, Silver and Gold Packages include:

Customized certificate

Choice of pin, coin, or medallion

Congratulatory letter from the president

Volunteers may choose to receive only the certificate.

Lifetime Achievement Certificate package includes:

Enlarged, personalized certificate

Congratulatory letter from the President

What kind of service is not eligible ?

Political lobbying

Religious instructions

Conducting worship service

Proselytizing

Serving only family members

Court Ordered community Service

How do I determine the age category my volunteer falls within if they had a birthday during our calendar year?  For example, if the volunteer’s birthday is in Aug and they are turning 16; should we consider them a teen or a young adult?

The age category is determined by the age the person was for at least 7 months within the 12-month calendar year.  For example, if the person was 16 for 7 months within the year in question, that person would qualify within the 16-25 age group.  

How many years can an admin go back to place an order for an award?  

The maximum number of years that an admin can go back to place an order for an award is two calendar years.

Who issues the certificate?

UPFNA, as the certifying organization, recommends a volunteer name to the program administrator (Corporation for National and Community Service) upon the volunteer having logged the required service hours for each award category.

Does an awardee have to pay for the cost of the award package?

No. UPFNA will pay for the cost of the award package it chooses to have issued to the awardee.

Can I choose to receive the type of award package – certificate, medallion, pin, and/or coin?

UPFNA reserves the right to select the type of award package. It will be based on a consistent set of guidelines to be established complying with the program recommendations.

Where can I track my hours and tally remaining hours left to volunteer for the award?

UPFNA currently uses a time management tool, trackitforward.com to log volunteer hours. Volunteers should upload proof of volunteering work within two weeks of completion. Also since the tool is not intuitive, we also recommend that you maintain an excel spreadsheet with date of service, detailed description, hours, purpose of the work, supporting material/pictures. The information on the tool shall be accessible for audit by program administrator, when required.

Is the Lifetime achievement award for all the years that I have been volunteering?

The minimum eligible age of volunteer to qualify for the award is 5 years and above. The volunteer hours will count to the lifetime goal besides the yearly goal for different award tiers (Bronze, Silver, and Gold). The lifetime goal is 4000+ hours. At this time, the PVSA program administrator has not made it available for award.

How many times is one eligible to receive the award?

There is no limit to the number of times to receive the award for a volunteer. Each award is a recognition of eligible service hours accumulated within a continuous 12-month period.

When does the 12-month period start?

The certifying organization (UPFNA) selects and maintains the start date of the 12-month period. You will have 12 months from the date of your first entry to complete your hours (If your first hour log starts April 1st, you have until March 31st of the next year to submit hours for your Award). Submissions will be accepted March 15- March 31st and awards will be ordered April 5th. 

Can I volunteer at another organization and have UPFNA certify those hours towards PVSA? 

Yes, UPFNA will honor hours from another organization on the condition that the other organization is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit and 50% of the total hours are served for UPFNA causes/campaigns. The volunteer’s primary organization can count hours volunteered elsewhere. For hours from a different organization that will be applied towards the PVSA award, volunteers should post hours and proof of work  and also contact details of the other organization. At a minimum, the designated administrator at the other organization has to vouch in writing that they received the volunteer hours for their organization along dates of service, and details of service performed.

Do all service hours need to be from the same Organization?

No, For example, a child completing 50 hours for Certifying Organization A and 50 hours for Certifying Organization B would qualify for the following awards:

A silver award from Certifying Organization A, but no awards from Certifying Organization B

A silver award from Certifying Organization B, but no awards from Certifying Organization A

A gold award representing the total 100 hours performed for both organizations presented by Organization A, where Organization B has provided Organization A with a letter summarizing the child’s volunteer record

Where Organization A has provided Organization B with a record of the volunteer’s service, Organization B may choose to order awards at all levels reached (gold, silver, and bronze).

Questions? Contact us at communications@35.209.160.53 / 402-218-2054