• Daily Points of Light Award
  
  This award honors those who have made a commitment to connecting Americans through service to help meet critical needs in their communities. The Daily Points of Light Award is sponsored by the Points of Light Foundation, Corporation for National and Community Service, and the Knights of Columbus, with full program funding provided by the Knights of Columbus. The award is especially focused on the goals for children and youth set by the Presidents' Summit for America's Future. Each weekday, one volunteer or volunteer effort in the country receives a Daily Point of Light Award.

• National Family Volunteer Awards
  
  Volunteering together as a family provides quality time, strengthens communications, and provides opportunities for family members to be role models while simultaneously allowing them to make significant contributions to their communities. The National Family Volunteer Awards recognize outstanding family volunteering activities performed at any time throughout the previous year. Volunteer efforts may include, but are not limited to, National Family Volunteer Day activities.

• Awards for Excellence in Workplace Volunteer Programs
  
  The Points of Light Foundation and Volunteer Center National Network, in partnership with major national businesses and nonprofit organizations, established the Awards for Excellence in Workplace Volunteer Programs to recognize businesses that have made an organizational commitment to support company-wide employee and retiree volunteer efforts. The Awards are centered on the Principles of Excellence for Workplace Volunteering-guidelines for a sustainable and effective employee volunteer program.

• The President’s Volunteer Service Award
  
  The President’s Volunteer Service Award is a Presidential recognition program for Americans of all ages who contribute a significant amount of time to volunteer service. The program recognizes individuals, families, and groups who have achieved a certain standard of service as measured by the number of hours served over a period spanning 12 months to a lifetime. Though a national recognition program, the President’s Volunteer Service Awards are delivered through local, state, or national organizations. To participate, an organization must register to be a "certifying organization." Certifying organizations agree to:
  
  
  • Verify the hours of volunteer service
    
  • Nominate potential awardees
    
  • Order and distribute the awards
    
    
• Other Recognition Opportunities
  
  Volunteer Centers are conveners for the community, catalysts for social action, and key local resources for volunteer involvement. They bring people and communities together through a range of programs and services based upon community needs, demographic area, population size, and other factors. There are more than 400 Volunteer Centers serving local communities across the country. Many of these Volunteer Centers have local volunteer awards programs. Contact your local Volunteer Center to identify local opportunities to recognize the outstanding low-income volunteers in your community.

You will also want to encourage your volunteer leaders to share their innovative ideas with other volunteer practitioners. Refer them to ePractices , as share practices database for volunteer practitioners.