Group Membership Guidelines

The Group must be legally established and able to provide documentation of its status. Nonprofit applicants must provide proof of 501(c)(3) recognition, state nonprofit registration, or other official documentation showing that the group operates as a recognized charitable, educational, civic, religious, or community-serving entity.

The Group must have been in continuous operation for at least three full years before applying for membership. Newly formed groups, pilot programs, temporary initiatives, and organizations created within the past two years are generally not eligible.

The Group’s service activities must be consistent with its stated mission, governing documents, public materials, and recognized nonprofit or organizational purpose. Volunteer Scholars will not approve an unrelated student-led or parent-led effort that attempts to operate under another organization’s nonprofit status, name, tax-exempt designation, or sponsorship when the proposed activity is not meaningfully connected to that organization’s mission, programs, oversight, or regular operations.

For example, a computer coding tutoring service may not qualify under the nonprofit status of an unrelated organization established to provide athletic programming, unless the applicant can demonstrate that the tutoring program is an official, supervised, mission-aligned initiative of that organization.

The Group must have meaningful adult leadership, supervision, and accountability. Groups created, managed, or primarily directed by an individual, a handful, or a small group of students, their parents, or their immediate families may be declined if Volunteer Scholars determines that the Group was formed primarily for résumé-building, award eligibility, service-hour generation, or college application enhancement rather than sustained community impact.

The Group must maintain a credible public presence, including:

• An organizational website or official public webpage;
• An organization-based email address;
• A business or organizational mailing address; and
• Publicly available information describing its mission, programs, leadership, and activities.

The Group must be able to identify and document at least two verifiable clients, beneficiaries, partner organizations, projects, programs, or community initiatives served within the past two years. Volunteer Scholars may request supporting documentation such as letters, reports, photographs, event records, grant materials, program summaries, partner acknowledgments, or public references.

The Group must have a defined mission and a consistent area of service, such as education, health, civic engagement, youth development, environmental stewardship, poverty relief, arts access, elder support, disability services, animal welfare, or another recognized public-benefit purpose.

The Group must maintain accurate records of its programs, service activities, leadership, volunteers, and beneficiaries. Groups must be able to verify student participation, service hours, leadership roles, and project outcomes truthfully and consistently.

The Group must operate in compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws, including laws related to nonprofit governance, charitable solicitation, youth protection, privacy, safety, and financial practices where applicable. Volunteer Scholars may request additional documentation if concerns arise.

Volunteer Scholars’ group membership is intended for established groups with a genuine charitable, civic, educational, religious, governmental, or community-serving purpose. Group membership is not intended for organizations, clubs, projects, or websites created primarily to strengthen one student’s- or a handful or small group of students’- academic résumés, awards profiles, leadership records, service-hour logs, or college applications.

Volunteer Scholars may decline groups whose activities, branding, website, leadership structure, or documentation appear primarily designed to benefit a single student, or a limited group of students or families, rather than to operate as a legitimate, ongoing organization serving a broader public, community, client, beneficiary, or institutional purpose.

• IRS 501(c)(3) determination letter or equivalent documentation;
• State nonprofit registration or business registration;
• Website and organizational email address;
• Business or mailing address;
• Evidence of at least two completed or ongoing projects, clients, beneficiaries, partner organizations, or community initiatives;

• Articles of incorporation, bylaws, charter, or organizational constitution;
• Names and roles of board members, officers, staff, advisors, or key volunteers;
• Program descriptions, annual reports, newsletters, or activity summaries;
• References from partner organizations, schools, agencies, houses of worship, civic groups, or community leaders;
• Service-hour verification procedures;
• Youth safety or volunteer supervision policies, if applicable;
• Documentation showing that proposed student activities are official, supervised, and mission-aligned programs of the applicant organization.

Because Organizational Members enter and certify volunteer service performed by their own members, individual participants are not required to upload separate third-party documentation for each activity. Instead, the organization must provide evidence that the reported service activity, project, event, or program actually occurred and must maintain records supporting the hours credited to each member.

Group Members may track, verify, and certify volunteer service completed by their own members for their own organization toward the American Volunteer Service Award (AVSA) only.

This membership category does not provide access to certify, approve, or submit records for the American Citizenship Award (ACA), National Distinguished Student Leadership Award (NDSLA), or the Sacred Service Commendation award. Volunteers who wish to pursue those additional awards must upgrade to an eligible individual membership level, such as Elite or Elite Senior, and meet all requirements for those awards.

Group Members may only enter, import, verify, and approve volunteer service that was performed directly for their own organization, under their own supervision, and for their own programs, projects, events, or initiatives.

They may not enter, import, approve, aggregate, or certify community service performed by their volunteers for any other organization, agency, school, club, faith community, nonprofit, campaign, project, or individual.

All hours must be entered as discrete activity entries by date, consistent with the requirements for individual members. Organizations may only enter hours completed during the current award year, which runs from September 1 through August 31.

Group Membership is intended to track service completed through the member organization only. Volunteers who perform service for multiple organizations and wish to combine those hours toward award eligibility must hold an individual Volunteer Scholars membership.

If an individual volunteer will not reach an AVSA award threshold through service with the Group alone, the volunteer must upgrade to an individual membership in order to track and combine eligible service hours completed with other approved organizations.

Hours from multiple organizations may only be aggregated toward an award through an eligible individual membership account. They may not be added to or submitted through an organizational account unless the service was completed directly for that member organization.

All volunteer activities and hour entries must be entered by the Group’s designated account manager. This person should be an officer, volunteer coordinator, community manager, chapter leader, service coordinator, or another authorized representative of the organization.

By entering volunteer activities, the account manager confirms that the Group has direct knowledge of the service performed and verifies that the hours were completed as submitted. Entering activities also serves as the Group’s acceptance of all Volunteer Scholars guidelines.

When submitted by a Group Member, hours are considered conditionally approved by the Group. However, final approval toward Volunteer Scholars awards remains subject to review.

Meeting the minimum eligibility requirements does not guarantee approval. Volunteer Scholars reserves the right to approve, deny, suspend, or revoke Group Membership, service-hour entries, or award eligibility at its sole discretion.

Volunteer Scholars may audit records, request clarification or additional documentation, cross-check entries against publicly available information about the Group’s events or activities, contact partner organizations or relevant parties, conduct periodic reviews, and/or require re-verification of eligibility.

Volunteer Scholars may decline or terminate a group membership if the Group’s structure, history, documentation, leadership, activities, public materials, or proposed service opportunities raise concerns about legitimacy, independence, mission alignment, sustainability, student résumé-building, service-hour inflation, or award misuse.

Volunteer Scholars expects all Group Members to submit accurate, truthful, and good-faith records of volunteer service. Fraud, misrepresentation, inflated hours, duplicate entries, submission of ineligible service, or any attempt to overstate a volunteer’s participation is strictly prohibited.

By entering service hours, the Group’s account manager verifies that the activities were completed as submitted and that the hours reflect a reasonable and accurate representation of actual service performed. Volunteer Scholars reserves the right to reject questionable entries, revoke awards, suspend or terminate organizational membership, and permanently bar an organization or individual from future participation if records are found to be false, misleading, exaggerated, unverifiable, or inconsistent with Volunteer Scholars guidelines.

Volunteer Scholars Group Membership is available only to organizations that directly operate, supervise, and verify the service activities submitted through their own account. Group membership may not be used by umbrella charities, fiscal sponsors, shared-EIN networks, pass-through nonprofits, chapter aggregators, or similar entities to verify hours or distribute awards for multiple independent or semi-independent clubs, chapters, projects, teams, or student-led initiatives.

Each group member must have direct knowledge of the volunteer activities entered and must be responsible for the management, supervision, and verification of those activities. Service hours may be submitted only for work completed directly for the approved member organization. Volunteer Scholars reserves the right to deny, suspend, or terminate any organizational membership that is used to aggregate hours, extend award eligibility, or distribute AVSA awards on behalf of outside groups.

Group Members may advertise or promote their participation in Volunteer Scholars, the American Volunteer Service Award (AVSA), and any related award opportunities only with prior written authorization from Volunteer Scholars. Use of the Volunteer Scholars name, logos, award names, award images, certificate images, medal/coin/pin/patch photos, website text, guidelines, FAQs, award criteria, forms, or other branded or copyrighted materials is strictly prohibited unless expressly approved in writing. All Volunteer Scholars award details, program guidelines, FAQs, images, graphics, logos, and related materials are the exclusive copyrighted property of Volunteer Scholars and may not be copied, modified, reproduced, republished, distributed, or used in promotional materials, websites, social media, flyers, newsletters, presentations, or fundraising materials without authorization. Approved groups must represent the awards accurately and may not imply independent authority, endorsement, certification rights, or expanded eligibility beyond the terms granted by Volunteer Scholars.

There is no cost to apply for or maintain a Group Membership, including Volunteer Scholars’ review, vetting, and setup of the member organization. Fees apply only to the number of individual volunteers the organization wishes to recognize or award during the applicable award year, as outlined below.

Eligible recipients receive a print-ready PDF version of the AVSA award certificate only. No physical award item is included. The cost of an Group Basic member is $39.00 per volunteer, with a minimum annual enrollment of five (5) volunteers. Fees are nonrefundable for incomplete memberships in which the award threshold is not met or a volunteer withdraws. Fees are also nonrefundable for unused or unassigned memberships and may not be transferred, carried forward, or rolled over to a future membership year.

Eligible recipients receive a print-ready PDF version of the AVSA award certificate and their choice of a medal, coin, lapel pin, or patch. The cost of an Group Premier member is $49.00 per volunteer, with a minimum annual enrollment of five (5) volunteers. Fees are nonrefundable for incomplete memberships in which the award threshold is not met or a volunteer withdraws. Fees are also nonrefundable for unused or unassigned memberships and may not be transferred, carried forward, or rolled over to a future membership year.

To qualify for the active duty military group discount, each participating member must be uploaded with their individual .mil email address. The discount will be applied only to memberships associated with verified .mil email addresses. Please do not submit copies or photos of military IDs, CAC cards, or other government identification. The active duty membership discount does not extend to dependents, spouses, some veterans, or contractors.

Before awards are issued, the group must mark the volunteer entries as complete and select the desired AVSA award type for eligible recipients, such as a medal, coin, lapel pin, or patch.

All physical award items must be shipped to a single organizational address. Volunteer Scholars does not ship group membership awards directly to individual volunteers or to multiple addresses.

Once recipients are verified in the Volunteer Scholars system, they may order additional approved award items or regalia directly, subject to availability and eligibility requirements.

Groups that wish to present multiple award items to verified recipients, such as both a medal and a commemorative coin, may order additional approved award items through the Volunteer Scholars shop. However, groups may not “stock up,” order speculative award items, or accumulate award inventory to distribute at their own discretion.

All award items are restricted to verified recipients only. Any group found ordering, holding, or distributing award inventory outside of verified recipient eligibility may be immediately dismissed as an group partner and permanently banned from awarding the American Volunteer Service Award.