The UK government has named 250 volunteer-led groups as 2026 recipients of the King's Award for Voluntary Service. It ranks the honour alongside an MBE and calls it the top recognition a voluntary group in the UK can achieve. The winners serve communities in the United Kingdom and the Crown Dependencies, and the awards are announced each year on the King's birthday.
According to GOV.UK, the honoured groups are active in fields such as mental health support, youth services, the environment and community initiatives. Their volunteers help people ranging from children playing sport to adults in the last stage of life.
A volunteer-led hospice
One recipient, Skanda Vale Hospice CIO in Dyfed, Wales, offers volunteer-led palliative care at no cost to adults with life-limiting conditions. The government said the hospice began with home care in 1993 and has since added day hospice services, inpatient respite and remote companionship. It receives no statutory funding, depending instead on skilled volunteers who work with a small team of paid nurses.
Minister on loneliness and mental health
Vicky Foxcroft, the Minister for Civil Society, described volunteers as vital to their communities, saying that each day they "help tackle loneliness, support people's mental health and look after the places we call home". She added that volunteering can boost confidence, develop skills and help people feel they belong, and she thanked and congratulated every volunteer recognised.
Groups spread well beyond London
Recipients come from England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and the Isle of Man, and the government said 87% of awards went to groups outside London and the South East. Village hall committees, community radio stations and football clubs are among them. Other examples it highlighted include:
- Harry Gregg Foundation, County Londonderry: football for children and young people with physical disabilities or learning difficulties. According to the government, it runs the country's largest Small Sided Games Centre weekly through the season at Ulster University's Coleraine Campus.
- Evesham Adventure Playground Association, Worcestershire: wraparound childcare, holiday and youth clubs, bike recycling, a children's bike library and a community pantry.
- Nanu Sports Foundation, West Yorkshire: a 20-year-old group of more than 30 volunteers whose sports programmes aim to keep children safe and away from crime.
- Caldmore Village Festival, Caldmore: a once-disused plot in the West Midlands, now open daily, where volunteers hold gardening sessions, workshops and events.
- Junior Up Helly Aa, Shetland Islands: a fire festival for children and young people celebrating Viking heritage, including a torch-lit procession and the burning of a Viking-style longship.
How winners are chosen, and the 2027 round
The scheme dates from 2002, when it was set up as The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service for Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee; the King kept it after his accession. Lord Lieutenants first review nominations in their areas, then a national committee of independent assessors considers the recommendations. GOV.UK says a group with at least three members that has done voluntary work for more than three years may be put forward, and it directs nominators to fuller eligibility criteria published online.
Nominations for 2027 are open until 1 December 2026. According to the KAVS website, nominators first check the eligibility criteria, then set up an account, find two people willing to write letters of support and upload those letters with an online form. A full list of 2026 recipients is due on the KAVS website and in The Gazette.
