Community Awards

Regional Dates & Nomination Forms Nomination information Youth Community Spirit Award Nominate Online Information Form Online Pictures & Regional Results National Awards Useful Links

Volunteers are at the heart of every community - dedicating hours of time and energy every year to make their community a better place to live!

TrustPower understands that, which is why we celebrate and reward volunteers through our Community Awards programme.

The TrustPower Community Awards are open to all voluntary groups and not-for-profit organisations - from health support groups and school PTA's to sports and service clubs.

The Awards are about celebrating the tremendous amount of work volunteers do in our communities. Through the TrustPower Community Awards, volunteers are given the recognition they really deserve.

No matter how big or small, if your group, club or society involves volunteers - then the TrustPower Community Awards are for you.

Over the last fifteen years the TrustPower Community Awards have grown into one of the country's largest volunteer-based Awards programmes. And now, throughout 2010, Regional Supreme Winners are also being filmed by a TVNZ6 crew to feature in a new series called ‘Volunteer Power’.

Thanks to the TrustPower Community Awards, thousands of volunteers have been recognised and more than $130,000 is injected into community groups up and down the country every year.

For more information about the Awards, read the background below or contact the Community Relations team on 0800 87 11 11.

Background

The TrustPower Community Awards were initially set up with the Western Bay of Plenty District Council in 1994 when TrustPower became a listed company.

Since then, TrustPower has established Community Awards in cities and districts right around the country, as a way of giving something back to its customers and their community.

The TrustPower Community Awards are NOT grants…they are awards that recognise and reward volunteers for the valuable contribution they make to their community.

In 2000, TrustPower initiated the National Community Awards. The Supreme Winners from the regional Awards share ideas and experiences and compete for the title of Supreme National Community Award Winner.

Today...

The TrustPower Community Awards are run in 24 districts around the country, in conjunction with local district or city councils.

Any voluntary group or volunteer-based not-for-profit organisation is eligible for the Awards, which recognise past achievements or work undertaken by volunteers over the previous 12 months.

The Awards cover five categories:

Heritage and Environment
Health and Wellbeing
Arts and Culture
Sport and Leisure
Education and Child/Youth Development

Nominations for the Awards are open for around 10 weeks in each region. Anyone can nominate a voluntary group or not-for-profit organisation for the Awards. Groups and organisations can even nominate themselves!

For more information about the nomination process and when nominations are open in your region, click here.

Once nominations are closed, a panel made up of representatives from the local community, the Council and TrustPower, judges the nominations, based on set criteria including voluntary input, effectiveness of activities and the impact on the district. For more information on judging criteria please see the Community Awards Guidelines, which can be downloaded here.

The Awards are then presented at a formal Awards function, which all nominated organisations are invited to attend.

All winners take home a framed certificate with category winners receiving $500, runners up $250 and the Supreme Winner receiving $1,500, a trophy and an all-expenses paid trip to our annual National Community Awards.

TVNZ 6 has partnered with the TrustPower Community Awards in 2010 to bring remarkable stories of volunteers all over the country. Regional Winners at each TrustPower Community Awards throughout New Zealand will be filmed by the TVNZ6 crew and shown on TVNZ6. Volunteer Power, presented by Julia Wright and Jim Mora will tell the stories of visionary and award-winning projects operating in kiwi communities for the proven benefit of kiwi communities - fuelled by the boundless energy of community volunteers.