Main Street America will be a co-sponsor of the new awards program sponsored by CivicPlus, Small Town America Civic Volunteer Award (STACVA). The national program will honor 100 extraordinary public service volunteers in smaller localities, shining a spotlight on the growing need for citizens to fill critical civic roles that support key local government functions. The percentage of people volunteering in small towns and rural counties has severely dropped over the last 12 years, and the CivicPlus program will serve as an opportunity for Main Street communities and localities to celebrate local volunteers and address such shortages, hopefully spurring renewed interest in civic volunteerism.

“Over the past 20 years working with local governments, we have seen first-hand that the most successful cities, towns and counties are powered by passionate people who want to make a difference in the place they call home! We are hoping to accomplish two critical goals with this initiative: bring attention to the need for more civic volunteerism, and recognize those who have found solutions to declining participation and are building powerful community networks focused on civic engagement.” –  Brian Rempe, CEO, CivicPlus

CivicPlus will provide the top 100 national nominees with custom websites and 12 months of complimentary annual services to each of the local governments represented by these honorees. In addition, CivicPlus will distribute cash awards of $5,000 (second runner up), $7,500 (first runner up) and $10,000 to the national STACVA winner! Awards will be made directly to the local governments represented by the award winners.

All nominations for either an individual or a volunteer organization must be submitted by the chief elected official (or his/her designee) of a qualifying general purpose local government with a population of less than 5,000 people. Local governments may submit up to two nominations, but they need to be separate submissions.

Submit a nomination today, and check out frequently asked questions for more information!