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The Congressional Award is an award presented by the United States Congress to Americans aged 14 to 23.[1] Established in 1979, the program recognizes the initiative, service, and achievements of young people. The Congressional Award is nonpartisan and voluntary.
It recognizes the setting and completion of goals in four program areas: voluntary public service, personal development, physical fitness, and expedition or exploration. Based on their time commitments to each area, participants earn bronze, silver, or gold Congressional Award certificates and medals.
The Congressional Award was created by law on November 16, 1979, under Public Law 96–114, also known as the Congressional Award Act. The legislation was sponsored by Senator Malcolm Wallop of Wyoming and Representative James J. Howard of New Jersey.
The Congressional Award operates as a public–private partnership, registered as a 501(c) organization and funded entirely by private-sector donations. It is Congress’s only official charity.
As of September 2011, more than 50,000 youths had registered as participants in the program.[2] The Congressional Award is one of two congressional honors for young people, the other being the Congressional Medal of Merit.
Program overview
Once a participant registers for the program online or by mail, they receive a record book to track progress in the four key areas: voluntary public service, personal development, physical fitness, and expedition or exploration.
Participants must register officially to receive their record books, which are required to document and verify activities. After achieving their goals and meeting the program requirements, participants submit their completed record books to the national office for review. The office notifies them of approval or requests additional information.
Program areas
The four program areas are voluntary public service, personal development, physical fitness, and expedition or exploration. The structure is designed to foster well-rounded growth, similar to the Duke of Edinburgh's Award.
Voluntary public service
This area encourages participants to share their time and talents for the benefit of others. Activities must be unpaid and may include service used to meet graduation requirements. Youth are expected to provide direct service to the community, demonstrating sensitivity, commitment, and perseverance. Participants may set up to four goals per record book in this category.
Personal development
The personal development component challenges participants to broaden their horizons by pursuing new interests or advancing existing skills. Goals should focus on developing individual talents, life skills, or personal growth. Participants may set up to two goals per record book.
Physical fitness
This category promotes physical well-being through measurable fitness goals. Participants may take up a new physical activity or improve their performance in an existing one. Both team and individual activities qualify as long as they demonstrate progress toward improved fitness. School gym classes do not count toward this requirement. Up to two goals may be submitted per record book.
Expedition or exploration
This component aims to build self-reliance, determination, and cooperation through adventure and discovery. Participants plan and complete either an expedition (an outdoor or wilderness experience) or an exploration (a cultural or environmental experience).
Expeditions typically involve camping, hiking, or other outdoor activities that require planning and survival skills. Explorations focus on new cultural or environmental experiences, such as visiting historical sites, living on a farm, or traveling to another region or country.
Activities like conferences, camps, retreats, or organized tours do not qualify, as the experience must be independently planned and executed by the participant.
Value-added partnerships
The Congressional Award allows participants to count many of their existing activities toward the program, through partnerships with youth organizations such as:
Activities completed prior to registration do not count. The award focuses on goal-setting and achievement, not past accomplishments.
Goals
Participants complete the program by setting and achieving self-directed goals. Goals should be specific, measurable, challenging, and achievable. Advisors and validators assist participants in refining and documenting their goals.
Requirements
Participants must complete a set number of hours and months of activity in each of the four program areas, depending on the award level pursued (bronze, silver, or gold). Participants work at their own pace, and higher-level awards include recognition for lower-level achievements.
Partial awards are not granted; all four program areas must be completed at the required level before an award is issued. The minimum time requirements encourage sustained engagement rather than short-term participation.
Certificate levels
Minimum hours by program area
Bronze
Silver
Gold
Voluntary public service
30
60
90
Personal development
15
30
45
Physical fitness
15
30
45
Expedition or exploration (days)
1
2
3
Total minimum hours
60
120
180
Total minimum months of activity needed (for each of the main three program areas)
N/A
N/A
6
Medal levels
Minimum hours by program area
Bronze
Silver
Gold
Voluntary public service
100
200
400
Personal development
50
100
200
Physical fitness
50
100
200
Expedition or exploration
1 Night / 2 Days
2 Nights / 3 Days
4 Nights / 5 Days
Total minimum hours
200
400
800
Total minimum months of activity needed (for each of the main three program areas)
7
12
24
Congressional Award national events
The Congressional Award is a 501(c)(3), non-profit organization that does not receive any funding from the federal government. Instead, they hold several fundraising events to support the program, most notably: The Congressional Award Chiefs of Staff Annual Golf Classic[3] and The Congressional Award Chiefs of Staff Charity Poker Event.[4] The Congressional Awards' largest event is the annual gold medal ceremony,[5] held in the US Capitol. The June ceremony celebrates the accomplishments of gold medalists, bringing them together from across the country for a presentation of their Congressional Award gold medal by their member of Congress. Due to the large number of medalists, there are usually two ceremonies on Capitol Hill on the gold medal day.
Accompanying the gold medal ceremony is the gold nation experience, an opportunity for gold medalists to create new relationships with other outstanding youth from across the country. The optional program provides medalists with an opportunity to come to Washington, D.C. and see the city together. The gold nation experience usually runs from the week of the gold ceremony until the day after. The cost of the gold nation experience is greatly discounted to medalists due to the fundraising efforts of the Congressional Award Foundation. However, medalists must provide their own transportation to Washington. The gold medal ceremony also commemorates adults and their participation in youth fund raising and volunteering.
According to the Congressional Budget Office's report on S. 1348, the Congressional Award Foundation received no federal appropriated funds, but did receive free office space in a Congressional office building and did not have to pay for the medals produced by the U.S. Mint.[9]
The Horizon Award[13] is a special recognition from the Joint Leadership Commission of the Congressional Award Foundation and its board of directors. The Horizon Award is presented to individuals from the private sector who have contributed to expanding opportunities for all Americans through their own personal contributions, and who have set exceptional examples for young people through their own successes in life. These recipients have truly forged ahead, establishing noble horizons to which our youth can aspire.
The Wallop Howard Leadership Award[13] is presented annually to individuals in the public sector who have displayed outstanding commitment to improving the lives of America's young people and providing critical support in the Congressional Award Foundation’s efforts to make the Congressional Award a national opportunity. The Leadership Award is presented by the Congressional Award Joint Leadership Commission, composed of The Speaker and Minority Leader of the House and Majority and Minority Leaders of the Senate.
The Inspiration Award is given to a Congressional Award Advisor who motivates, inspires and leads America’s youth to greatness.
Adult volunteers
Adult volunteers are an integral component of the Congressional Award. More than 10,000 adult volunteers dedicate thousands of hours to promoting a lifestyle of service.
The Congressional Award is designed to bridge the gap between adolescence and adulthood. Working with adults is one way by which participants can achieve this. Most participants will work with five or more adults throughout the program: one advisor and four validators.
Advisors
Each youth selects one adult to serve as their advisor. Teachers, neighbors, clergy, and coaches are examples of possible advisors. The youth may select any adult to be their advisor, so long as the advisor is not a relative or a peer. The advisor meets regularly with the youth to assist him or her in goal-setting and completing the record book. The advisor must sign the youth’s record book prior to submission to the Congressional Award Foundation for review.
Validators
Validators assist the participant with individual activities within a particular program area. Validators should be knowledgeable and/or experienced in the activity being pursued. For example, if a youth’s goal and activities involved basketball, a basketball coach would make a suitable validator. Similarly, if a youth volunteers at an animal shelter, a senior employee or the volunteer coordinator would be an appropriate validator. An advisor can also serve as a validator. While not particularly common, this is appropriate if a suitable validator cannot be found.
In addition to advisors and validators, countless adult volunteers promote the Congressional Award Program throughout the country.
The Congressional Award Foundation
The Congressional Award Foundation is the non-profit entity that oversees the distribution of The Congressional Award on behalf of Congress.
Board of directors
The Congressional Award Foundation's 48-member board of directors is partially appointed by the joint leadership of both parties in the House of Representatives and the Senate. In addition to actively promoting the Congressional Award Program across the country, the board meets quarterly to assess the program’s growth and provide direction to the national staff.[15]
Paxton Baker, Chairman
National/appointed members denoted by asterisk (*)
The Congressional Award national office is located on Capitol Hill and oversees the day-to-day operations of the Congressional Award Foundation. To better meet the needs of youth, states are assigned to a geographical region—North, South, or West—with a designated program manager. The program managers work closely with advisors and youth in their region to answer any program-related questions and promote the program in their respective region.[16]
Erica Heyse – National Director
Derek Doyle – Director of Communications and Strategic Outreach
Kirsten Gooden – Program Director
Molly Geiser – Senior Program Manager
Matt Tick – Program Manager
Bethie Woodall – Program Manager
Past financial uncertainty
The Congressional Award Foundation did experience a brief period of financial uncertainty. In a GAO audit of the Congressional Award Foundation’s 2005 and 2006 financial statements, the office identified[17]
two significant matters related to the Foundation’s financial statements. These matters concerned (1) the Foundation's ability to continue as a going concern, which has been resolved, and (2) inconsistency between functional expenses reported in the Foundation’s annual information return (Form 990) filed with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the audited financial statements for fiscal year 2005.
The first "significant" matter referred to various problems, including a serious decline in the Foundation's assets: as of September 30, 2006 the value of the Foundation's asset had declined to under $8,500.[17] Within a year, the asset value had grown to $125,000.[17] The GAO also noted that the Foundation's national director paid over $23,000 to cover the costs of the Foundation's gold award ceremony during the Foundation's 2006 fiscal year; she was reimbursed for all but $664 by December 2006.[17]
The inconsistency described in the second matter was resolved in the Form 990 and audited financial statements for fiscal year 2006.[17]
Congress created the Congressional Award Fellowship Trust in 1990 to "benefit the charitable and educational purposes of the Foundation"; the Foundation withdrew $20,000 from the trust in order to support its 2007 operations.[17]
The Congressional Award has enjoyed financial stability in the subsequent years, and its proactive fundraising initiatives are working to ensure that it will never again face a budget shortfall.
↑ "S. 1348 - Text". United States Congress. Archived from the original on 30 September 2013. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
↑ "CBO - S. 1348". Congressional Budget Office. 9 August 2013. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
↑ 115th Congress (2018) (September 24, 2018). "H.R. 6862 (115th)". Legislation. GovTrack.us. Archived from the original on October 13, 2018. Retrieved October 12, 2018. Congressional Award Program Reauthorization Act of 2018{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
↑ 115th Congress (2018) (September 26, 2018). "S. 3509 (115th)". Legislation. GovTrack.us. Retrieved October 12, 2018. Congressional Award Program Reauthorization Act of 2018{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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