Important PVSA program updates
January 28, 2010
Dear Certifying Organizations,
The PVSA team would like to take a moment to wish you Happy New Year and thank you for your partnership with the President’s Volunteer Service Awards program. To honor the valuable gift of service is to lift up the message of how important it is for all of us to give back and in turn, strengthen our communities and civic organizations. We value your commitment and are happy to support you with the tools needed to recognize your volunteers.
The year of 2009 brought about a lot of change for the President’s Volunteer Service Awards program. We are happy to report that program involvement with the PVSA increased by 30%. While the program has grown, we have had some challenges as the operations for PVSA moved from Washington, DC to the Points of Light Institute corporate offices in Atlanta. As well, a new team was assigned in the fall of 2009. This impacted the day-to-day operations of the program for a time period during the spring and summer months. We realize this affected many of you and we apologize for the inconvenience. We appreciate your patience and want you to know that we are committed to making your experience with the President’s Service Award program a positive one.
In September, we began putting in place adjustments and upgrades to the internal structure of the program to accommodate our increased volume of applicants and orders. Our focus most recently has been to streamline the ordering process and update critical content and software on the website.
We’d like to share with you the new upgrades we have made that will take effect January 28th. The section below explains the changes and what they mean to you.
We will continue to make adjustments throughout the first half of the year and will also reach out to you for your opinion on some of the new ideas we may explore.
Thank you for your commitment to volunteerism. We look forward to growing with you.
Sincerely
The Presidents Volunteer Service Awards Team
Program Changes Fact Sheet
Presidential Volunteer Service Awards Program Changes
Effective January 28th, 2010
Payment Procedures
- Pay by Electronic Check: We have added the capability for our customers to pay by electronic check on–line. This provides a faster check clearing time and eliminates the extra step of having to mail-in a check. You do still have the option to mail your check in or pay by credit card.
Order Processing
- Order On-line: In order to provide you with faster, more accurate turnaround of orders we have up-dated the order module to an on-line only ordering system. This will reduce errors from manual processing and provide accurate tracking for orders placed. No more lost or misplaced mail-in or faxed orders. You will have greater control of your orders and our customer service team will be able to better assist you by having electronic access to your order.
Effective January 28th
- All new orders must be placed on-line.
- We will no longer accept fax or mail-in orders.
- All mail-in & faxed orders placed prior to January 28th will be processed as usual.
Placing Orders
- Simplified Process: We have simplified the order processing module by combining the certification step and ordering process. Under the “Order” tab within your profile we have provided you with three ways to order depending on the quantity of PVSAs needed. With a one page view you will be able to certify and order awards at the same time making this process faster and more accurate.
- New Excel Sheet: A new excel sheet has been prepared for your use with large orders. You now have the ability to fill out the new simplified excel sheet with the key information for your volunteers. Once complete, you can upload the excel sheet directly to the ordering system which will automatically populate all of the awards you wish to order into your order cart. It is just that easy. Further instructions are included in the order module.
Shipping
- Emailed Shipping Confirmation: Beginning February 8th for every order placed through the new
on-line order system an e-mail notification will be sent to you indicating when your order was shipped as well as providing you with the tracking number.
- Faster Shipping: Once payment has been received, all orders will, on-average, ship within 3-5 business days (med to small orders) and 5-10 business days (large custom orders)
FAQ
- We have updated our "Frequently Asked Question" section of the Web site to address all of the changes made to help with the transition.