Frequently Asked Questions on the Community Recognition Program
TWB's Community Recognition Program is our way of thanking our amazing community members with professional recommendations and more.
1. What's new?
We've redesigned our Program's interface. From now on, you'll be able to see how many reward points you've earned directly in the Recognition points badge in your profile on the TWB platform. Once you’ve reached a certain point threshold, you can request your reward(s).
2. What are the rewards and how do I request them?
We offer rewards based on the number of points collected. You can request:
- confirmation of volunteer work (5,000 points),
- reference letters (15,000 points), and
- recommendations on professional platforms, such as LinkedIn or ProZ (30,000 points).
To request your reward, simply email us at recognition@translatorswithoutborders.org. Our team will process your request and get back to you within two working days.
3. How do I earn points?
You will receive points based on different volunteer activities, such as the number of words you deliver per task:
| Type of task | Unit | Points accrued per unit |
| Translation | 1 word | 1 |
| Revision | 1 word | 0.5 |
| Proofreading/Approval | 1 word | 0.25 |
| Transcription | 1 word | 0.5 |
| Voice recording | 1 word | 1 |
| Subtitle translation | 1 word | 1 |
| Subtitle revision | 1 word | 0.5 |
| Terminology | 1 term | 10 |
4. Will my points expire if I don’t claim tasks regularly?
No, your points will never disappear from your profile, even if you don’t volunteer with us often. The points will always remain in your Recognition badge and increase when you complete more tasks and earn more points.
5. Will my points decrease once I’ve claimed a reward?
Your points are cumulative, and won't ever decrease: they will keep on increasing with your contributions! The more points you obtain, the higher the rewards.
6. Will I lose points if the quality of my translation is not satisfactory?
You might lose points if the quality of your translation is poor. The content we produce can have a serious impact on people’s lives, so the quality of your contribution must be in line with our Code of Conduct. If your translation is incorrect or of poor quality, we might deduce the points you earned for that translation from your profile. If you constantly deliver poor-quality translation, you might be excluded from the Program.
While contributions to our mission are always greatly appreciated, remember that our Community Recognition Program is not just about collecting reward points.
7. Can I earn money through the Program?
Our Community Recognition Program also includes monetary rewards for some marginalized languages. Speakers of marginalized languages often face high connectivity costs when offering their online support. These monetary rewards aim to cover some of those expenses. We hope that this will allow speakers of marginalized languages to volunteer more with us.
We also offer monetary rewards for languages that are crucial to supporting ongoing humanitarian responses. When we advocate language inclusion and collaborate with partner organizations on the ground, it generates more urgent and more frequent requests for relevant language communities. We are committed to recognizing the work of our volunteers who step up to support their communities in times of crisis. We hope that the rewards included in our Community Recognition Program may help community members who are personally affected.
This program is not a form of employment, and rewards do not constitute payment for services.
Currently, the languages on our TWB Platform for which we can offer monetary rewards are Amharic; Bengali; Bengali, India; Bura-Pabir; Burmese; Chadian Arabic; Chadian Arabic Latin; Chittagonian; Dari; Fulah; Haitian; Hausa; Kanuri; Kibaku; Kurdish Bahdini; Kurdish Kurmanji; Kurdish Sorani; Lingala; Ganda; Wandala (formerly Mandara); Marghi Central; Mongo; Nande; Ngombe; Oromo; Pushto; Pushto, Pakistan; Rohingya Bengali; Rohingya Latin; Romani; Shi; Somali; Somali, Ethiopia; Swahili; Swahili, Congo; Tigrinya; Ukrainian; Lamang (formerly Waha).
We also offer monetary rewards for languages that are crucial to supporting ongoing humanitarian responses. When we advocate language inclusion and collaborate with partner organizations on the ground, it generates more urgent and more frequent requests for relevant language communities. We are committed to recognizing the work of our volunteers who step up to support their communities in times of crisis. We hope that the rewards included in our Community Recognition Program may help community members who are personally affected.
This program is not a form of employment, and rewards do not constitute payment for services.
Currently, the languages on our TWB Platform for which we can offer monetary rewards are Amharic; Bengali; Bengali, India; Bura-Pabir; Burmese; Chadian Arabic; Chadian Arabic Latin; Chittagonian; Dari; Fulah; Haitian; Hausa; Kanuri; Kibaku; Kurdish Bahdini; Kurdish Kurmanji; Kurdish Sorani; Lingala; Ganda; Wandala (formerly Mandara); Marghi Central; Mongo; Nande; Ngombe; Oromo; Pushto; Pushto, Pakistan; Rohingya Bengali; Rohingya Latin; Romani; Shi; Somali; Somali, Ethiopia; Swahili; Swahili, Congo; Tigrinya; Ukrainian; Lamang (formerly Waha).
This list may change over time, depending on our strategic needs and budgetary constraints related to our crisis response work and international programs. If a language is to be removed from this list, the community will be informed beforehand, in a timely manner. If you deliver work in these languages, you can check how many points you have and the monetary rewards you can receive in the new “Recognition” section.
8. Do I need to enroll in or otherwise qualify for the TWB Community Recognition Program?
All community members are automatically registered in our Community Recognition Program. You don’t need to register or sign up in any way. If you believe something is wrong and you are not getting points for your contribution, please contact us at recognition@translatorswithoutborders.org
Remember, your contribution must be in line with our Code of Conduct, since the information you contribute can have a serious impact on someone’s life. If your output is inaccurate or inadequate (for example, if you deliver unedited machine translation), you might not qualify for the Program (see point 6).
9. Why do tasks like revision or transcription give 0.5 point per word and not 1 point per word?
When we created this framework, we tried to be fair and mindful of the average time a volunteer spends on a task. Some tasks, such as translation or voice recording, require more time and resources than others, such as revision or transcription. To make sure that everyone’s contribution and time are fairly recognized, we differentiate between tasks that are more time-consuming (1 point per word) and tasks that should take less time (0.5 points per word).
10. What should I do if the translation I am revising needs to be re-translated?
We are aware that revisers might occasionally encounter issues with the translation they revise. If they find that the translation they revise is not up to standard and needs to be completely re-translated, revisers are always strongly encouraged to contact our team at translators@translatorswithoutborders.org. If we find that the translation is poor quality, we would deduct the points from the translator’s balance. The reviser can decide to re-translate the text and get 1 point per word for their work. If someone consistently delivers bad-quality translations, they will be excluded from the Recognition Program.