The Community Builder of the Year is a nation-building partnership project of Old Mutual, the SABC, Sowetan and the national Social Services Department and its nine provincial departments.

The Community Builder of the Year is a nation-building partnership project of Old Mutual, the SABC, Sowetan and the national Social Services Department and its nine provincial departments.

The purpose of the project is to give recognition to people who unselfishly give their time and talent to improve the lives of others.

Also to highlight how volunteers' efforts serve to motivate and inspire others to become part of the nation-building process through projects in social spheres such as education, environmental awareness, health and social welfare, crime prevention, youth development, sports and recreation and road safety.

Provincial heats are held between June and early August. Three winners in each category get R10000, R6 000 and R3 000 each.

In mid-August 12 finalists, three each from the youth, adult, senior and group categories, are selected from 36 provincial winners.

Celebrities visit the provinces as project champions, profiling the top 12 finalists in punchy inserts that are screened on SABC2 in the build-up to the national finals.

At the finals, which are due to be held in Johannesburg in December, category winners are chosen from the 12 finalists and the overall national winner is selected from the category winners.