The Robert Burns Humanitarian Award is an award presented annually around the time of Robert Burns' birthday to a group or individual who has saved, improved or enriched the lives of others or society as a whole, through self-sacrifice, selfless service, hands-on charitable or volunteer work, or other acts. The winner receives a 1759 guinea, which signifies the year of the bard's birth and the coinage then in circulation, and a specially commissioned award handcrafted in Scotland. The judging panel is chaired by David Anderson, chief executive of South Ayrshire Council, and includes journalist and broadcaster Kaye Adams; actor, writer and painter John Cairney; Nat Edwards, director of the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum; Habib Malik, former RBHA winner and head of Islamic Relief Scotland; Robert Stewart, president of the Robert Burns World Federation; Guy Willoughby, former RBHA winner and chief executive of the HALO Trust; and Rob Woodward, chief executive of STV.

Award recipients

From 2014, a new young persons' element was introduced: the Robert Burns Humanitarian Medal, for people aged 16-25 years from anywhere in the world.