Introduced at the 1981 National Order of the Arrow Conference, the Founder’s Award recognizes Arrowmen who have given outstanding service to their lodge. The award is reserved for an Arrowman who demonstrates that he or she personifies the spirit of selfless service, as advocated by founder E. Urner Goodman and cofounder Carroll A. Edson.
The award is a handsome bronze medallion bearing the likenesses of E. Urner Goodman and Carroll A. Edson, with a wooden base and a brass plate suitable for engraving. Available for uniform wear is a gold-colored arrow suspended from a red ribbon.
Lodges may petition the national Order of the Arrow committee to present between two and four awards annually, depending on the number of members in the lodge. If the lodge presents more than one award, at least one must be awarded to a youth under the age of 21.
Past Recipients
| Year | Youth | Adult |
| 1995 | Jonathan Shaw & Lowell Gardner | Tom Hudgens & Jon Mikrut |
| 1996 | Paul Skyles | Larry Daniels |
| 1997 | Jon Mendenhall | Jan Mikrut |
| 1998 | Matthew Bills & Eric Alford | William Brunner |
| 1999 | Michael Murphy Sam Murphey | Gary Jenks |
| 2000 | Scott Roberts | Carol Marshall |
| 2001 | Matt Arnold | J.C. Harsh |
| 2002 | Bobby Johnson | Dave Pritchard |
| 2003 | Sean Simmons | Kurt Garner |
| 2004 | Steve Tilley | No Recipient |
| 2005 | Nathan Rouse | Dan McKenzie |
| 2006 | Justin Haseltine | Mary McKenzie |
| 2007 | Caleb Cordonier | Tom Rouse |
| 2008 | Chris Courtney | Dan Weber |
| 2009 | Caleb Horton | Jeanette Rouse |
| 2010 | Mark Mueller | Mike Mueller |
| 2011 | Michael Bray | Bruce Shock |
| 2012 | Cody Stepp | Richard Carter |
| 2013 | Wesley Marr | Jeff Merkling |
| 2014 | David Bippes | Jeff Hole |
| 2015 | Brandon Scott | Al Schmidt |
| 2016 | Preston Lindsay | Jim Scott |
| 2017 | Steve Jett | Russ Lewis |
| 2018 | Trey Lewis | Bill Marr |
| 2019 | Garret Schmidt | Mike Walker |
| 2020 | Tyler Strothkamp | Chris |