Some organizations give out online badges when an online user reaches a certain level of usage, reaches a certain milestone, proves a set of skills or knowledge via an online quiz, etc.

For instance, here are a list of Yahoo contributor badges that are awarded to users that have completed a part of their academy, achieved a certain level of popularity, etc.

TechSoup also has badges for contributors to the TechSoup Forum that reach certain milestones or take on certain roles.

There’s one for vetted volunteers with Translators Without Borders.

Cary, North Carolina has four different “Cary It Green” badges or online pins to “help Cary residents learn eco-friendly tips and take advantage of the Town’s environmental programs and amenities. Users earn points and badges for their green achievements, share their actions with friends, and see how they rank among others in the community. By tracking simple actions on their smartphones — from replacing light bulbs to installing a rain barrel to telecommuting — players can save time, energy and money and challenge their friends to do the same”:

• “Trash to Treasure”–donating an item instead of throwing it away;
• “Aquastar”–logging into your online Aquastar account,;
• “Spruce It Up”–volunteering for a green volunteer project; and
• “Park Place”–walking or biking a Cary greenway.

TakingITGlobal has a series of badges for its online contributors.

TripAdvisor has several badges:

• Reviewer badges, sometimes called Star Badges.
• Category badge: shows if the writer has reviewed many businesses of the type you are currently viewing. For example, 10 restaurant reviews.
• City badge: shows the number of cities the writer has written reviews for.
• Helpful vote badges: when travelers find your reviews helpful, they can give you a helpful vote to help you earn this badge.
• Passport badge: this badge for world travelers displays if the writer has written reviews in multiple destinations.

Geocachers can be awarded online souvenirs, for being at a particular geographic location, attending a particular event, achieving a certain number of finds, etc. Here’s a long list of available geocaching online souvenirs.

I’m looking for other examples of online badges that are awarded or given to users, just for being users/contributors or per completing some milestone- PARTICULARLY to VOLUNTEERS (unpaid people) for nonprofits, NGOs, libraries, government initiatives, etc.

Anyone?

(and if you are interested in developing a formal program for earned online badges, check out the Mozilla Open Badges project; also see this pro-badge editorial, and this anti-badge editorial).