Elfun's success in making a difference in communities brought major recognition in the 1990s. In 1994, Elfun and the GE Foundation received a prestigious Presidential Award for the College Bound program. Elfun Executive Director Ray Mathieu and GE Fund Project Manager Phyllis McGrath accepted this prestigious award from President Bill Clinton in a White House Rose Garden ceremony. Additionally, Elfun received significant awards for repairing computers and recorders for the sight-impaired, and numerous state and local awards were made to chapters for service and education.

Elfun capped the decade by leading the GE family to achieve a milestone target - one million hours of volunteer service a year. The goal, pledged at the Presidents' Volunteer Summit in 1997, was reached one year early in 1999 and represented nearly a 50% increase in Elfun community service in just two years.

Elfun global leaders attended the 1997 Volunteer Summit, which was spearheaded by retired general Colin Powell (later U.S. Secretary of State) and brought four U.S. Presidents and thousands of other volunteer leaders to Philadelphia. Recalls Jack Batty, executive director at the time, "A million hours a year seemed like a really big stretch goal when we made the pledge at the Presidents' Summit, but GE people responded to the challenge and the competition between chapters."

And General Powell hailed Elfun's achievement: "Given the kind of company GE is, it is not surprising that you not only exceeded your goal, you did it a year early... Your actions will surely inspire others."