Give Back to Those Who Give So Much – 7 Ways to Show Appreciation to Your Volunteers

Volunteers are the heart and soul of every nonprofit. Through their selfless contributions, your organization is able to support and empower your community. Make sure they’re aware of how appreciated and valued they are! To help with this, Keep Doing Good has compiled a few ways to do just that.

Celebrate Your Volunteers

Throw a Party

Because everyone loves parties! Surprise your volunteers with a party to show how much you appreciate them. Maybe take them out to a trendy new restaurant or bowling alley! And if your organization is dedicated to animal rescue or something similar, try a petting zoo or cat cafe!

Award Your Volunteers

Your volunteers are selfless and devoted, willing to sacrifice their time and resources for your cause, and dedicated to bettering their community however they can. They do all this without expecting anything in return, but recognizing the incredible work they do with a small gift is a great way to make sure they know how valuable and appreciated they are.

If you have the means to personalize your gifts (more doable for smaller organizations), doing so is encouraged! For larger organizations, try tracking how long your longest-tenured and most dedicated volunteers have been there and award the ones that have been there for 5, 10, or 15 years with plaques and small celebrations!

Handmade Cards

Tokens of appreciation don’t have to be elaborate or expensive! Sometimes, the simplest gestures are the ones that mean the most. A handwritten card, signed by the employees of the office, is a special and personalized way to show a volunteer how much they mean to your organization. All it takes is a few minutes of your time to show a little extra appreciation.

Involve Your Local Community

Volunteers aren’t just helping you with your organization–they’re serving your entire community. Asking local businesses or organizations that you’ve assisted to write letters of appreciation to your volunteers is an excellent way to recognize them both privately and publicly (hang them on the wall of your office with pride!)

And if you work with schools or local education programs, ask their teachers and coordinators if they’re willing to send in hand-drawn pictures or letters from students! The students can practice their art skills, and the volunteers will love to hear from the most important members of the community.

Organization-Themed Gifts

One of the best things about a nonprofit is the passion it inspires amongst its community, and that’s especially true for the volunteers that make up the heart and soul of your organization. If someone volunteers with you, it means they truly cherish the time they spend with your organization and are passionate about the work you do.

Here are a few organization-specific ideas to reward that passion and dedication:

• Libraries: Books, bookmarks, and bookstore/café gift cards are all great ways to reward your library volunteers!
• Schools:Offer your volunteers a chance to be students for the night! Bring in a professional to teach them a fun hobby like painting or woodworking, or offer them an opportunity to gain new work skills with programming or graphic design presentations.
• Food Banks: Like schools, you can treat your volunteers to a private lesson from a professional chef–complete with tastings and lessons on what to pair with! And if you’re looking for something a bit easier to wrap, recipe books, homemade treats, and personalized aprons are all wonderful options.
• Animal Rescues:Reward those that care so much about our furry friends with discounted adoption rates, dog and cat treats, and stuffed animals or key chains!

T-Shirts

Let’s face it–you can never have enough t-shirts. Your volunteers will love showing off their team colors with shirts featuring your organization’s logo! And for the extra personalized touch, you can make shirts commemorating milestones or big events!

Tickets to Local Events

Do you have a local sports team or community theater? How about a museum featuring an exhibition of particular interest to your volunteers? See if your organization can get a group deal on tickets and invite your team out for a fun night on the house!

Invest Back in Your Volunteers

Showing appreciation shouldn’t be a one-time event: keep the spirit of appreciation strong throughout the year, and make sure your volunteers know the work they do is seen. After all, the best way to retain volunteers is to respect volunteers.

On that note, here are a few ways you can show your volunteers that you and your organization are invested in them:

• Communicate:Nobody likes being left in the dark, especially if it ends up making them feel less important or meaningful to your organization. Keep your volunteers up-to-date on new opportunities, upcoming events, and other relevant information.
• Listen: Your volunteers are going to see things that you miss–there’s no way around this. Listen to their concerns, questions, and suggestions. An organization that’s willing to hear out and act on suggestions will never be short on volunteers.
• Offer Leadership Opportunities: Your organization is going to mean a lot to the people who give up their time and energy to further its mission. Reward volunteers who have invested significant time into your nonprofit by allowing them to develop new skills that could lead to leadership positions.

If your organization is struggling to find volunteers, try bringing current volunteers to community events, and have them talk about their experience volunteering.

They may not do it for the praise or recognition, but acknowledging the effort your volunteers put into making their community a better place is the best way to keep everyone within the organization happy and invested.