216 – Your Quick Guide to Better Volunteer Thank You Notes

Episode #216 – Your Quick Guide to Better Volunteer Thank You Notes

Tobi Johnson: Hey friends, welcome to another episode of the Volunteer Nation Podcast. I’m your host, Tobi Johnson, and today I want to get back to basics. I want to talk about how to create a volunteer thank you note — how to do it well, why it’s important, the mistakes people make, all of the things. We’re going to do it in this episode. I’m going to give you your quick guide to better volunteer thank you notes.

You know, think about the last time you received a written note, a note of thanks — whether it was a card, a handwritten note. I’m not talking about emails, and I’m not talking about mass‑produced things. I’m talking about something that was especially written with you in mind. I just got one last weekend. We had a volunteer get‑together at my house. I’m meeting with a bunch of friends of mine who I volunteer with — we’re a great team together — and I’m going to be moving back to the West Coast. So we wanted to have a little bit of a goodbye party.

One of the volunteers who came — I was on the executive committee of the board for a while with her, and also had volunteered with her in different other ways and had helped out whenever she asked — a fellow volunteer, wonderful person — just gave me a card that was so sweet. It really expressed her appreciation for me. I will save it, I will treasure it, it will come with me in my move. When you write these kinds of notes to people, don’t be surprised if they keep them. Many of us have kudos files, or we just like to keep good news around us, and it keeps a good vibe going.

You might also not be surprised that as you start to write thank you notes on a regular basis — if you make it part of your regular workflow every week — you yourself will start to feel more gratitude because you are actually priming your own brain to give gratitude. You will start seeing ways to thank people, and you’ll start seeing ways that people are giving to your organization. So it is also a mindset shift for you. It’s kind of an interesting double whammy there when we do our volunteer thank you notes on a regular basis.

Last week on the pod, I talked about bringing the fun back into volunteerism. Check out Volunteer Nation episode 215: “5 Ways to Boost the Fun Factor for Community Volunteers.” Check that out if you want to hear more about creating a better culture for volunteerism at your nonprofit. But this week, I want to talk about the feel‑goods.

If you want your volunteers to be fully appreciated, to feel like they’re fully appreciated and recognized, you do not need to spend a lot of money on gifts. You don’t need to spend a lot of money on big events and luncheons and galas and all of these things. You don’t need to. You can write thank you notes. They’re the least expensive thing to do. All it takes is your time and consideration — a piece of paper or a card (maybe you get a bunch of thank you cards on sale on clearance) and some stamps. That’s really all it takes. It’s really that easy.

So in this episode, I want to break down how to write a good volunteer thank you note that’s thoughtful, personal, meaningful. I don’t want you to be stumped on this. You know, some of us were brought up — our moms taught us how to write thank you notes — but a lot of us haven’t. Learning simple habits — I’m going to give you some writing prompts — just help your volunteers feel seen, heard, appreciated, like they’re not just a cog in the wheel. They’re not just a pair of hands. They’re actually a human being doing.

This is one of the most powerful and most underused volunteer appreciation and retention strategies. When volunteers feel like they are an important part of the picture, they’re going to stay longer and they’re going to be more productive. So today I want to simplify this process and show you how to make volunteer thank you notes easier, faster, and far more meaningful than generic statements. I’m going to get into it here.

Most of you know volunteer appreciation matters, but many of you have not been taught how to write a thank you note, so let’s get into it. I’m going to teach you my framework, and I’m going to give you a free tool at the end.

One of the things I want to do here is differentiate between the thank you notes I’m going to talk about and the ones I see a lot out there — the generic “thanks for all you do,” “we couldn’t do it without our volunteers.” Those blanket statements are not what I’m talking about today. I’m talking about personalized notes to each individual volunteer. We want to create these lasting connections.

Now, you may think, “Well, we have thousands of volunteers, or hundreds of volunteers. There’s no way I’m going to make this happen on a regular basis.” Well, you can enlist the help of coworkers. You can get a volunteer thank you team. You can also just start doing it — just do five or ten volunteer thank you notes a week, and pretty soon you will have made it through most of your volunteers.

You may also be wondering, “Well, I don’t know each of my volunteers individually.” Well, guess what? You don’t have to. You can actually set up a very simple Google Sheet that just asks your coworkers: “Look, I need to know what volunteers are contributing, and I would love it if you could help me by posting some kudos in here that I can put in a thank you note.”

The other thing you could do is train a whole team to do this — all of your supervisors — and make it an expectation that each of them sends out a few thank you notes a week. There are lots of ways to do this. You could get together a pizza party where you’re writing thank you notes all evening while eating pizza. Lots of ways to do this.

But, you know, the right volunteer thank you note can turn a casual volunteer into a lifelong advocate for your organization. Think about that for a minute. The right volunteer thank-you note can turn a casual supporter into a lifelong advocate for your nonprofit. So is it worth it? I think so. I think so.

You know, many volunteers feel invisible — like they’re behind the scenes, like they’re just a cog in the wheel, just another person. They wonder: “Did my work matter? Did anybody even notice? Am I even making a difference here?” These volunteer thank you notes answer those questions directly: yes, you’re making a difference; yes, you matter here; yes, we see you. We want every volunteer to have that feeling.

We are hardwired for acknowledgment and belonging. Thank you notes let our volunteers know, “Yes, you are part of our team. You are part of our clan.” It’s hardwired into our DNA to feel like we want to belong, and the more we feel like we belong, the more we’re going to contribute pro‑social behavior to a group.

Gratitude also creates a community culture. When we’re expressing gratitude, we are doing some of the things that create a better team culture. So gratitude is one of those things. Recognition also inspires word‑of‑mouth recruitment because if people feel like they’re well taken care of and recognized and seen for what they’re contributing, they’ll be more likely to refer other people. Because, you know what? This is a great place to volunteer because people really do appreciate what we do here.

All of those things are giving you this ripple effect from these simple expressions of gratitude, from one person to another on a very personal level.

It can also help prevent burnout. And you’re like, “Well, how does it do that?” Well, one of the reasons people become burned out is not because they’re working too hard. Think about the times where you’ve been in flow, and you’re completely excited about what you’re doing, your head’s down, and you never feel tired by that because you’re in flow. When volunteers feel a sense of control over their destiny, they’re less likely to become burned out.

So, as I kind of hinted about earlier, we want to discern between generic versus meaningful thank‑you and gratitude. Generic is, again, like I said: “Thanks for volunteering.” Meaningful will be something like this: “You made nervous first‑time attendees feel welcome the minute they walked in. Thank you so much.” That’s about the characteristics, or the skills, or the value add that volunteer brought to the table. It’s more meaningful than “We love our volunteers, we can’t live without them.” Well, yeah, okay, right?

So think about the best thank you note or note of appreciation you’ve ever received. Just think about that for a minute. What made it memorable? Do you still have that note somewhere in your files? You might have gotten a note from a volunteer, or a fellow coworker, or a friend, or a family member. Why does it matter?

I remember for my birthday recently, my nephew — he’s in his mid‑20s — and I, you know what always surprises me? I’m a woman of a certain age, right? He’s a young man, has a career, just got married. He’s a busy guy. I’m like, “He doesn’t have time for his auntie.” Well, I get a thank you — actually, it wasn’t a thank you, it was a birthday card with a little Starbucks card in it, just because. Just because. He said, “I love you and I can’t wait to be living near you.” And, you know, made my day. I still have that card. I need to use that Starbucks card right away. Okay.

So let’s talk about the biggest mistakes in thank you notes really quickly.

Mistake number one is being too generic. Generic praise feels like copy and paste. Does anybody want a copy‑and‑paste message? Not really. Volunteers can tell when it lacks sincerity, and broad statements don’t reinforce any desired behaviors either. When I gave that example — “You made nervous first‑time attendees feel welcome the minute they walked in” — you know what? That person’s going to keep doing that. They’re going to keep building rapport at your events, keep saying hello, keep being warm and friendly, because they see that people noticed.

Mistake number two: waiting too long. Timing does matter emotionally. If you can give people thanks the next day, it’s much more impactful than six months from now. The closer it is to the act, the more it reinforces that act. Delayed gratitude feels less connected. So timeliness matters.

Mistake number three: focusing only on tasks. Don’t just describe what they did. Describe how it made people feel. Did it calm people down? Did it make people feel less nervous? Did it bring giggles to everybody? Did people feel relieved? Did it keep people calm? Whatever they were doing. And maybe it was you that — “Hey, every time you are on time, and even early, I never worry that things aren’t going to get done. It just calms me down. I feel a sense of calm when you’re in the office.” That’s okay to put that as well. It doesn’t have to be something specific to an impact on a client.

Now, even remotely, wouldn’t it be great? Don’t send emails — send people handwritten notes. So you can say, “I know being a remote volunteer may make you feel a little disconnected. Please know from me that I appreciate XYZ that you did, or XYZ that you are, and know that I see you even though you’re miles away from me.” See how that is? All of a sudden, remote volunteering feels closer. Focus on outcomes and impacts as well, but it can’t be all about the data. It’s got to be about the emotions.

Mistake number four: only recognizing those star volunteers — the superstars, the ones that put in 50, 40, 30 hours a week. Well, not everybody is a person of means. Not everybody can take all that time off work. Not everybody has additional time on their calendar. Just because someone gives a lot of time doesn’t mean they’re any better than anybody else.

Quiet, dependable volunteers are often overlooked. People who give two or three hours a month, but they’ve been doing it for months — consistency deserves recognition. Small acts of service matter. And when people take that step into doing something that makes them nervous — maybe when they’re transitioning from training into actual service — that’s a great time for a thank you note. “Hey, I know you were nervous about getting started, but you know what? We see you. We see the effort you’re putting in.” It can be for effort or accomplishment. It doesn’t have to be either/or, and it doesn’t have to be only for superstar volunteers.

Mistake number five: saving appreciation for Volunteer Appreciation Week. You know what? Let’s do other things too, and let’s make appreciation something we do year‑round, not something that’s only done because it’s set in stone that we do it this time of year.

I also have more on volunteer recognition. If you want to think outside of just volunteer thank you notes, check out Volunteer Nation episode 176: “Beyond Pizza Parties: Innovative Appreciation Ideas for Volunteers.” I recorded this one a while ago, and it’s still really, really relevant. So if you’re thinking, “Well, wait, what else can we do?” check out that episode.

All right, let’s take a pause from my quick guide on how to develop, create, and write better volunteer thank you notes. After the break, I’m going to give you my formula. I’m going to give you some copywriting tips, and also give you a free tool. So don’t go anywhere. I’ll be right back.

Okay, we’re back with my top tips on how to write better volunteer thank you notes. I’m going to give you some real tips, as well as a step‑by‑step framework, some copywriting tips, and of course, as I promised before, I’m going to give you some instructions on how to access a free tool. Okay.

So let’s talk about the six ingredients for better thank you notes.

First, make it personal. Use the volunteer’s name naturally. Mention a moment that maybe they don’t think anybody’s watching. Mention something that they are more likely to recognize, that other people wouldn’t even notice. That makes it really powerful because it’s like, “Wow, they’re watching.” Personal details show genuine attention.

The thank you note that I got from my fellow volunteer was about my strategic planning skills. I facilitated our strategic planning in our group for a few years. They kept asking me to come back, and I said, “Okay, I’ll come back.” I do it for a living, but I wanted to contribute that to my group. She said to me, “You are the best strategic planner I have ever worked with, and you were a volunteer.” I thought, “Well, I do it for a living, you know,” but it was just a compliment of my skill set, which I really enjoyed. I don’t hear it very much, so it was pretty good.

Make sure you have some personal details in there: their personality, their energy, their reliability, leadership, compassion, problem‑solving skills, interpersonal skills, anything bright and shiny — demeanor, funny, whatever they bring to the table that’s unique about them. Mention that in this thank you note.

Second, be specific. The more detailed the praise, the more genuine it feels. So be really detailed: the way you greeted every guest, or the way you worked that gala table where we were doing the silent auction and people were writing checks, and you were just so efficient — and you were able to be efficient while writing up receipts and smiling. Get into it. “I saw how quickly you were working and dealing with problems — even when we had an issue with our Square card on our iPad or had a hard problem processing credit cards, you quickly jumped to it and figured it out.” That’s specific praise. Small observations mean the most. “Also, the deft way you managed folks that were tending to be a little bit grumpy — you’re just good at it. We appreciate it so much. You really made our gala work so much smoother.” These things are important.

A couple of other examples: “I noticed you staying behind to help the new volunteer feel comfortable.” Or this one: “I noticed that you often stay behind to be part of the cleanup crew even when it’s not your assignment. I really appreciate that you go above and beyond every time.” Or: “I noticed that you picked up after everybody and you just make sure everything’s tidy after you’re done with the arts and crafts room.” Whatever extra mile they go, that’s a good thing to appreciate as well. Or: “You handle a difficult situation with incredible patience.” Sometimes our elders with dementia act out, and you never seem to let it bother you personally. That is the hallmark of a really good community care volunteer. See how I’m talking about it that way?

Third, connect their work to the mission. Volunteers want to know their efforts matter. Bridge between their task and their impact. For example: “Because of your organizational skills, families moved through registration really quickly and were able to start getting food” or “start getting all the logistics to move into their new home” or whatever service. “Your kindness helped our guests feel respected and welcomed, therefore making it easier for them to accept help from others when they generally don’t do so.” Things like that help smooth out the process so that whoever you’re helping or serving gets that service faster, better, etc.

It’s not only for direct service. Maybe they’re a docent, or maybe they work in a theater and they’re helping people up front. Maybe they’re an usher. “Your ability to welcome and cheerfully help people find their seats keeps everybody safe and gets everybody seated on time so we can start our show on time every time. We really appreciate that. It makes the theater‑going experience exceptional, and we know we’re going to have more people coming back to the theater because of the work of ushers like you.” See how I do that even with arts and culture organizations?

Fourth, make it timely. Build recognition into your workflow. Maybe it’s a thing you do on Friday afternoons. Don’t wait for perfection. Figure out a time and start doing it. Remember, a quick heartfelt note is much better than delaying and trying to create a masterpiece. Come on, nobody wants a masterpiece. Keep cards in your office bag. When you have a break and you’re traveling, or when you’re out and about commuting, you can also — if you want to remember notes — record a note. You can ask your coworkers: “Hey, let’s record if you ever catch a volunteer doing something. Just record their name and what they did, and post it in Slack under this tag, or send it in our WhatsApp group, and I’ll pick those up and transcribe them with AI and put them into a spreadsheet and start writing notes.” See what I’m saying? You can do this. It’s not that hard. Then just schedule your gratitude time. Block it out on your calendar. “This is my gratitude time. This is part of volunteer management. This is part of what we do.”

Fifth, sound human. Nobody likes corporate messaging. Remember those posters that would have the leadership quote, and it was always dudes rowing on a river, all rowing together with a big generic Times New Roman font? That’s not what volunteering’s supposed to be. Volunteering’s supposed to be fun. So let’s make sure it’s human. Share your emotion. Admit that their help relieved your stress. Mention what surprised or impressed you about them. People don’t get seen as much as they should be.

Sixth, invite future connection. Let volunteers know they matter beyond the task. Encourage continuous involvement. “We’re lucky to have you as part of this community. We’re grateful. I’m grateful we get to work alongside you, and I’m looking forward to the next time we can do this together.” Right? Not a heavy pitch — a soft pitch.

All right, I promised I’d give you a framework. Now let me give you my four‑step framework. Four steps, that’s all it takes. This is the formula.

Step one: mention the specific action. We’ve talked a lot about specificity during this podcast. Mention that.

Step two: describe the impact — on you, on event‑goers, on service beneficiaries, on whoever, on other volunteers. Describe the impact.

Step three: acknowledge the person behind the action. Say, “I am so impressed by you and your compassion,” or “you and your humor,” or “your ability to manage a big room of people.” Just specific to that person.

Step four: end with a very warm expression of gratitude, and maybe something about what it meant for you.

Quick, four steps, easy. Keep it short — three to five sentences. That’s all it takes. My fellow volunteer’s note was three sentences, literally. I just looked at it before I jumped on to record this podcast. Very, very short, but really meaningful. Perfection’s not needed. Thoughtfulness matters. You don’t have to write an essay. Nobody’s reading essays anyway.

All right, I wanted to give you some copywriting prompts as well. So I hope you still have that piece of paper out. Here’s some sentence starters: “I noticed…”, “What stood out to me…”, “Because of your help…”, “You made a difference by…”, “I especially appreciated…”, “One thing I admire about you is…”

Use these as prompts, not necessarily exact templates, and think about what they prompt in your mind about that person. The best copywriting prompts do that — they don’t tell you exactly what to write; they tell you what to think about to write.

Also, think about using “I” statements: “I felt…” “You made me feel…” “I’m so…” Don’t make it generic to the organization. “Our organization thanks you” — no. Thank you notes are person to person.

So to recap: volunteer thank you notes are personal, specific, timely, mission‑focused, and superhuman — one superhuman to another superhuman.

Here’s the challenge for you. I’m going to give you this challenge right now: three volunteer thank you notes this week. Just three. Thank at least one behind‑the‑scenes volunteer — not the superstar, not the person everybody always thanks — somebody who is just dedicated, a calm, quiet, dedicated person. Then figure out how you’re going to make this a recurring habit. Reflect on how you feel once you’re done with these and you’ve mailed them. How do you feel? How does the action make you feel? Because I guarantee, if you make this a regular part — it’s like gratitude journaling, but somebody else benefits from it. How cool is that?

I also have a tool, a free tool, to help you get started. If you’re looking for quick ideas on how to create a meaningful thank you note, check out our free volunteer thank you letter cheat sheet on our Volpro website. You’ll never be stumped on what to say. It has a little bit longer formula — not better, but more involved framework — and an example. Go to the show notes page — we have the link there. You can also go to volpro.net and then “freebie volunteer thank you letter sample” (there are dashes in between, it’s just easier). Or just type into Google “Volunteer Pro freebie volunteer thank you letter sample,” and it’ll probably show up. Or just go to the show notes and click on the link.

Volunteer thank you notes are small actions that can create big loyalty. They’re also, in my mind, something that volunteers deserve. They are giving you their most precious asset, which is their time. It’s much more valuable than money — their time and attention. So I think they deserve to be thanked on a regular basis for that.

People may forget what they did exactly in their day‑to‑day tasks and during their shifts, but they will never forget the way that your organization — and you in particular — made them feel. So make this part of your regular management routine. It’s not an add‑on, it’s not optional. It’s part of what we do as leaders of volunteers — whether we do it full‑time, part‑time, as a volunteer, whether we supervise a team of volunteers or we engage volunteers for the entire organization. It’s a worthwhile practice.

So I hope this has been helpful. If you liked it, please share it with a friend or a colleague who could use a little bit of advice in this area. Also, we love star ratings — five‑star ratings — if you wouldn’t mind, because that helps other people who are interested in the topic of volunteer engagement find us.

I hope you’ll join me next week. I will be back with more tips, same time, same place on the Volunteer Nation.