Volunteer Appreciation Ideas for Remote Volunteers
With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, we’ve got some volunteer appreciation ideas that work even when you aren’t yet seeing volunteers face-to-face.
Your best volunteer appreciation ideas shouldn’t just be reserved for your annual luncheon or Volunteer Appreciation Week. Nor should they wait until the end of a big project or event.
Acknowledging the contributions of time and talent, big and small, should happen every day, all year ’round, for remote and in the office volunteers.
The good news is that you can acknowledge the work of your volunteers – or just let them know you are thinking about them – with one good old-fashioned method … snail mail.
Your busy schedule and “ginormous” to-do list may make this seem like wishful thinking, but here are some reasons why it’s important:
- Most volunteers understand how busy you are and knowing that you take time to personally thank them will make them feel valuable.
- Getting an actual card in the mail from an actual person is rare.
- Volunteers will appreciate your efficient use of resources. Many volunteers don’t want nonprofits to spend limited resources on plaques, pins, or slick mail campaigns.
- Day made! For some, this card will put a smile on their face their entire day.
Everyday Volunteer Appreciation Ideas: The K-I-S-S Principle
To keep volunteer appreciation manageable, keep it simple and create a habit. If you can’t manage it every day, simply jot down 3-5 people you want to send a note to each week. You can also send thank you notes to spouses, partners, bosses, and kids for supporting the volunteer in their community work.
To keep track of specifics about volunteers and their accomplishments, consider using your datebook, smartphone notes, or an online system like Evernote. You never know when that moment of gratitude will strike.
To make your life easy, put together a gratitude kit of the basic tools. Keep it your workspace, so that you are ready to go at any time.
Stock it with:
- Cards and Envelopes: Buy thank you notes in bulk when they are on sale, print some that have your organization’s info on them, or have your service beneficiaries make some by hand.
- Postage Stamps: Just ask for a pack of 20 from your bookkeeper or administration and keep them at your desk.
- Return Address Labels: Maybe there is an office stamp, or you can print out several sheets to have on hand using an easy label template.
- Your Volunteers’ Contact Info: Make sure it’s within easy reach.
Looking for more ideas? Check out this Guide to Creative Volunteer Appreciation >>
Write Simple, Power Thank You’s to Appreciate Volunteers
Follow these four steps to write clear and meaningful thank you notes that are hand-tailored to each volunteer.
Take care to focus on their achievements or progress, not on their personal attributes or character. People’s inherent personality is what they are born with and can’t change — what people do with it is another story. Compliment people on their initiative, not what they have little power to change.
6 Characteristics of the Perfect Volunteer Thank You Note
1. Make your note personal and acknowledge their specific contribution
This may seem super obvious but address your thank you letter or note using the volunteer’s name.
Tell them specifically what you’ve noticed or what they did that went above and beyond.
“Thanks for your time and commitment” is fine. “Thank you for staying late to scoop out 15 extra dog kennels,” says you know their time is valuable, and you noticed they gave it to your organization.
This could also be an opportunity to mention ways they’ve contributed in the past. Has this volunteer been with you for a long time? Have they served in other roles? Are they a donor?
You don’t have to write them a laundry list of their accomplishments but thinking about their history with your organization, and noting it when appropriate, makes your note even more personal. This lets the volunteer know you really see their worth.
2. Make your volunteer thank you notes and letters specific
Point to something a volunteer did, or the way they made someone feel, and say thank you specifically for that. Typically, you’d look for ways a volunteer goes above and beyond their role.
It also could be a place where you see the extraordinary in the ordinary. Maybe the “above and beyond” for your volunteer is that you know you can always count on them.
For example, “Tammy, you come to the shelter every week and quietly take care of the checklist of tasks. I saw you come in today, and it just struck me that I don’t know how we’d get through a week without your kind and consistent service.”
3. Connect your letter to the mission
Remember, volunteers are with you because they want to advance your mission with their own two hands. They really care about your work. When you communicate your gratitude, connect it to the mission in order to underscore the impact of their work.
They chose you and your organization for a reason. Remind them regularly that they chose well because they are making a difference with their work.
For example, “It may seem like washing towels and cleaning the dogs’ toys are simply busy work. But because you give your time to do these tasks, the rescue team was able to bring in five new dogs just last week. They can do that because they know you’re here to keep the kennels clean and safe.”
4. Make your letter timely
This is as much for you as it is for your volunteer. When you see or hear something you want to recognize, do it. Right away!
This way you won’t forget, and the experience is still fresh in the mind of the volunteer. Plus, the more quickly you acknowledge a positive experience, the sooner you reap the positive benefits from a happy, heart-warmed volunteer.
5. Be vulnerable and share something of yourself
This is easier for some than others but find a way to show how the volunteer’s actions or presence made you feel. You’re their person! Their leader!
Let them know you are personally impacted by their time – you are proud of how much they’ve given to the organization.
For example, “Kelly, we had been searching for someone with your skills for so long! Your work on our database has eased our whole intake process and the whole team is beyond grateful. Even more, I know how important it was for you to find a cause where you could really invest your skills, and I am personally so thankful that we connected. My work just got 10x easier, and I have you to thank for it. We are going to save so many more dogs now!”
6. Sign your name
Again, this might go without saying, but put pen to paper and sign your volunteer thank you letter. If you’re sending your note via email, still make sure to include a personal closing.
You’ll get bonus points if you can get a recipient of your organization’s services, a board member, your executive, or other high-ranking members of your team to write a note as well.
You’ll find that you benefit from volunteer appreciation, too!
Don’t be surprised when the warm fuzzies strike you as you sit down to do this. Research has shown that expressing gratitude on a regular basis can increase positive emotions, reduce the risk of depression, and increase our resilience under stress. Plus, you will deepen your relationships, which can make your volunteer team more productive.
Lead by example — you can cultivate an environment of gratitude that can spread throughout your volunteer team and into your organization by showing everyone how it’s done.
Prepping for a volunteer recognition event? Crush your speech with these INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES >>
Grab Our [Free] eBook: 50 Simple Volunteer Appreciation Ideas to Show Your Love
Have you downloaded our free eBook Volunteer Appreciation: 50 Simple Ideas to Show Your Love yet? If not, you’re in for a treat!
Wee share 50 ideas for recognizing volunteers. You’ll be sure to find some fresh ideas to recognize and reward your volunteer team.
Our recommendations are organized around the following five research-based volunteer motivations and provide ideas related to each theme:
- Values – a way to express ones altruistic and humanitarian values.
- Career – a way to improve career prospects.
- Social – a way to develop and strengthen social ties.
- Understanding – a way to gain knowledge, skills, and abilities.
- Protective Motives – a way of protecting the ego from the difficulties of life.
- Enhancement – a way to help the ego grow and develop.
As a bonus, there’s also a section on how to write a meaningful thank you note, with the tips we include in this blog post above.
The Ultimate Volunteer Reward: A Well-Run Volunteer Program
One of the best things you can do to acknowledge the valuable contributions of volunteers is to give them an exceptional place to do their work. It; all starts with solid volunteer program design and impeccable implementation.
No worries! We’ve got you covered!
Our training helps you develop developing systems and frameworks that add more predictability to your practice. Knowing what comes next, and what levers to pull to influence a specific result are super helpful to working in a calmer, more methodical way. Your volunteers will benefit, too!
If you’re not feeling completely organized around your volunteer program or strategy, and you’re just not sure what steps to take next, then our signature online course is the perfect fit for you.
Join the Waitlist for Our Next Session – Volunteer Management Fundamentals Certificate
Join us for the most comprehensive program in the field for leading a high-impact volunteer engagement strategy that works.
This online course is the only implementation program of its kind that not only shows you exactly how to attract qualified volunteers – but how to make your org the place they want to return to repeatedly.
Over 5 weeks of instruction, combined with weekly live Q&A coaching calls, you will learn everything you need to implement or make improvements to your volunteer programming. As a student, you’ll also be invited to our live Q&A coaching calls and have lifetime access to the course.
The Volunteer Management Fundamentals Certificate is the complete package to help you get there!
