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Nonprofit Q&AA service of Jeane Vogel and Fund Raising Innovations April 30, 2004
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Here is this week’s question:What’s an appropriate way to thank volunteers? I don’t want to spend a lot of money and my volunteers are busy people.
Thanks for asking about volunteers. I’m not sure it’s possible to thank people too often. Recognition is so important because it shows your gratitude for someone’s time and talent, and it encourages others to volunteer because they see how appreciated their efforts will be.
Last week’s Nonprofit Q&A addressed the different possible motivations a board member might have. Volunteers have similar motivations. They want to be with friends, they want to meet new people, they want power or control, they really believe in the mission. More than anything else, volunteers want to be acknowledged.
I know that sounds selfish and egotistical, but think about it. We want to know our volunteer work has meaning. We want to know our time and experience is valued. Sometimes, we want a little chotchke to put on the shelf.
Recognitions will motivate volunteers, will turn them into donors, and bind them emotionally to your organization. Recognition is status.
The care and feeding of volunteers is an art. One of the biggest mistakes organizations make with volunteers is to take them for granted. Volunteers are not servants and they are not staff members. It is reasonable to expect volunteers to show up on time, do the task they volunteered to do and generally share their expertise. It’s not reasonable to expect volunteers to abandon their lives to fulfill your needs. Volunteers need to know what’s expected of them and what their job is. If the volunteer is in a position of providing direct service to clients, she needs to be trained, supervised and evaluated.
Volunteers need to be given enough authority to complete their task, to have enough guidance to do their work, and to have their opinion valued when asked. Volunteers are a lot of work!
But they provide invaluable extra hands and skills, connections to the community and introductions to donors. They’re worth the effort! Recognize it!
Here are some general guidelines for rewarding your unpaid workers: § Keep the reward in proportion to the work done. Don’t go overboard in rewarding simple tasks. You won’t be able to keep it up. Regular volunteers don’t expect to be thanked for every little thing, though it doesn’t hurt to say “thank you” often. § Keep the recognition in keeping with the mission and values of your organization. § Listen to your volunteers. How do they like to be honored? If they don’t want plaques, don’t given them plaques. But don’t let modest volunteers escape without recognition either – eventually they will feel ignored and taken advantage of. § Make your recognitions classy and meaningful. Framed art produced by children is a nice gift for volunteers at a center for abused children, for example. § Establish a scale of volunteer awards that encourages volunteers to continue their work and achieve higher recognition. § Give small tokens of appreciation at events. Lapel pins, coffee mugs with logos and paperweights are common gifts that are useful and emotionally tie the volunteer to your organization. § Always thank your donors in newsletters or event programs. § Consider making a permanent display somewhere in a public part of your agency that acknowledges the work of you volunteers and names them.
There are as many ways to recognize volunteers as there are volunteer jobs to do. Your recognition style will depend on your budget, your mission and your volunteers. Remember that recognition serves two purposes: to thank your volunteers and reward their efforts, and to encourage others to join your volunteer team.
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