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Volunteer Recognition

Recognising our Volunteers
101 Ways to Recognise Volunteers

Recognising our Volunteers

How do you recognize your volunteers?

Is there a special place for them to park when they come to work
Do they receive certificates and pins at an annual dinner?
Does your program budget include funds to pay for special training registration fees?
Do they get a birthday card or Christmas card from you or the young people in your sport?

Recognition should be User-Oriented

Recognition takes many forms to meet the needs of the volunteers themselves. One of the most important things we can do for our volunteers is to understand the kinds of recognition that they value individually, and to work toward making that level of recognition possible. Remember, the "thank you" that comes from you as the volunteer manager is the only pay cheque the volunteers receive from our organisation.

It becomes our responsibility to assess our volunteers' styles and to try to meet their needs for recognition and appreciation if we are to keep them motivated and involved in our programs.

What is the best way to find out what our volunteers consider valuable recognition? Ask them!! By involving them in designing what our recognition programs look like, we give them some ownership in the process. For some, simply being asked for input is recognition!

Formal or Informal Recognition?

Consider

• a personal note to say thanks for job well done,
• an invitation to lunch.
• an ad in the local paper
• an article to let others know of the work being done by the volunteers in your organisation
• Including their name on a program they helped organise,
• thanking them in a newsletter,
• sending a card when they are sick or for their birthday,
• including them with a special mail box in the office to retrieve memos or files when they stop by

Factors to keep in mind

The more you know about a person or group of people, the more you can personalise their rewards. Recognition is more intangible than tangible; it is best built on a relationship of respect and appreciation that is transmitted in everyday language and action.

Find opportunities to recognise good works externally; find settings important to the contributor and reward them openly there.

Never give recognition because of what it will do for you; give it because you sincerely want to honor others.

Never give recognition when it is not deserved; everyone around will lose respect for the giver and the receiver will usually feel belittled.

Vary recognition efforts; make sure you are not tailoring rewards to what YOU would like, but rather to what is important to your volunteers.

Have fun with ideas for recognition; encourage people to play with ideas but make sure the "play" is never harmful. Roasts are wonderful if handled carefully, but can offer horror stories if inappropriate.

Give recognition unexpectedly: a quick note of thanks for instance.

Keep good records of recognitions, so that you can vary rewards to those who are around a long time.

Simple respect on a day to day basis and warm, specific thank yous are still the best tools for building a good recognition process.

Timing is critical in recognising individuals in your program. Recognise contributions throughout a project, not just at the completion. Small thank yous along the way often add up to mean more than one huge thank you at the end of a long volunteer activity or project.

Have fun!

Make it creative and interesting -- remember, it must meet their needs to be valued. Recognition is one of our tools for motivating volunteers to stick with us -- use it wisely and often!

101 Ways to Recognise Volunteers

1. Formal recognition events (dinners, teas, dessert buffets, etc.) held during National Volunteer Week (May)
2. Special gifts
3. Thank you cards
4. Articles on individual volunteers in organization newsletter
5. Volunteer of the Month
6. Free coffee and treats for on-site volunteers
7. Name badges
8. Articles about your volunteer(s) in the local newspaper or your newsletter
9. Pizza for teen volunteers
10. Gift certificates or coupons to local restaurants or amusements
11. Paint a mural dedicated to the volunteers at your club/association
12. Help interested volunteers prepare their resumes, with emphasis on the skills they have developed through their volunteer work
13. Take photos of volunteers "on the job", imprint a thankyou message and frame them - then give them to the volunteer
14. Have a joint volunteer and staff recognition luncheon
15. Ask volunteers to give presentations or lead meetings
16. Ask volunteers to share their ideas
17. Ask volunteers to train other volunteers - eg: older volunteers to mentor the young (possibly through the Challenge and Pathways in Sport -CAPS- program)
18. Run a guessing competition using volunteer baby photos and service descriptions. Provide blue ribbons for all participants and a door prize for the winner
19. Design a tote-bag with club logo and a thankyou message decorating each side
20. Run a Volunteer Picnic for volunteers and their families
21. Acknowledge volunteer efforts during committee meetings
22. Create a care package for volunteers who are leaving: include items the volunteer may need in their new field of endeavour
23. Get children who receive the services of volunteers to create Thank You Posters for the volunteers - display these in your foyer or club room
24. Run a sponsored walk - with funds raised going towards volunteer training
25. Take your volunteers out for a day at the beach
26. Run a Volunteer Dance - decorate the venue with blue ribbons and balloons, lighting etc
27. Make a exhibition of "Volunteers in Sport and Recreation" in your community- join with other clubs/associations in your municipality to create a colourful display- approach your library or local council to display the exhibit
28. Create a volunteer display on the office noticeboard: with volunteer photos posted on blue stars, under the heading of "Our Brightest Stars are our Volunteers"
29. Run a Volunteer Fun Nite with games, quizzes and supper
30. Create a Volunteer Appreciation Card for volunteers to show in their municipality for specific discounts
31. Run a Self-Care workshop for your volunteers - Volunteering Tasmania (62335613) can help
32. Know the volunteers names, the names of their partners, kids or pets and ask about how they are
33. Birthday, anniversary and holiday cards - check out the free electronic mail service: www.baudville.com
34. Make photo magnets for volunteers- have staff posed with a thankyou sign for example
35. For long-standing volunteers, collect coins in the amount of hours contributed, place them in a vase tied with a royal blue ribbon and present to them at a special afternoon tea
36. Plaques in public areas
37. Organization logo t-shirts
38. Pay registration fees (or part of) for continuing education classes or conferences
39. Write a newsletter for your volunteers with helpful hints and network/training information
40. Print names of all volunteers in weekly/monthly corporate/agency newsletter
41. Send cards to volunteers on special days and for special deeds
42. Recognize volunteers at events honouring paid staff service awards.
43. Invite volunteers to participate in workshops and involve them as speakers
44. Have a volunteer theatre night: eg: "Court Capers"- with volunteers arrested for "giving freely of their time, talents, and treasures" and sentenced to a free dinner with door prizes
45. Collect 5 cents for each volunteer hour contributed each week- donate the money to a charity of a volunteer's choice in the volunteer's name
46. Have a volunteer vs staff cricket match/ hockey match/ climbing wall/billy cart race/ tennis round-robin etc with prizes for all volunteers
47. Have a young people's disco with DJ and prizes
48. Run a Pizza and Activity night for young volunteers
49. Have a Volunteer Coordinator's lunch with coordinators from other clubs/associations
50. Have a morning tea with testimonials from recipients of services to the volunteers
51. Run a theme dinner eg; "Handful Of Thanks"/ "A World of Thanks" with decorations, centrepieces, certificates and music
52. Nominate long-standing volunteer role models to name awards after
53. Send a thankyou card to the families of volunteers, thanking them for their support and reminding them how valuable volunteers are to your organisation
54. Have a staff-run dinner for volunteers, with staff assigned roles and wearing a "uniform" ( as waiters)
55. Fill a champagne glass with chocolates and a note: "A toast to a job well done!"
56. Run "potluck lunches/dinners" at different sites per month
57. Letter to the volunteer's family- letting the family know how much the person's work has contributed, and thanking the family for supporting the volunteer in their efforts
58. Letter to the person's employer/co-workers detailing the contribution your volunteer makes and how much he/she is valued by the organisation
59. Letter to person's teachers/academic advisors/school principles
60. Letter to volunteer from (or a visit with) the beneficiary of the volunteers services. Let the volunteer really see, hear and feel the end result of their work
61. Encouraging and supporting continuing education or training
62. Get a small packet of nuts, attach magnetic tape and give to volunteers with a note saying: "We'd go nuts without your support"
63. Articles on individual volunteers on the organization's Web site or even a Web page salute to volunteers, listing them all and thanking them for their help
64. Providing space for ads for volunteers' businesses in your newsletter
65. Providing volunteers with "Entertainment Book" coupons for the cinema, sport and recreation centres, theatre etc. ( could arrange a discount with businesses)
66. A special parking spot for a month - consider swapping with paid staff!
67. Tickets to cultural events
68. Arrange discounts for your volunteers at local shops
69. Help them get connected to the Internet by arranging free net access for them and/or having special Internet training for them even if the job they are doing for you has nothing to do with the net
70. Share outcome evaluation results with volunteers showing their impact on clients and programs
71. Have staff and clients write comments and quotes about the difference volunteers make to be printed in a booklet and shared at a recognition event or mailed.
72. Ask volunteer to choose a book to be added to club/associations library then acknowledge the volunteer on a name plate which reads, "In recognition of the volunteer help given to (club/association) by: (person's name) during (Year(s).
73. Provide the volunteers with an item of sport equipment with club/association logo
74. Mug with logo or Thankyou motif
75. Give your volunteers a 'sweet treat' every once in a while ( eg: Hershey's Kiss) to say thankyou
76. Create bookmarks for the volunteers with an acknowledgment of appreciation for work contributed
77. Create an Photo Honour Roll of volunteers . Place it in prominent spot in agency or in newsletter doing volunteer work
78. Create Volunteer buttons and pins
79. Give your volunteers a "St. Voluntaire" medal
80. Temporary tattoos for young volunteers - with club logo or volunteer message
81. Give each volunteer a packet of safety pins - with the note: "you are bright and shiny and totally indispensable"
82. Give each volunteer a packet of lifesavers, wrapped in raffia with the note: " Volunteers are lifesavers"
83. Have volunteer messages printed on balloons - release them at one of your events- one balloon for each volunteer or each hour contributed toward the running of the event
84. Design stickers with volunteer messages
85. Have a BBQ for your volunteers- either at the club/association or at a national park
86. Give volunteers personalised cards on their birthday, anniversary (of service) and at festive times
87. Nominate your volunteers for community awards through your council, Sport and Recreation awards through Sport and Recreation Tasmania, State Volunteering Awards through Volunteering Tasmania, and Sport Star Awards through Tas Sport - call Shirley Johnstone for details (03) 62335613
88. Have personal hand-written notes from the Board to volunteers
89. Give each volunteer a box of candles with the following note attached: "No-one holds a candle to you" or " You lighten the load by volunteering"
90. Dedicate an area of the club house or a room in your office to the volunteers. Place a plaque with volunteer names upon the wall
91. Create a "Walk of Fame" at the club/association grounds with volunteer names engraved into the bricks/pavers
92. Provide petrol vouchers for volunteers
93. Award life membership to volunteers
94. Plant a garden near your club house- dedicate it to the volunteers- with each plant representing each volunteer in your organisation
95. Give each volunteer a small bag of salt with the note: "You are the salt of the earth"
96. Run a Volunteer's Breakfast
97. Profile "Worker of the Month" - from staff and volunteers- in newsletter or on bulletin board
98. Provide each volunteers with a 4-sided Alphabet block: eg: A is for appreciation, B is for bright ideas, C is for Commitment, D is for Dedication
99. Run a Volunteer's Olympics and give each participant a gold (chocolate) medal for their contribution to your organisation
100. Arrange for free or discounted use of facilities to volunteers and their families
101. Provide volunteers with Post it Notes with logo or thankyou message