While it might seem a bit mercenary, many of these thank yous can also be turned into marketing/media posts. Keep in mind it’s not just about recruitment, it’s about retention. People seeing volunteers be appreciated and having fun encourages them to volunteer. Volunteers seeing themselves get appreciated love to share online and it also helps keep them engaged. This is the second post in this series, the first one can be found here.
If you have an office or facility where the nonprofit lives:
- Give them a dedicated parking spot for the day (putting a sign out there for all to see, is good for other volunteers and donors to see)
- Design a “volunteer spotlight” photo wall. (don’t forget to share pictures of it on your social media)
- Leave sticky notes of thanks on their lockers or workspaces (if you have physical space and can offer lockers).
- Make a gratitude wall (don’t forget to share pictures of it on social media! )
- Print their photo (with permission) and a kind quote in the lobby/entrance. (If they don’t want a recent photo, see if they have a photo of themselves as a kid (and note that)
Comfort and Hospitality
- Offer coffee, tea, water, and soda or juice during shifts (onsite and offsite)
- Keep snacks stocked in the volunteer area. (And have them available offsite if doing volunteer work)
- Offer weather-appropriate gear (like rain ponchos or sunscreen; insect repellent is also a plus)
- Provide hot chocolate or cider on cold days (make sure there are some sugar free/low sugar/healthy options)
- Keep spare phone chargers available (don’t forget the cords too; there are some great dual-type cords out there that can fit multiple types of phones)
- Stock a “volunteer comfort” basket with hand lotion, sanitizer, tissues, gum, etc.(bring for offsite events too)
- Decorate the volunteer room for holidays (if you have an office, don’t forget to share pictures of it on social media and get your volunteers involved to help decorate or make decorations)
- Offer cooling towels in summer (and give them to volunteers as thank you gifts.)
Meaningful Gestures
- Personalize name tags (making the first name big enough to read from several feet away is also helpful to other volunteers and anyone interacting with them)
- Remember their favorite drink or snack. Giving someone their favorite candy bar can surprise you and make a volunteer smile.
- Use their preferred pronouns (this goes without saying how impactful this is)
- Ask how their day is going (just checking with volunteers gives them a chance to let you know things are groovy or something that could help improve either their nonprofit volunteering experience and your nonprofit)
- Celebrate small wins with them (let them know about testimonials that come in, feedback from events, big and small donations, let them know the work they help with makes a difference)
- Invite them to share feedback (feedback is a gift; you want good feedback and feedback that may say you need room for improvement. Some volunteers may not feel comfortable putting their names on things passed along, so offer the opportunity for anonymous feedback. Google Forms is a great way to have specific questions asked and also have open areas where volunteers can add information and remain anonymous)
- Offer “thinking of you” notes and send cards during tough times (cards are old-fashioned, but they are meaningful, and it only takes a minute to write one out. A fun added community volunteer project is to make cards, and some of these can be used as well)
- Ask for their opinions in planning (coordinators and primaries of many nonprofits don’t think to ask for input and ideas from volunteers, especially for events. I’ve found you get some of the best ideas, the best feedback, the best workarounds of past problems (and maybe not aware there were problems prior) in asking volunteers to give some of their opinions and let’s not forget many of them have untapped expertise)
- Send a welcome letter before their first shift (It could be an email too, but acknowledging someone just coming in for the first time makes a volunteer feel welcomed right from the get-go.)
- Call just to say thank you (you can never tell volunteers thank you too many times)
- Remember their interests and ask about them (this is where having an onboarding interview and an onboarding questionnaire
- Give a personalized book recommendation (see above)
- Gift them a small plant with a tag saying, “Thanks for helping us grow” (small gifts that are meaningful are a wonderful way to show appreciation, especially ones that a volunteer can nurture)
- Make a small keepsake or ornament for them (something relevant to the nonprofit is always fun.)
- Make a custom crossword or word search with their name in it (there are multiple free tools online to make these, just do a Google search for the sites)
Fun and Celebration
- Host a game night (during volunteer onboarding, it’s a great question to ask (what they like to play) and also what kinds of things might be of interest for group activities)
- Organize a “just for fun” volunteer outing (see above suggestion, but things like hiking, going bowling, going to see a show concentrate on things that are low cost whether you are paying for everyone or everyone is going Dutch)
- Create a bingo card with fun volunteer moments (this could be things like volunteered at the Apple harvest festival, or helped with a game booth, or helped prepare someone to speak at an event)
- Give small seasonal gifts (e.g., candy canes, pumpkin spice tea)
- Host a trivia contest (go one step further and make the trivia questions, questions about the nonprofit. It helps buy in and helps volunteers get to know the nonprofit better)
- Make small award certificates (while this might seem silly, it can still be fun for volunteers to be appreciated for things: e.g. best handwriting for a homemade sign boards, best group photo social media taker, you could give a golden heart award for someone who always shows up with kindness, a spark plug award for the person who energizes every room they are in, a sunshine award for the volunteer who brightens everyone’s day, the MacGyver award for someone who can fix anything in a pinch, the early bird award for the volunteer who always arrives first, the GPS award for the volunteer who knows exactly where everything always is, the tech work whisperer award for the volunteer who always saves the day with technology, etc.)
- Throw a mini birthday party (you could have a birthday party for everyone who has a birthday that month, some homemade cupcakes, a little ice cream and have some cards that everybody else can sign for everyone having a birthday that month)
- Celebrate holidays (e.g.,Martin Luther King Day of Service, national volunteer week, global youth service day, Earth Day, World Environment Day, Juneteenth, which is also a day of community care, international day of charity, world mental health day, make a difference day, giving Tuesday, international volunteer day, national volunteer month, random acts of kindness day/week, world, cleanup, day, national day of Hope)
- Have a volunteer karaoke night (with digital technology at our fingertips we don’t need to rent karaoke machines anymore, and if it’s a small group, you don’t need a microphone, if you have a bigger group, but a low budget, you can also use a computer mic and route the sound of people singing through a computer with some speakers)
- Invite them to be in a fun team TikTok or Reel video (encourage them to dress up in any branded apparel that you might have so you can also use this for advertising, but make this a fun event for volunteers. The marketing is secondary)
- Set up a photo booth (most photo booth rentals come with props, but this can be a fun activity for volunteers to do together and make some homemade props)
- Run a “mystery treat” day (in your volunteer getting to know you interviews, (see next blog post) find out if volunteers have allergies or severe dislikes, this helps everyone be able to enjoy the treats, home made Rice Krispies treats are pretty much always a winner)
- Do a themed dress-up day (if the nonprofit has a mascot or an image as part of its logo, that’s an easy one; if not, what represents the nonprofit the most? Feeding the hungry, volunteers could dress up as fruits or vegetables; a pet rescue, volunteers could dress up as animals; a home repair nonprofit, volunteers could dress up as tools, etc.)
- Host a movie night (find a feel good movie that will appeal to everyone and have positive messaging. Movies like the Iron Giant, while animated, hit the heartstrings. The Soloist, which is based on a true story about a journalist helping a homeless musician. A few more: The Peanut Butter Falcon, The King’s Speech, Pick of the Litter, The Martian. Finding Forrester and Soul)
- Give out temporary tattoos or buttons (temporary tattoos are not expensive to order and are also useful to give out at events for the kids (and adults) and buttons are also inexpensive to order and/or make. A logo is good to incorporate, but if you have a short tagline to include if the logo doesn’t get the point across of what the nonprofit does, don’t be afraid to include it)
- Let them vote on a celebration theme (many nonprofits have 5, 10, 15 years and more anniversaries and other events that they might celebrate, include your volunteers in the discussion, don’t keep the discussion to board members and employees)
- Run a “guess the baby photo” contest (once a month or once a week *if you have a lot of employees. Give a small prize to the first person who guesses the right answer)
- Do a “volunteer pet of the month” slideshow (put it on your socials, ask permission first though please before posting as to what to include for information. For safety reasons don’t tag your volunteers and don’t name the pets)
