Personalizing your volunteer recognition component of your program is the best form of showing appreciation for the contribution of volunteers. A generic message does not recognize an individual's contribution, which is the only external cue that tells a volunteer that they are doing a good and worthy job.

 

Here are some helpful hints on recognizing your volunteers:

 

 

 

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The following are a few recognition ideas that you can customize to fit your volunteers:

 

One idea to recognize volunteers is to take a small box of raisins, attach a strip of magnetic tape to the back and attach a small note saying "Thanks for raisin all those funds". These can be put on refrigerators or filling cabinets at work.

 

Here are a few other versions of this idea: 

Give your volunteers a bag of mixed nuts with a note attached stating, "We would go 'nuts' without your support!". This is a great, but simple, recognition for volunteers.

 

Use votive candles for National Volunteer Week. Wrap them in cellophane and tie them with a note stating, "You light up the lives of so many!". You can also use notes stating, "You lighten our load by volunteering."

 

Historical context: Fill an heirloom box with artifacts from the organization's past, and include a note that says "Thank you for being part of our history in the making".

 

Use a special method of recognition by naming awards after long-standing, stellar volunteer role models. Additionally, they have a 'batch' of volunteers that enter their organization together, during specific times of the year. These groups are usually 'named' after an extraordinary volunteer, a namesake, if you will. Part of this group's orientation includes information about this individual, and if possible, the honoree also addresses the group.

 

Historical context: Include as much historical background about this person as possible in the orientation.

 

Use children's drawings to make a bookmark. Laminate it and include a message on the back. It's a wonderful token and also inexpensive!

 

Historical context: Pictures could be of a past charitable event and the message could be historic.

 

The United Way does the usual recognition dinner, certificates, plaques, personally signed letters, etc. However, the United Way of Gloucester County's most popular recognition program is "Thank You Posters" created by children from local agencies. These hand-drawn posters are very popular and hang in the main lobby of several large companies. They don't cost much to produce, just some posterboard and crayons/markers. Plus, the children enjoy creating them and often create more than one. They have been doing this for five years now and the activity gets more popular each year.

 

Historical context: Have youth depict their vision of how volunteering has helped shaped Canada's values and identity.

 

The Volunteer Caring Kit can include:

Historical context: Include one artifact from your organization's past and include a note about how all volunteers make a difference.

 

It's not earth-shattering, but volunteers really appreciate and respond to the personal notes sent out periodically by the Wheelchair Recycling Program Manager. On their organization's note-cards, or specially chosen cards for the individual volunteer, the volunteers are reminded of how important his/her efforts are to the organization. A recently accomplished task or project is emphasized and shown how it affected the organizations operation. When a volunteer group is hosted by the organization, the number of volunteers is multiplied by the number of hours they've worked, then divided out to let the volunteers know how many (non-stop!) eight hour days it would have taken the tiny staff to complete the same volume of work. It's often quite staggering!

 

One agency that serves the deaf by reading and interpreting information recognized their volunteers in a very special way. The volunteers didn't usually interact with the clients, since the reading was done over the radio. At the recognition event, each volunteer had a letter at his/her plate that was dictated by a listener of the show for which the volunteer read. The letter spoke about the reader and how his/her tone of voice made the listener feel and how it helped the listener to hear the piece of the newspaper that was read (or whatever). The letters were typed on special paper and framed nicely. The coordination of it was work, of course, but the recognition didn't take any time away from the event, which already had a full agenda. The volunteers reported it was the recognition with the most impact they had ever received. They heard directly from their listeners and learned how important they were - personally.

For several years, the County Commissioners (of Colorado USA) have awarded mini-grants to volunteers in the County government volunteer programs. Volunteers submit proposals for grants that will benefit the work of their volunteer program, the clients served by the volunteer program, or the program volunteers. Examples of this are: a demonstration project; the enhancement of a current project; the purchase of a piece of equipment or supplies that will improve or enhance the volunteer experience or the volunteer program; training or publications that will increase volunteer skills or knowledge. Awards are made at a Commissioners' meeting followed by a reception. The volunteers are recognized publicly as are the very creative programs in which they work.

 

Some ideas that are not the usual plaque or certificate:

 

One Community Action Agency relies heavily on volunteers for everything from filing to riding school buses. An event was celebrated recently where each of the program directors discussed how volunteers helped to run the programs. While each director talked, their staff helped to build brownie sundaes. One program started with the foundations (plates), the next put the brownies, then the whipped topping, cherries and nuts until we had 150 sundaes. It symbolized visually how our volunteers affect each part of our organization and by working together we can accomplish great things!

 

For two months before the recognition event, the director of volunteers of a mental health centre began to take photographs of volunteers while they were "on the job". They thought this was for PR purposes. At the event, each volunteer received a photo of him/herself in a matte frame imprinted with a 'thank you' message.

 

Historical context: Use black and white film and develop the pictures with a sepia tone and put in an old-fashioned frame. The message on the frame could say "Thanks for being part of our past, our present, and our future."

 

Graduating student volunteers can be given a special seminar on resume writing, with emphasis on how they can describe their volunteer work as a credential that would impress prospective employers or university admissions officers.

 

Many years ago South Carolina had a construction project going on downtown with a rather ugly protective wall. The Volunteer Centre coordinated a community-wide volunteer recognition event that started with permission to paint this wall (it surrounded a complete city block) and the donated services of an artist who painted an outline all around it of people of every description tugging together on a rope.

 

The local agencies were asked to submit photographs of a representative volunteer. The photos were blown up and placed on the faces of the painted people in the mural. And then, on a designated day, all the volunteers from all the agencies were invited to come out and paint in the rest of the mural with all sorts of colours! The mural painting itself generated publicity that day (and new knowledge of volunteering in the community) and the mural stayed up for the duration of the construction project.

Historical context: The mural could depict volunteers through time and what they may have done in the community.

 

-Volunteer Victoria 

Volunteer Victoria recognizes the valuable contribution of youth volunteers by sending Youth Recognition Certificates to high schools and elementary schools. The certificates are presented at the schools' Awards Day ceremonies.

 

-Community Volunteer Centre Association of Lethbridge 

Each year, a commemorative tree is planted in honor of the community's volunteers, with a different volunteer group representing Lethbridge's volunteer corps each year. The city donates the labor to plant the tree in the Volunteer Grove of Trees, a local business sponsors the tree, and an agency dedicates the tree to volunteers.

 

-Halton Social Planning Council and Volunteer Centre 

The centre dedicates a park bench to the area's volunteers. The bench-which overlooks a lake-is bought with a grant from the city. The centre holds a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the dedication of the bench.

 

-Sefton CVS Volunteer Bureau 

The certificate, which is signed by the city's Mayor, is believed to help enhance a volunteer's job prospects, promote good practice, and raise the status of volunteering. In order to qualify for acceptance into the Volunteer Certificate activity, voluntary groups must adopt good practice and agree to a job description with the volunteers.

 

* Reprinted with permission from Energize Inc. Check out www.energizeinc.com for more ideas!