Be thankful for new volunteers - and show it!

Have you had some new volunteers get themselves involved in your organization in the new year? As school schedules change and new year resolutions have been brewing in the last few weeks, you may ave seen a bit of a surge in response to your recruitment efforts.  If this is the case - congratulations! BUT, don't stop working now.

If you want volunteers to come and stay, make them feel appreciated early on.  There is no one way to make a volunteer feel appreciated.  In fact - many feel most appreciated from individualized acts of recognition.  One volunteer may love your verbal "thank yous," but another might want more formal recognition to truly feel valued.  Maybe you have a volunteer who needs to hear the thanks from a client to feel the difference they are making, or maybe they'd rather hear it from the executive director. Try asking your volunteers how they like to feel appreciated. Or, try having your volunteers fill out a survey that includes their preference for appreciations when they fill out an application or interview.

If you're not sure what to do for appreciations, go with a hand-written thank you note.  Check out the HandsOn Blog for some great tips on writing personal thank yous that your volunteers will love.