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A Little Goes a Long Way - Recognizing Volunteers

In 1997, 7.5 million Canadians volunteered their time for almost 200,000 charitable and not-for-profit organizations across the country.

Volunteers bring to each organization a multitude of skills, experiences and knowledge. They give the organization credibility, new energy and ideas, increased capacity to meet service needs and, perhaps most importantly, strength.

Without volunteers, many of the thousands of voluntary-sector organizations could not survive. And because they are not paid, volunteers must be duly recognized in other, equally meaningful ways.

Volunteer recognition can come in a variety of formal and informal ways. A simple thank-you card or a flower often goes as far as a formal banquet, and they are much easier to coordinate!

According to Norah McClintock of the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy, regardless of the form of recognition to be used, "the best way to offer personal recognition is to link it to the volunteer's reasons for volunteering."

Recognizing Literacy Volunteers

Community Literacy of Ontario's Economic Value of Volunteers report reveals some interesting information about volunteer recognition. The good news is that 75% of literacy volunteers were "very satisfied" and 24% were "somewhat satisfied" with their volunteer experience. Less positive is that 28% of literacy volunteers said that they did not believe that volunteers get the recognition they deserve.

In CLO's recent research into practitioner training in Ontario, many tutors reported that they were less concerned with individual recognition and said that they would find it more valuable to highlight the collective importance of literacy volunteers in their community and throughout Ontario!

As a volunteer member of the literacy council board, my skills as a business person have been useful to our group in various ways from personnel issues to promotional efforts.
S.K., Hanover

Ways to Recognize Volunteers

There is no limit to the number of ways that an organization can recognize its volunteers. The following are a few suggestions that may help you come up with your own ideas:

  • Make the recognition meaningful to the volunteer based on their interests and motivations
  • Make it appropriate for the work completed
  • Make it real, not superficial
  • Provide recognition often
  • Be creative!

In addition to each volunteer's motivations, consider what type of person she or he is. This may help you decide what type of recognition will be most appropriate for that person. The chart below highlights several different volunteer values and accompanying ideas for recognition.

Volunteer Values Ideas for Recognizing
Recognition
  • Public announcements in the media, at public events, in newsletter and/or web site
  • Letters of reference
  • Certificates of accomplishment
  • Picture and write-up on the bulletin board
Personal and organizational achievements
  • Certificates upon completion of training
  • Reward upon completion of project
Relationships
  • Social gatherings
  • Organization pins, mugs, posters, etc.
  • Recognition of length of service

Looking for more ideas? The following web sites offer different suggestions and products that you can use:

Sources:

Community Literacy of Ontario and Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Rural Affairs. Beyond Recruitment: An Online Workshop About Recruiting & Maintaining Volunteers in the New Environment. Course Manual. Barrie: Community Literacy of Ontario. April/May 2000.

Huebner, Fiona and Kennedy, Lindsay. Skills for the Future. Barrie, Ontario: Community Literacy of Ontario. October 2000.

Informa Market Research Co. The Economic Value of Volunteers in Community Literacy Agencies in Ontario. Barrie: Community Literacy of Ontario. April 1998.

McClintock, Norah. Volunteering Numbers: Using the National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating for Fundraising. Toronto: Canadian Centre for Philanthropy. 2000. Part of the NSGVP On-line web site. www.nsgvp.org

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