Association Chat: Thanking Volunteers

Thank You Charm by Beth on Flickr
https://flic.kr/p/7vybea

How do we show our volunteers that we appreciate them throughout the year? Certainly there are the reminders on our calendars. In April we celebrate National Volunteer Month (with National Volunteer Week taking the spotlight) and in November we celebrate Thanksgiving, which is a natural time to show our gratitude for all sorts of things including volunteers.

Some associations have created dynamic volunteer programs that do a good job of making the volunteer feel appreciated on a regular basis, but how do they do that? What kind of acknowledgement are volunteers really expecting from their associations? Why is it important that associations put thought into their volunteer programs?

We'll be discussing the importance of thanking volunteers throughout the year during this Association Chat.


Questions I'll ask:

1. What key features must a healthy volunteer program possess?
2. Why is thanking volunteers so important for organizations?
3. What kind of recognition do volunteers expect from an organization?
4. In what creative ways have you seen organizations thanking their volunteers?
5. How often should organizations thank their volunteers? 
6. How can organizations recognize different levels of volunteerism?
7. What would delight you as a volunteer?
8. How can you thank a volunteer today?
9. In what ways can you help your organization better thank volunteers in the future?

How to participate in Association Chat:
If you'd like to check out Association Chat, just remember to jump onto Twitter on Tuesdays at 2 pm EST using the hashtag #assnchat.

If you'd like an easy and relaxing experience with the chat, I like to use Nurph for easily following along. The Nurph link to use for Association Chat is http://nurph.com/assnchat.

Next Week's Chat Topic: Mentoring and Your Personal Growth (in honor of national "Thank a Teacher Day!")