3 Ways to Show Employee Volunteers Appreciation This Global Volunteer Month

Global Volunteer Month

rapidly approaches in April, you’ll want to ensure you have a strategy in place for executing your organization’s social impact projects. But there’s something else we highly recommend employers take into account: employee recognition. Taking the time, effort and budget to properly recognize your employees and volunteers for their efforts during this month of volunteering can serve both you and them in the long run. Volunteer appreciation builds morale, boosts engagement, sparks passion and helps your programs thrive for years to come.

Here are three tips to Show your volunteers Appreciation during Global Volunteer Month

Nominate Them for a Daily Point of Light Award

Founded by President George H.W. Bush in 1993, the

Daily Point of Light

award program has been running strong for decades. To date, more than 7,000 Daily Point of Light honorees have been named. Each Daily Point of Light awardee receives recognition with a feature article on the Points of Light website, as well as networking and event benefits. Take Daily Point of Light Honoree

Paul Baccus

, for example. He’s a Bank of America employee who helps people create a lower cost of living and improve lives through better money habits and financial literacy. His mission is to empower people through knowledge about their finances.

Briana Haines

, a KPMG employee, volunteers her time with the Special Olympics, helping bring inclusivity and unity to unified golf athletes, in partnership with KPMG’s sponsorship programs. Taking the time to nominate a few outstanding volunteers for this prestigious award can help them feel seen and appreciated for their pro bono efforts.

“We all know that what is celebrated is replicated, which is exactly why recognizing and celebrating your volunteers is key to inspiring other employees to get involved. A volunteer recognition strategy is a path to communicating impact, boosting participation, shining a spotlight on causes, and reinforcing your company’s commitment to community.” — Katie Stearns, Chief Global Corporate Solutions Officer

Become a PVSA Certifying Organization

The

President’s Volunteer Service Award

helps you recognize your star volunteers, individuals whose service positively impacts communities in every corner of the nation and inspires those around them to take action, too. The inspiring changemakers from Le PeTiT CiRqUe are a testament to the unstoppable positive impact of our nation’s youth. Le PeTiT CiRqUe, a humanitarian-based elite cirque production company featuring pro-level youth from ages six to 15, recently had several performers awarded with President’s Volunteer Service Awards. Each person was deservedly awarded the Gold President’s Volunteer Service Award for more than 100 hours of service. This type of volunteer appreciation can really impact your program’s engagement, as well as making employees feel valued.

Check Out Our Global Volunteer Month Toolkits

Points of Light has created four toolkits for this year’s Global Volunteer Month. Each is tailored to a specific audience – nonprofits, companies, government officials and individuals. These toolkits are packed with ideas on how to implement your GVM projects, complete with communication tips and logos you can utilize across external and internal marketing materials. They also include additional ideas for recognition – some methods as easy as reposting your employees’ social media posts. Head over to the

Global Volunteer Month

page to download the toolkit that applies to you.

3 Reasons to Honor Outstanding Volunteers with Presidential Recognition

The

President’s Volunteer Service Award

is an opportunity to honor your most outstanding volunteers and recognize the impact they have on the community. This award honors people whose service makes a difference in every corner of the nation and inspires those around them to take action. Here are three reasons you should become an organization that is approved to provide the

President’s Volunteer Service Award to your volunteers.

1. It’s a prestigious award

The President’s Volunteer Service Award recognizes the United States’ most exceptional volunteers. Each volunteer receives a letter signed by the president that recognizes how their engagement has contributed to solving some of our country’s toughest challenges. That’s a pretty big honor and something that’s a once-in-a-lifetime special moment of recognition!

2. President’s Volunteer Service Awards motivate your volunteers and help with retention

Student Austin Sandel of Benton Central High School in Oxford, Indiana, helped his school become a Certifying Organization.

The spirit of

volunteerism

is a reward in and of itself, but it certainly feels good to be recognized. Your volunteers will appreciate the extra incentive and may be inspired to volunteer with your organization to earn a President’s Volunteer Service Award. Whether they are working towards a

medallion or a Lifetime Achievement Award

, volunteers may feel motivated to be recognized with this special award. Plus, earning special recognition helps volunteers feel connected to your organization.

Student Austin Sandel of Benton Central High School in Oxford, Indiana, shares, “I helped my rural high school become a Certifying Organization in order to boost opportunities for recognition and provide extra motivation for service and activism among my friends and classmates. Our principal wholeheartedly supports PVSA and now invites any graduate who earns the award to wear their medallion at commencement. As I pursue my college major in music education, I will continue to look for ways to serve.”

3. Being a Certifying Organization gives your organization credibility

An organization that can give out President’s Volunteer Service Awards is called a Certifying Organization. Becoming a Certifying Organization means your organization has been granted authority through an application and review process to give out the President’s Volunteer Service Award to volunteers. Certifying Organizations verify and certify that a volunteer has met the

requirements

to receive a President’s Volunteer Service Award and may choose from certificates, pins, coins and medals to award volunteers. The process is simple and takes only about two weeks.

Becoming a Certifying Organization signals to your partner organizations that you are uniquely qualified to honor your exceptional volunteers with this prestigious award. It says to your volunteers that you put a premium on their meaningful contributions to building community and making the world a better place for all.

Start your certification today