Transform Your Volunteer Appreciation: Become a Service Enterprise Organization

Often organizations that I have worked with and supported pre-COVID had a big volunteer appreciation event, but during the pandemic those events had to be put on pause, so organizations began to ask volunteers how they really wanted to be appreciated. Many said a simple and genuine thank you, to use their time well and to include them in the organization. What better way to show volunteer appreciation than to invest in improving how your organization engages and supports them? During

Global Volunteer Month

, I encourage you to take a moment, pause and reflect on how your organization is engaging the skills, talents and time that volunteers are giving.

Do you have opportunities for volunteers to serve throughout your departments or service lines your organization offers?
Do you have volunteers and pro-bono services sprinkled throughout the organization chart?
Does your organization’s culture embrace volunteers as a key resource for realizing your mission?

If your organization’s culture doesn’t yet have answers to these questions, start by exploring how your organization can participate in Points of Light’s

Service Enterprise Program

, run by

AL!VE

(Association of Leaders in Volunteer Engagement). In addition to giving your volunteers a token gift and/or celebratory event, you can showcase all of the work your organization was able to accomplish due to their contributions, assure them that you are investing their time and talents in the most impactful ways, and that the organization recognizes and appreciates all that volunteers bring to the organization. This transformation doesn’t happen overnight, but with the help of our Service Enterprise Program, you can begin to evolve the organization’s culture through this change management process that helps nonprofit organizations effectively and efficiently leverage the time and talent of volunteers to help deliver their social mission. We realize that you may have a great

volunteer engagement

program, but to take it to the next level, to truly integrate volunteer engagement into the organization culture, you are going to need more. Service Enterprise helps your organization through this change management process. First, we facilitate a self-assessment research-based diagnostic and offer a debrief that will help your organization recognize the strengths and areas of opportunity that currently exist. Together, we select a team that will carry the organization through the change management process and bring together leadership, volunteer engagement professionals and more. The team attends training and has dedicated time and activities to focus on better engaging and supporting volunteers (and often all human capital) at the organization. You will also join a network of peers working toward operating as a Service Enterprise. This network often shares resources and helps each other along the journey. Your Service Enterprise Trainer will provide you with additional coaching and support to meet unique needs and address challenges within your organization. Imagine, at your next volunteer appreciation event or in your April 2024 newsletter, you’ll be able to tell your volunteers that you not only appreciate the way that they continue to lean in and fight for your cause by sharing their time and talents, but your organization has achieved the national volunteer engagement accreditation of Service Enterprise. As a Service Enterprise certified organization, they’ll know that their time is well invested when they spend it advocating for your mission. To learn more about Service Enterprise or how to connect with volunteer engagement professionals across the country contact Kayla Paulson at

[email protected]

or (319) 310-0901.

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.