Recognizing Volunteers:

Volunteer Motivation

Recognition makes volunteers feel appreciated and valued. If volunteers feel like their contribution is valuable or necessary, they are more likely to volunteer again. Volunteer recognition can take many forms, from a simple thank-you card to a large annual event. One way to increase recognition and retention is to keep your volunteers motivated throughout their service experience.

Motivate volunteers by maintaining good communication with them from the very beginning of their involvement in your service activities. Motivate them to stay interested and involved in your project with a few simple steps:

• Be prompt in your response to phone calls/e-mails. Return volunteer calls or e-mails within 24 hours.
• Be thorough in your explanation of the volunteer duties. Volunteers will be more likely to sign up if they know exactly what they will be doing, and they will know what to expect at the project.
• Use this opportunity to teach potential volunteers about the issue area, the community service organization they will be serving, and the potential impact of the project.
• Use their names often; this helps develop a personal connection.
• Keep the commitments you make. People will not support you if you don’t provide information requested, address issues they bring up, and/or miss scheduled appointments.

Continue to be in contact with your team. Keeping volunteers motivated and excited about your project is the best guarantee for success! The more contact you provide, the more engaged your volunteers will be, and the more motivated they will be when they arrive. Also, respond to people’s inquiries in a timely and thorough manner.

Make sure to confirm project details with them. Contact volunteers with a phone call or e-mail that:

• Introduces you (or another staff person, partner, or volunteer) as the project leader
• Thanks them for volunteering
• Provides the date and time of the project, service site address, directions, and parking information
• Describes what will occur at the project
• Lets volunteers know what to wear or not wear to the project
• Encourages volunteers to bring supplies they may have
• Tells volunteers whom to contact if they have a change in plans

By communicating all details and project background to volunteers and staying in touch with them frequently, they will begin to create an attachment to your organization and the project even before they arrive. Thus they are more likely to show up on the day of the project and want to stay involved with your program for future volunteer opportunities.

Portions of the above information are taken from materials by Make A Difference, a member organization of Hands On Network; Volunteer Management by Steve McCurley and Rick Lynch (1997); http://www.serviceleader.org; and http://www.independentsector.org.

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