3 Ways to Show Employee Volunteers Appreciation This Global Volunteer Month

As 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.