10 Ways to Reward Your School Fundraising Volunteers
It’s likely your volunteers have spent several hours, days and weekends working unpaid and changed their schedules to help you with your fundraising activities. Since you can’t afford to pay volunteers for their time at a fundraising event, there are several other ways to say thank you. Here is a list of 10 things you can do to tell your volunteers that they mean the world to you without cutting into your school fundraising funds.
1. A thank you barbeque or potluck
2. An awards ceremony with a t-shirt of the school or organization
3. A certificate with their achievement
4. Gift certificates- Oftentimes gift certificates can be given as a donation from companies participating as a sponsor for your event
5. Complimentary coffee and donuts on the event day
6. If your event is medium to small, you could bake thank you cookies or make sandwiches for everyone
7. Take each volunteer’s picture and post it online or in the newspaper with a thank you
8. Hand-made bookmarks or photos made into a calendar from the event or even a CD of pictures from the event is a nice keepsake
9. A packet of seeds to grow, create long lasting reminders of a job well done
10. If it is a charity golf tournament then a thank you golf ball or a bag of tees with a thank you note is always appreciated.
It’s important to have volunteers of course, but in order for you to focus on running a successful event, you may need the help of a volunteer coordinator. With the help of a volunteer coordinator, you will be able to know that your volunteer committee is being organized and the details are being figured out, while you work on the nuts and bolts of making your event an unforgettable one.
No matter what you choose to do for your volunteers, know that the smallest tokens of thank you really are appreciated. Don’t forget that if you want to do a little more for your volunteers, you can budget in thank you gifts as part of your fundraising budget.