Volunteer Appreciation Ideas for National Volunteer Week and All Year

Volunteers are not paid, cannot be promoted and can leave whenever they like. Appreciation is not a bonus for them; it is most of what an organization has to offer in return. That is why how volunteers are thanked deserves a plan.

This page covers National Volunteer Week, the other fixed date worth knowing, and ideas for the rest of the year, sorted by how much they cost. The awards themselves, including what to give a volunteer of the year, are covered on volunteer awards.

National Volunteer Week

National Volunteer Week was established in 1974 and is held each April. It is promoted by Points of Light, the nonprofit dedicated to volunteer service, which announces each year’s dates and theme. Check its announcement before printing anything with dates on it, because the week is not fixed to the same days every year.

It is the natural anchor for a volunteer program’s calendar. Most organizations use it for their main thank-you event, their annual awards or both, because volunteers, donors and local press are all already paying attention.

International Volunteer Day

The second fixed point is International Volunteer Day on December 5, an observance mandated by the United Nations General Assembly in 1985. It falls on the same date every year. In 2027, December 5 is a Sunday.

For many organizations December is the better moment for a quieter, personal thank-you: a card or a call at the end of the year, with the public event kept for April. Using both dates means volunteers hear from you twice a year at a minimum, roughly six months apart.

Ideas that cost nothing

• A personal thank-you that names the work. “Thank you for volunteering” is polite. “You have opened the pantry every Saturday since March” is appreciation.
• A call or note from the director or board chair. Thanks from the top of the organization lands differently from thanks from the person who schedules shifts.
• Show the result. Tell volunteers what their hours produced: meals served, trails cleared, children coached. People volunteer for the outcome.
• Public credit. Names in the newsletter, on the website, on a board in the lobby, with permission.
• A reference or a letter. For students and job seekers, a written record of what they did is worth a great deal.
• Ask their opinion. Inviting long-serving volunteers into planning says their judgment is valued, not just their time.

Appreciation plaque wording has lines written for volunteers that work equally well in a card.

Ideas on a small budget

• A volunteer breakfast or potluck. Staff and board serve; volunteers sit down.
• A pin for every volunteer. Small enough to give to everyone, and something people wear. A new design each year, or pins marking years of service, gives volunteers something to collect.
• A group photo, printed. Taken at the event and handed out or mailed afterward.
• A volunteer of the month. One name a month on a perpetual plaque where volunteers sign in.
• Something from a local sponsor. A business that supports the organization may be glad to thank its volunteers in kind, and can be thanked in turn with a sponsor plaque.

An annual volunteer recognition event

A yearly event, usually during National Volunteer Week, is the centerpiece of most programs. It does not need to be large. It needs four things:

1. Everyone thanked. A keepsake, a certificate or a pin for every volunteer, so nobody leaves empty-handed.
2. A few people singled out. Volunteer of the year, a rookie award, a youth award, long-service milestones. Volunteer awards covers the categories and what to put on each.
3. The year’s results. A short account of what the volunteers made possible.
4. A program that ends on time. The award ceremony program guide has a running order, and the ceremony script gives the emcee words to adapt.

We do not print certificates, but we build the awards, plaques, medallions and pins in acrylic, wood and metal, with no minimum order, so one volunteer-of-the-year award is as normal an order as pins for four hundred people. You approve a design proof before anything is produced. Request a quote with your event date so the schedule can be confirmed against it.

Recognizing years of service

Long service is the easiest thing to recognize fairly, because it is a fact. Decide the milestones, such as one, five, ten and twenty years, and mark each the same way for everyone. Many organizations use a pin for early milestones and a plaque or award for the later ones.

The structure is the same one companies use for staff, described in years of service awards. The one adjustment for volunteers: decide in advance whether you count years or hours, and keep the records to back it up.

Year-round habits that matter more than any event

• Thank people at the end of every shift, by name.
• Have their materials, their task and a contact ready when they arrive. Being organized is a form of respect.
• Mark first shifts and return visits. A new volunteer who is welcomed back by name on the second visit has a reason to come a third time.
• Tell them when something they suggested gets done.
• Notice when someone stops coming, and ask why.

None of this replaces the April event, and the April event cannot replace it. Volunteers who feel useful and noticed every time they show up are the ones still there next year.

Corporate volunteer programs

Companies that run their own volunteer days have two groups to thank: the employees who gave the time, and the nonprofit partners that hosted them. For employees, a volunteer award within the company’s recognition program puts service on the same footing as sales or tenure; employee award categories includes community service awards. For partners, a plaque presented at the end of the year is a simple and lasting thank-you.

What to avoid

• Thanks that only reach the visible volunteers. The person who does the data entry at home counts as much as the one at the front of the event.
• Awards with no stated reason. If nobody can say why one volunteer was chosen over another, the award creates resentment. Publish the criteria.
• An event at a time volunteers cannot attend. A weekday lunch excludes everyone who volunteers because they work weekdays.
• Spending that looks out of proportion. Volunteers notice when a nonprofit spends heavily on thanking them. Modest and personal is the right register.
• Misspelled names. On a card it is embarrassing; on an engraved award it is permanent. Check every name with the person.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is National Volunteer Week?

It is held each April. Points of Light, which promotes the week, announces the exact dates and theme each year, so check its announcement before printing anything dated.

When did National Volunteer Week start?

It was established in 1974 and has been held every year since.

When is International Volunteer Day?

December 5 every year. It is an international observance mandated by the United Nations General Assembly in 1985.

What is a good way to thank volunteers with no budget?

A personal thank-you that names what the person did, a note or call from the director or board chair, public credit in the newsletter, and telling volunteers what their hours achieved.

What do you give a volunteer of the year?

Usually an individual award or plaque with their name, the year and a specific reason, often alongside their name on a perpetual plaque the organization keeps. The volunteer awards page covers the options.