Make it a Summer to Remember: Volunteer with your Family

Recognising and rewarding your volunteers acknowledges the vital part they play in your organisation and your activities and impact. It should be a key part of your strategy for volunteer retention. There are also some pitfalls that you also need to avoid. Here are some great ways you can recognise and reward your volunteers: Host an awards evening or other appreciation event, where employees and volunteers can come together. Special thank you events at key times like a summer picnic or Christmas party to thank volunteers are often very popular; they help volunteers to get to know one another and feel part of a team. Have Recognition Certificates for your volunteers Acknowledge birthdays, special events in a volunteer's life and thank them for significant efforts and achievements Thoughtful small gifts, such as flowers or chocolates, can be great to celebrate volunteering milestones Include volunteers in significant organisation events and in training (paying for volunteers to attend training as fine, as long as it is related to their volunteering) Provide regular feedback and the chance for two-way conversations; give them the chance to contribute and feel part of you organisation Look out for reward schemes for volunteers – we used the Room To Reward scheme to show our appreciation for our Admin volunteer, Opal - Opal's Award Reimbursing volunteers' out-of-pocket expenses is always recommended, and you should encourage them to claim. This isn't a reward, just a way of ensuring everyone can afford to volunteer, but it does help volunteers to feel appreciated and supported. (Since you shouldn’t be offering any sort of financial reward that could be construed as payment, make sure your system reimburses reasonable actual expenses incurred whilst volunteering) Remember that you should avoid the expectation of regular rewards, to avoid any interpretation of a contractual exchange in return for volunteering. Any tokens of recognition should be just that – thoughtful 'Thank you's rather than financially valuable. For more on volunteer retention, see here . Has your organisation successfully found a way to recognise and reward your volunteers? We’d love to share your stories, so please get in touch with us: [email protected]

Private enterprises and employers have always engaged with their communities and supported charitable activity, doing much more than just donating funds. Indeed many charities have been founded by business people and the experience and skills of professionals who choose to volunteer is often at the heart of charity governance and operations. What's newer is companies and employers explicitly developing volunteering strategies and policies. More corporates are including 'employer-supported volunteering' as part of their HR strategy and ESG/corporate citizenship, adopting a volunteering policy and designating a period of paid time for employee volunteering. Their motivation is often to show commitment to causes of importance to employees and other stakeholders, to boost local relationships, be part of creating positive impact in the community and to attract and retain purpose-driven employees (especially younger people). This relationship between private companies and not-for-profit organisations can be a wonderful experience all round and create fantastic partnerships and impact: charities and community groups gain from the engagement of skilled and experienced employees individuals enjoy their volunteering experience, broaden their experiences, feel happier, healthier and more connected to their community companies gain through motivated employees who have new experiences and enjoy being part of a company which is supporting positive change in its community. Some statistics illustrate this: the economic value of employer-supported volunteering was placed at £800-1300 per volunteer/year (ProBono Economics based on HM Treasury Guidance) with it leading to nearly a full day per year reduction in sickness/absence per employee, according to our friends at Go Volunteer Glos. They have prepared a very useful guide to employer-supported volunteering , with guidance for both employers and non-profit organisations. It highlights what to consider and provides lots of useful tips for preparing your strategy and designing your approach to make the most of this opportunity for fruitful partnerships. Remember that where they refer to 'Go Volunteer Glos', you have the same possibilities through us at GoVolHerts! Volunteering is a personal choice and can provide great personal meaning and satisfaction. By signposting employeers to the huge variety of roles available through GoVolHerts, employers can encourage their staff to find a volunteering opportunity in line with their own passion and in which they can gain maximum benefit. You can also search GoVolHerts for group opportunities by refining your search of opportunities suitable for groups/teams . Another advantage of volunteering via GoVolHerts is individuals can keep a record of volunteering activity hours on their profile, which is endorsed by the organisation they volunteer for. This can help employers to track the overall activities of employees (with their consent!) and to see the bigger picture of how they are having an impact in the community. Many local companies and charities are already partnering to make the most of corporate volunteering and we hope you'll consider joining them very soon. See our Corporate Volunteering page .

In this episode of our Volunteering Spotlight Series, we're talking to Hertfordshire Health Walks. They operate a free, volunteer led, countywide initiative which aims to encourage people of all ages and abilities to get outdoors, get more active and reap the benefits. You can apply for their roles here . Watch the full episode below!