Thanking volunteers is essential, but it can also be expensive! As a result, it is important for every volunteer manager to have a working list of inexpensive volunteer appreciation gift ideas in their toolbox.
In fact, 4 out of 5 volunteers want the organizations with which they work to show appreciation. But their preferred appreciation markers are generally the low-cost and no-cost options. A simple thank you can go a long way.
Appreciation gifts can take you even further, though, towards your goals of volunteer fulfillment in working with you and retention to help you again in the future. Here are some top volunteer appreciation gift ideas, as well as some tips for using volunteer management software to improve your gifting process.
A Party!
Most volunteers have a subsidiary goal of meeting new people and socializing through their volunteer work. One of the best ways to show appreciation without having to purchase individual gifts for the entire team is to throw a party.
The party does not need to be an extravagant get-together. Some ideas to keep it low-cost or no-cost:
- Host the party at your own event space, and purchase inexpensive finger food that people love (i.e. pizza, sandwiches, empanadas). Keeping the food light will eliminate the need for cutlery rentals. You might even be able to get food donations or discounts from a local restaurant or caterer.
- Intermix the party with a fundraiser. Some restaurants in your area likely have programs for hosting charitable events, where they will give a certain amount of the revenues that night to your organization. Inviting your volunteers to celebrate on that night might encourage them to bring their friends and family to dine. Their dinner can help offset your costs!
- Host a picnic in the park, where everyone brings their own lunch, and you supply the dessert.
- One other idea is to have a team sports party, inviting everyone to get together to play basketball, soccer, or softball at the local field or court. All you have to bring is some water and snacks.
A Great Meal
If your volunteers are like family, as they are in most nonprofits, you might consider asking your executive director or a board member to host a lunch or dinner event at their house or vacation property. Your volunteers will be honored to be respected by leadership.
The food can be simple, like a barbeque, to keep the costs low. The important part is the invitation and the camaraderie. You might ask some of your staff to play guitar and sing, or provide some sort of other jovial entertainment to make the event even more meaningful.
Gift Tickets to Events
Community partners might be willing to give you discounts (or no cost) tickets to events for your volunteers. Local minor league sports teams, or friends in your network that have musical bands or event venues might be able to help.
You can utilize volunteer software to help you better understand your volunteers and track their interests to personalize tickets, too. Golden, for example, can help you set up questions when volunteers are onboarding to list their interests and hobbies. The platform can also help you link to volunteers’ social media and personal volunteer pages to see what they do for fun.
Unique Training Opportunities
One way to show appreciation is to ask volunteers what they would like to learn and incorporate learning into your volunteer program as appreciation. Here are some examples of what this tactic may look like:
- Volunteers for a nature organization help with events but love the rehabilitated birds on site. As a thank you, volunteer managers can organize an event to train people in handling the owls and hawks.
- Child literacy tutors work online twice a week to help children improve their reading goals. These are community members who love children, love teaching, and love to read but likely do not have other outlets in their lives to fulfill those passions. As an appreciation for all of their hard work, you can organize a training event with teachers to learn new pedagogical skills. The training will make them better volunteers and also help them meet their goal of feeling like teachers for a day.
- A dog guide program asks families to raise puppies that will be returned to them in a year to receive training as seeing eye/therapy/police dogs. You can organize a training event to thank these wonderful families and their children, where they get to meet up with their pups again a year into their training. A day in the life of real police work or therapy work will help them better serve your program and also show appreciation for their sacrifice in rearing the animals.
Coupons for a Free Service
One of the best inexpensive volunteer appreciation gift ideas is a coupon for a free service in the community. You can likely convince businesses such as nail salons to offer these at a low cost to you. Businesses that are new to your community will appreciate the marketing!
Summer Care Packages
If volunteers have been helping you the entire school year, it may be time to show your appreciation with a beach getaway bundle or backyard grill kit. You can organize low-cost or no-cost packages by using materials on hand to design baskets, such as flowers and vegetables from your community garden. Either way, marking the season helps show gratitude for completing an era of good work.
Personalized Thank You Cards
Thank you cards with personal notes and messages are one of the least expensive gift ideas for volunteer appreciation out there. They are also one of the most meaningful.
You can use programs like Golden’s volunteer management software to help you automate these processes. By linking with virtually any CSR system out there, the system can automatically mail, email, or text thank yous to your volunteers. AI integrations can even help you write notes.
A Gift Card to Their Favorite Restaurant or Store
Gift cards to popular local restaurants or stores are always popular. They are more personal than cash but hold real value. Some stores will provide these for free or at a discount for nonprofits, too.
You can give all volunteers the same cards, or personalize the give-away by tracking what their interests are. Ask them where they like to shop or dine and note the response! You can use Golden’s automated tools to collect the data, too, and seamlessly integrate it into your management process.
Skincare Kits
Women and men alike love a great skincare or bath kit. You can create gender-specific gift sets or incorporate uni-sex skincare staples. A relaxing face mask, cold weather skin lotion, or reparative balm all say thank you for your hard work.
Blankets and Pillows
You can have either blankets or pillows custom-made with special messages or your logo to provide unique but valued gifts to your volunteers. Everyone can use more of these comfort items in their homes. The whole family can enjoy them!
Calendars
If your organization produces a yearly calendar for end-of-year gifts, this can be a very inexpensive but meaningful present for your volunteers. You can have calendars custom made, alternatively, with photos and inspirations from your organization. This is a great way to showcase how volunteers have helped you all year long and how that work is helping you advance your cause.
Chocolate and Candy
Most people love to receive chocolate or candy as a gift. Even if they are on a special diet, they can usually share it with their family and friends. You can personalize notes on the boxes or gift bags to make the candy more meaningful.
Also, you can track the favorite comfort foods of your volunteers during their work with you and buy each one a bag of snacks for a special thank-you treat. This is a quick and inexpensive way to really personalize the appreciation gesture. Some might be more into fresh fruits than chocolates, and going out of your way to give them apples vs. oranges vs. dark chocolate or white chocolate can really show you care!
Flower seeds and plants
A potted plant or a tree are wonderful gifts, but they might be too expensive for some organizations. A way around the cost is to make beautiful planters from recycled materials and provide a kit of seeds for them to grow their gifts at home.
Those planters can even be custom-made by your beneficiaries. Ask the children with whom you work to spend a special craft day painting re-purposed plastic bottles or non-recyclable materials.
Mugs and Dishes
There are thousands of online and local stores that will print photos and messages on mugs, plates, glasses, metal water bottles, and other containers. Get creative! Your volunteers will love a mug with a meaningful snapshot of their favorite beneficiaries to remind them that the work they do matters and is appreciated by your team.
Photo Frames
Photo frames are another great, inexpensive gift for volunteer appreciation. You can usually buy these in bulk at a local wholesaler or online. Filling the frame with a special photo or letter thanking the volunteer for their service will make it even more special.
In Sum, You Don’t Have to Break the Budget
Luckily, the best volunteer appreciation gift ideas are generally the least expensive! Volunteers care about you and your cause, and they do not usually want to see you break the budget to thank them.
That said, they do want to know that their work matters and appreciation is a critical part of the volunteer management process. Tools like Golden volunteer management software can help you research and track your volunteers’ interests and even automate your thinking to make it simpler to comply with your appreciation goals. Then, you can easily apply your favorite appreciation gift ideas when the time is best.
