I knew going straight to the expert on the topic of appreciation would be the best way to finish up this series. But rather than just give us an article, Mike Robbins volunteered to do an interview!

In this 42 minute audio Mike shares practical ways to focus our attention on appreciating ourselves and others.

Press the play button to begin streaming the audio or right click on the text link and choose save as or save link.

Interview Notes:

1. The Definition of Appreciation
2. The 3 Most Important Aspects of Appreciating ourselves
3. The 3 Most Important Aspects of Appreciating others
4. Why appreciation is so important for non-profit leaders
5. Practical ways for non profits to put appreciation into action
6. Examples of non-profit organizations who have experienced a powerful impact through appreciation and how your group can easily use these same ideas
7. The one thing that you can put into action today that will make a lasting impact in your life and non-profit work

Find out more about Mike Robbins:

• The Power of Appreciation – article that introduces this topic
• Appreciation in Action – Mike’s free email newsletter
• Focus on the Good Stuff – Mike’s book

This article is part of the Appreciation series:

1. The Appreciation Challenge by Sandra Sims
2. 5 Ways to Show You Appreciate Your Donors by Sandra Sims
3. Showing Appreciation to Board Members by Sandra Sims
4. Volunteer Appreciation, Part I by Jim Berigan
5. Volunteer Appreciation, Part II by Jim Berigan
6. Interview with Mike Robbins: The Power of Appreciation for Non Profits by Sandra Sims

To Read the first installment of Volunteer Appreciation, please click here.

Yesterday, I introduced 10 ways that you could express appreciation to the volunteers in your organization. Here are ten more.

11. Make Them Feel Like a Part of the Team
I have worked in non-profit situations in which volunteers were considered to be a nice asset to have around occasionally, but no one fully grasped the true opportunity and value that the volunteers presented. For example, during a work weekend, volunteers would be stuck painting a fence, because it needed doing, but these people did nothing but hold a paint brush all day. We didn’t engage them in any kind of discussion to get their opinions on ways we could improve, nor did we solicit input on important policy decisions, although I now know that there were some pretty brilliant people painting that fence.

I wonder what it would be like to have a lot to offer and be willing to do so, but not to be asked, especially when you are right there. Therefore, I would strongly suggest that you do everything in your power to make a volunteer feel like a highly valued member of your team. Of course, there are matters which should strictly stay within the staff, but I believe volunteers can become a very valuable part of your organization. If you seek to include your volunteers in this way, you will go a long way toward making them feel appreciated.

12. Show Appreciation in Both Small and Large Ways
As a busy leader, it’s often difficult to remember to dole out those little signs of appreciation- like a pat on the back or a quick, but genuine word of thanks. These expressions don’t have to be elaborate or planned out. In fact, sometimes a spontaneous thank you is the best thank you of all.

On the other hand, items like a personally written thank you note, a t-shirt or hat with your organization’s logo on it, or two free movie tickets, for example, can be a very nice touch, as well. Try to mix your expressions of gratitude up a little bit. Your volunteers will feel honored and feel like they are a real part of the team.

13. Personally Greet Volunteers When They Arrive
I remember watching the television show “The Apprentice” with Donald Trump a few years ago. It was the season finale, and Donald showed up at the big gala event that each of the finalists had to organize and host. He actually deducted points from a finalist if he or she were not personally waiting for him with a warm, public greeting. I remember thinking how egotistical that was of him, but I do think that this is exactly the attitude that we should take with our volunteers.

You, as the leader, should position yourself so that you can personally greet the volunteers when they arrive. If this is impossible, you should absolutely make it a point to seek out all the volunteers as soon as possible and welcome them enthusiastically and sincerely. You see, the Donald wanted everybody at the party to see how important he was, because it fed his ego. I don’t believe your volunteers need that kind of ego boost, but if the leader makes it a priority to welcome each volunteer, it says that the organization places a huge value on their service.

Unfortunately, the opposite sends just as strong a message. Failure to welcome your volunteers early and warmly can result in the impression that you DON’T value their service. Which message do you want to send?

14. Include Volunteers in Your Mailing Lists
This may seem like an obvious point, but it can get easily overlooked. Make sure that each time a volunteer comes to work for you, that they sign in and update all of their contact information. This way, you can be sure to put their name on your “snail mail” and email lists. Because volunteers give so much to your organization, they should definitely be receiving all forms of communication you send out.

15. Instruct Your Staff to Adopt a Volunteer Friendly Attitude
If you put all of these recommendations in place, and you are appreciating the heck out of your volunteers, you will be doing a great service to your organization. However, if your example is not followed by your paid staff, all of that good will could be totally wiped away in a matter of minutes.

I am not saying that one of your staff members would purposely set out to offend your volunteers and sabotage your organization, but I do know that “stuff happens”. Sometimes inappropriate things are said, a staff member might choose to vent his frustrations about the organization to the volunteer, or a staff member might act in a way that would surprise a volunteer- and not in a good way.

Therefore, I would strongly suggest that you hold a staff meeting at the very beginning of your service year and explicitly instruct your staff on what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior in regards to volunteers. Talk about all the standards you hold yourself to and give them the reasons for doing so. I would also urge you to follow up with reminders throughout the year to keep the message fresh. Make sure the staff knows that their jobs would be much more difficult were it not for the generosity of the volunteers. Your entire organization needs to be on the same page when it comes to showing appreciation to your volunteers.

16. Maintain a Professional Relationship with Them
This point goes right along with the previous one about the entire staff adopting a volunteer-friendly attitude. It is very important to maintain a professionally friendly relationship with your volunteers. I know that this is easier written than done, and that in the real world of non-profits all sorts of personal relationships are in play. However, as the leader, you must make sure that you and your staff represent the very best of your organization, and that means being careful in the language you use, the things you say about other people, and the opinions you express.

I am sure that many of us have acted unprofessionally before, and it has backfired on us. Don’t let this happen with volunteers, or it is likely that volunteer will not feel appreciated, and you could lose their service in the future.

17. Be Patient with Know-It-Alls
We’ve all met this guy before. He’s the volunteer with a million ideas of how to doing things better. He’s the resident expert on everything, and he’ll talk anybody’s ear off who’ll listen. Every organization has at least one, maybe more.

While it is very easy to dismiss people like this and make fun of them behind their backs, that is not grasping the true meaning of appreciation. Imagine if somehow your mocking (or at least your open frustration) came back to him. That would not only crush the person’s spirit, but it would also cast a very bad light on you with the other volunteers. If they knew you spoke poorly of that one guy, what’s to stop you from doing the same to all the volunteers? Who wants or needs that? You could lose a huge portion of your volunteer core and severely damage your reputation.

So, the next time, the big mouth starts spouting off again, just smile, be patient, and remind yourself that you are doing what’s right and what’s good.

18. On Work Projects, Think about Things Like Gloves, Water, Breaks, Sun Screen, and Food
Basically, when you are planning any kind of an event with a significant volunteer presence, make sure you don’t forget all of the little things that make the experience more enjoyable. Or less painful. A lot of people might forget about sun screen or work gloves. Remember for them. Also, don’t forget to make sure volunteers have plenty of hydration. Give them lots of breaks. Keep them comfortable.

Remember, it’s the little things in life that add up, and if taken care of properly, you can really show your appreciation by doing them.

19. Create a Volunteer Wall of Fame Photo Board
Most people like a little bit of recognition for the hard work they’ve done. You can easily accomplish this by taking a lot of pictures and hanging them up on a bulletin board in your building. You could even pick a “Volunteer of the Month” and create a little biography of him or her. This is a great way to both honor your volunteers, as well as allow others to get to know them.

You could also carry this photo-type recognition further by including it in your organization’s newsletter. However, before you take or display anyone’s photo, make sure he or she has signed your image release form. There are legitimate concerns about this issue, so please take this seriously.

20. Do Thorough Background Checks
Sometimes it can be awkward to ask a volunteer to submit to a criminal background check, especially if you’ve known the person for a long time. However, in many states (if not all) this is now required in circumstances in which a volunteer is working with a minor child.

Most people will understand this requirement and will have no problem supplying you with the necessary information. I believe that in the long run, volunteers will actually feel that you are appreciating them by doing the right things for your organization. Being thorough, professional, and responsible will give the volunteer the impression that he or she is devoting valuable time in the right place.

Conclusion
For most non-profits, volunteers are a very pleasant fact of life. The more active a volunteer force you have, the more effective of an organization you will become. By committing yourself and your staff to the principals of volunteer appreciation, you will ensure a long and rich future for your organization.

This article is part of the Appreciation series.

1. The Appreciation Challenge by Sandra Sims
2. 5 Ways to Show You Appreciate Your Donors by Sandra Sims
3. Showing Appreciation to Board Members by Sandra Sims
4. Volunteer Appreciation, Part I by Jim Berigan
5. Volunteer Appreciation, Part II by Jim Berigan
6. Interview with Mike Robbins: The Power of Appreciation for Non Profits by Sandra Sims

As a leader of a non-profit organization, you will have many opportunities to utilize volunteer help. Not only do volunteers help an organization save money on paid staff, but they also become a vital part of the overall personality of the group.

In order to retain your current volunteers and to recruit new ones to your team, you need to have a well-developed commitment to appreciating all the service a volunteer gives. This commitment means more than just writing a thank you note, though that is a given.

I believe that in order to truly appreciate someone, you will have to do a number of things to your overall environment that will facilitate the volunteer having a quality experience.

1. Be Organized
First of all, it is important to remember that a volunteer, just like anybody else, is going to form opinions about you and your organization. One of the worst things a volunteer can see is chaos at an event or activity he or she is involved with. While the volunteer may never say anything negative to you, the opinion that yours is a disorganized group could stick and ultimately dissuade him or her from volunteering again. Remember, a person’s time is limited and valuable.

2. Have a Plan
In addition to being organized in a general sense, make sure that you have a specific plan set for each volunteer. Your person shouldn’t show up to an activity and ask you “Where should I go?” and you have no idea. Again, this will have a negative impact on the volunteer’s perception of your organization. Sometimes, the plan can be crafted with a volunteer’s specialty in mind, but at the very least, you should have generic job descriptions set up, in detail, for anyone to step in and fill.

3. Have a Back-Up Plan
There’s an old expression: “You’re only as good as your Plan B”. You, as the organization’s leader should have at least one back-up plan for each volunteer in case of inclement weather, a technical problem that prevents completion of a certain task, the absence of another volunteer, or whatever the case may be. If for whatever reason, your volunteer comes up to you in the middle of the day and needs re-assignment, you need to be ready to act smoothly and confidently, or else that volunteer could conclude you don’t have your act together.

4. Introduce Volunteers to Each Other
One of the reasons that people volunteer is to meet other, like-minded people. Keep this in mind when you are making job assignments. Unless it is for a specific reason, I wouldn’t have a volunteer work all alone. First of all, volunteers require a certain level of supervision, but secondly, it’s no fun to be by yourself.

You should also be cognizant of the people you pair up. Don’t put people tighter who have obvious differences. While it’s good to get to know all kinds of people, you also want to find volunteers who have something in common, so that they can build a bond.

5. Run a Solid Organization
While there are many reasons for running a solid organization, I would put forward a simple truth: solid organizations attract solid volunteers. Shaky organizations attract shaky volunteers. If you believe that volunteers can be of importance to your group, by all means, get the best volunteers. However, the only way to do this is to be an exemplary organization.

6. Take Security Seriously
One of the hallmarks of a good leader is providing a secure environment for his or her participants, staff, and volunteers. This means making sure that all personal records taken from the volunteers for things like background checks are securely filed away. It means making sure that volunteers’ belongings are stored in a secure location while they are working for you, and it means that you create an atmosphere in which all volunteers are valued and appreciated for their commitment and sacrifice.

7. Take Safety Seriously
One of the worst things that can happen during an activity is that a volunteer is injured or becomes ill as a result of something negligent on the organization’s part. It is incumbent upon you, the leader, to make sure the job site area is free from potential or real hazards. If there is any transportation involved with your volunteers, you must also ensure the vehicle is road-worthy and the driver is properly certified.

While the above paragraph references physical safety, there is also a person’s emotional safety to consider. While it is highly unusual that one volunteer would purposely insult or malign another volunteer, it can happen. Sometimes, just joking around on a jobsite can cause someone pain and distress. Therefore, you must keep a continual eye on all your volunteer activities and make sure everyone is getting along and staying on the safe side.

8. Make The Experience Fun
While you are busy getting organized and providing a safe and secure environment, don’t forget to have some fun along the way. The volunteers need to see you, the leader, relaxed and enjoying the day. Even if this means you have to fake it, it is important not to let the stresses of your job interfere with the volunteer experience. The volunteers likely have stresses all their own, and they absolutely do not want to get caught up in the drama of the place they choose to spend their volunteer time. If you, yourself, are not a “fun” person, or you are going through a particularly stressful time, make sure you get a surrogate to run the day for you, who will represent the organization as you would, but with a smiley face!

9. Make Sure Volunteers Have a High-Impact Experience
So far, we’ve talked a lot about the quality of the volunteer’s experience. And we’re not through yet. For the best way to make sure a volunteer feels appreciated, is to make sure he or she has the opportunity to make a meaningful contribution for the organization. The definition of “meaningful contribution” is going to differ from person to person, but keep this in mind when you are assigning tasks. If you have a volunteer who is also a certified electrician and charges $75 per hour in his real job, don’t stick him on the lawnmower. Let him use his brain and skills to improve your facilities. He will feel that he had a greater impact for the group and is more likely to return.

If your organization specializes in helping disadvantaged children, make sure that most, if not all, your volunteers have at lease one opportunity to interact with a child. Ultimately that would be the reason why a person volunteers. Make sure he or she can fulfill that original desire to make a real and profound difference.

10. Don’t Treat a Volunteer Like You Do an Employee
This point is especially true of repeat volunteers. People who come to serve your organization once or more per week quickly become a fixture around your group. And like staff members who are paid to show up every day, it becomes very easy to take these regular volunteers for granted.

Remember, your individual staff members went through an interview process and orientation training. They receive a regular paycheck for their efforts. Volunteers are giving of themselves- their time, their talent, and often of their money. In order to show how much you appreciate your volunteers, remember this fact when talking to them, when assigning them jobs, when thanking them, and when you are addressing others.

Part Two of “Volunteer Appreciation” tomorrow…

This article is part of the Appreciation series.

1. The Appreciation Challenge by Sandra Sims
2. 5 Ways to Show You Appreciate Your Donors by Sandra Sims
3. Showing Appreciation to Board Members by Sandra Sims
4. Volunteer Appreciation, Part I by Jim Berigan
5. Volunteer Appreciation, Part II by Jim Berigan
6. Interview with Mike Robbins: The Power of Appreciation for Non Profits by Sandra Sims

Today’s Appreciation Challenge is all about board members. I’ve been active on two different boards for several years now. Now in my role as president of one board, I’m especially interested in how to make the experience of serving on a board a positive one for all of the members.

Blue Avacado has a great article on this topic: Meaningful Acts of Appreciation for Boards and Staff – 7 Do’s and 2 Don’t’s. I’ve decided to put one of these into practice right away:

The day after a board meeting, whatever your role, phone the two people who helped make it a good meeting—the board president, the executive director, the treasurer or anyone who helped move a discussion forward. A quick phone message can be remarkably encouraging.

A little thank you note would be another option. One of my fellow board members once sent me a really nice email after a meeting that really made my day. I printed it out and still have it.

What actions have you or your group taken to show appreciation to board members?

This article is part of the Appreciation series.

1. The Appreciation Challenge by Sandra Sims
2. 5 Ways to Show You Appreciate Your Donors by Sandra Sims
3. Showing Appreciation to Board Members by Sandra Sims
4. Volunteer Appreciation, Part I by Jim Berigan
5. Volunteer Appreciation, Part II by Jim Berigan
6. Interview with Mike Robbins: The Power of Appreciation for Non Profits by Sandra Sims

As I was listening to Mike Robbins The Power of Appreciation audio CD recently, what stood out to me was the difference between true appreciation and just “saying thanks.” Appreciation is first a state of being, an “attitude of gratitude” and then secondly taking action.

While thank-you gifts, plaques or public acknowledgements have their place, the power of appreciation begins on a much more personal level. So today’s list of 5 ways of showing appreciation focus on this personal interaction.

1. Be Real. Genuineness wins out over slick any day of the week. Of course professionalism is a must, but don’t be afraid to let donors get to know you, as you get to know them.

2. Be Specific. When you write thank you notes, make phone calls or visits, be specific in your communications. How did their gift specifically help the cause? What specific talents or interests does the donor have that you can inquire about?

3. Listen. Most people donate to causes that they really care about. Take time to listen to their ideas, opinions and suggestions. Practice active listening – without interrupting or focusing on your own reply – and make notes about what they tell you in their donor record and notes to follow up when appropriate.

4. Respect their time. Simple rules of business (which are unfortunately often overlooked) apply to donor meetings and phone calls – be prepared, arrive on time and begin/end meetings on time. This applies to other forms of communication as well. Kivi Leroux Miller from Non Profit Marketing Tips says: “Make everything easy — from skimming your newsletter to contacting your office — or donors won’t do it.”

5. Reassure Them. Donors want to know that their money is going to make a difference in your cause. Ideally, they’d like to hear specific ways that donations help produce results on your mission. Jeff Brooks at Donor Power emphasizes the need for timely follow up to help reaffirm a donor’s decision to give.

So as you can see showing appreciation doesn’t have to be complex or cost anything at all. How do you see these principles currently at work with your donor relationships? What ways can they be put into greater action?

This article is part of the Appreciation series.

1. The Appreciation Challenge by Sandra Sims
2. 5 Ways to Show You Appreciate Your Donors by Sandra Sims
3. Showing Appreciation to Board Members by Sandra Sims
4. Volunteer Appreciation, Part I by Jim Berigan
5. Volunteer Appreciation, Part II by Jim Berigan
6. Interview with Mike Robbins: The Power of Appreciation for Non Profits by Sandra Sims

What if each day you took the time to give appreciation to someone you work with, a donor to your cause or a friend or family member? Perhaps it is possible that something as simple as showing people that you appreciate them could make a big impact.

Mike Robbins experienced this first hand and the amazing potential of giving appreciation drives him to share that idea with thousands of people as a motivational speaker and author.

There are many other people in our lives who we can show appreciation…our coworkers, clients, colleagues, friends, family and spouses. As non profit leaders, we can especially show appreciation to donors, volunteers, board members, foundations, corporate partners and last but not least, staff.

I challenge you to think of one person each week during the month of May who you can show appreciation. As Mike Robbins says “insight without action makes no difference.” So be sure to let them know!

Each week for the rest of May we’ll bring you simple ways to tap into the Power of Appreciation. Then we’ll ask you to post your comments letting us know how you put appreciation into action that week.

Are you up for the Appreciation Challenge?

This article is part of the Appreciation series.

1. The Appreciation Challenge by Sandra Sims
2. 5 Ways to Show You Appreciate Your Donors by Sandra Sims
3. Showing Appreciation to Board Members by Sandra Sims
4. Volunteer Appreciation, Part I by Jim Berigan
5. Volunteer Appreciation, Part II by Jim Berigan
6. Interview with Mike Robbins: The Power of Appreciation for Non Profits by Sandra Sims