Volunteer Thank You Letters

If there's one thing you learn in volunteer leader training, it's the importance of letting your volunteers know how much you appreciate them. This can seem like a challenge until you realize one thing about showing gratitude—it's pretty easy when you're sincere! Sure, your volunteers will get a kick out of the grand gesture, but the small things can have the biggest impact.

Today, we're focusing on the importance of a personal touch in letting your volunteers know that you really are grateful for their hard work—the thank-you letter.

Thank you letters to volunteers are an important tool

Remember that thing about all you need to know you learned in kindergarten? Let's refresh your memory—always say thank you for volunteers. Your task? To create a culture where you instinctively thank your volunteers daily—just say thanks as they walk out the door, end a Zoom call, or sign off an email or text. Saying thanks never gets stale—as long as you're sincere. 

Sometimes, a volunteer goes the extra mile and you want to let them know how much you appreciate it. Enter the appreciation thank you letter to volunteers. Not an email or a text, but an honest-to-goodness personal communication—a letter that's either printed on your letterhead or handwritten on notepaper and sent through the mail. 

Here's how a thank-you for volunteering letter has a positive effect on your team:

• Motivation—personal recognition makes a volunteer work harder
• Volunteer retention—volunteers are more likely to stay where they feel personally appreciated
• Volunteer engagement—this type of individual appreciation encourages volunteers to be more active and engaged

Make "thank you for volunteering" letters part of your routine

We get it, you have a super busy schedule and hardly any time to dash off a text, much less a thoughtful note.

No worries—once you spend a little time preparing for your letter-writing, carve out some time a couple of days a week to actually write and mail the notes. It will be well worth the effort. 

You will need some basic supplies to write your volunteer appreciation letters. Keep a couple of sets handy at the office and in your work tote so you can write notes when you have a few minutes.

• Note cards and organization letterhead
• Pens with black ink
• Stamps

How easy is that? Note cards can be your personal cards, or generic thank you cards. In this case, it really is the thought that counts. 

When it comes to writing thank-you notes, timing is everything. Be sure to send notes within a week of the volunteer hours or event you are thanking them for. 

If you're not convinced of the benefit of thank-you letters, or you're worried your penmanship needs lots of work, consider the volunteer's perspective. They probably feel like an anonymous face in the crowd, and this personal attention dispels that notion and really makes them feel like part of the team. 

• Volunteers see how stretched you are; a personal note makes them feel truly valued by the organization
• People who donate their time to a nonprofit typically prefer a simple, heartfelt note to something 
• that diverts resources from the mission. 
• Personal mail is so rare these days—a thank-you letter will make their day!

Crafting a thank you letter for volunteering

Nobody wants to get a thank you letter that looks like you filled in the blanks. The hard part for many people is to think of something original to say every time they write such a letter. 

Relax—your volunteers don't expect Shakespearean prose. All you need to do is focus on a few of the details. Make sure you mention these fundamental elements in the body of the letter. If you're writing a thank you letter to church volunteers, for example, be sure your note takes the appropriate tone.

Touch on these highlights for each letter:

• What sacrifices has the volunteer made? 
• How have they made unique contributions to your volunteer corps?
• How have they been creative in overcoming obstacles?
• What skills or knowledge have they developed that benefits your organization?
• How have they been a morale booster or encouraged teamwork?
• What is their specific accomplishment? Was it a solo achievement or part of a team? 

Sample volunteer thank-you letters

Here are some great example Volunteer Thank You Letters from Venngage!