Engaging Corporate Volunteers

National Volunteer Week – April 18 to 24, 2021

Are you ready? Volunteer Week is just around the corner! It is the perfect time for reaching out to connect with your corporate partners and to acknowledge corporate volunteerism. It is also the perfect opportunity to give a public shoutout to the companies that support you. They’ll be grateful you did!

This year’s theme for National Volunteer Week is The Value of One, The Power of Many and it reflects on and represents the inspiring acts of kindness done by millions of individuals over the last year. It demonstrates the power of what can happen when we come together to work towards a common purpose.

To build and retain long-term corporate partnerships, one of the core principles is to be in touch year-round. Volunteer Week provides another way you can connect with employees that are volunteering for your organization and say thank you to the companies that make that happen.

You can do this in a lot of different ways. But whatever way you choose saying thank you to your employees and acknowledging your corporate partners during Volunteer Week is a winning strategy.

Here are ideas to connect with your corporate partners who volunteer:

• Provide a thank you e-card that can be distributed internally to your sponsor’s employees.
• Write an article for your sponsor to include in their internal newsletter.
• Say thanks to your board – now is an ideal opportunity to send a personal thank you to each board member – handwritten from your CEO.
• Offer to present an award to a corporate employee who’s gone the extra mile for your organization.
• Do some “Throwback Thursday” or “Flashback Friday” posts on social media during Volunteer Week with photos of corporate volunteer groups at your organization.
• Send your partners a little Canva graphic that they could use on social that says, “Thank You”.
• For companies that may not provide employee volunteering, send personal thank you emails to your contact for their ongoing support. Even though it may be their “job”, acknowledging the above and beyond time and passion they invest in your organization will be appreciated.
• Host an early morning coffee drop-in to say thank you, virtually of course. It doesn’t have to be overly programmed, just a few words from a beneficiary and your ED.

Here are some resources to help:

• Check out the resources available in Volunteer Canada’s #NVW2021 Campaign Kit – it includes web banners, social media images and tip sheets, posters, printable thank you cards, and sample messaging.
• If you are looking for tokens of recognition for volunteers, see Volunteer Canada’s online shop.
• Wild Apricot has a great volunteer appreciation guide that offers recognition tips for small Non-profits and membership organizations.
• Fun recognition ideas that can be adapted in this blog by SignupGenius.

Most of all, have fun with it!! Recognizing volunteers is an opportunity to strengthen your partnerships. And it feels good! Let me know how it goes.

 If you have any questions or need a little extra help reach out to me at [email protected]