Volunteers will typically offer their support and services as they want to be part of a group or community that wants to change the world positively. So, it is crucial to consider the volunteers’ motives for volunteering with your organization as you seek a satisfactory way to appreciate them.
As an organization that receives voluntary services from the public, it is imperative to recognize and appreciate the efforts of each volunteer who donated their time and energy without compensation. A thank you letter is an excellent way to express your appreciation to the volunteers. In addition, the letters are beneficial in encouraging volunteers to work for you. However, adding a personal touch to the letter is essential as such letters are believed to have a more significant impact.
This article will discuss the importance of thank you letters for volunteers, why you should prepare them, and several writing tips.
Volunteer Thank You Letter Templates
You can use ready-made templates to craft thank-you letters for volunteers. The templates provide a general structure of how you can properly and formally organize information to thank volunteers properly and formally. You can download such templates from below for free. The templates are readily customizable and easy to use; thus, they help speed up the writing process.
What are Thank You Letters for Volunteers?
A thank you letter for a volunteer is a letter that formally acknowledges the voluntary services of a person towards a cause.
Volunteers offer their time, energy, and talents to the cause and thus play a vital role in the engine of each non-profit organization. The organization to which the volunteer offered their valuable time and energy without pay, in turn, offers an appreciation letter to acknowledge the volunteers’ efforts. It also shows how the cause has benefitted from voluntary services.
Such thank-you letters have become more significant, especially when volunteers face certain risks, observe intricate safety measures and offer volunteer services under complicated conditions due to the pandemic.
In addition, volunteers are sources of unique and quality talent. This can be beneficial to any social or political cause. Since it would be easier to contribute financially for most people, volunteering is considered more appreciable. The appreciation letter should be direct and objective.
So, you should mention that you appreciate the volunteer’s services and how their support has benefited your organization or cause. Also, mention that their presence was significant to the cause and organization.
Why Should You Write Volunteer Thank You Letter?
Thank you letters for volunteers are vital to any effective volunteer management plan. A thank you letter for a volunteer serves as a formal acknowledgment of the efforts and assistance of each volunteer. It also opens up a communication channel between the volunteer and the organization.
Your volunteers will feel more appreciated if they receive a formal acknowledgment from your end. They understand that you have a busy schedule, and thus, taking your time to issue a personal thank you means a lot to most volunteers. This, in turn, promotes volunteer retention and saves the organization resources for training new volunteers as it inspires the volunteers to return.
Thank you letters to your volunteers foster a personal connection with your volunteers. This encourages volunteers to offer the best services possible as they feel they are part of your organization. Letters are also a way to consolidate relationships. When you thank new volunteers, they feel appreciated and may want to become part of your community by either volunteering again or supporting your cause in the future.
Some volunteer programs may require the volunteers to take on some job-associated risk, for example, working during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is polite and professional to acknowledge the volunteer’s efforts during such instances. Lastly, such letters are an excellent way to put a smile on the volunteers’ faces. This is especially true when you are specific about how the volunteer helped the organization, as it shows they are appreciated personally.
6 Easy Steps to Write Volunteer Thank You Letter
You can write a thank-you letter to each volunteer regardless of the circumstances under which they completed their volunteer. However, before writing the letter, you should consider the volunteer’s efforts and note their noteworthy achievements and contributions.
Once you have content to include in the letter, you can adopt the following procedure to craft an effective letter:
Step 1: Thank them for their efforts and help
Write an authentic opening by mentioning that you are glad for their services. This is an integral part of the letter. It is essential to thank each volunteer for their contribution as it encourages them to come back. In addition, it shows your appreciation for the time they put in. Finally, it is also a way to affirm the importance of their contributions and efforts.
For Example:
Kindly receive this letter as a formal acknowledgment and appreciation for your voluntary efforts towards the Eagles and Angles Foundation.
Step 2: Discuss what they have done and its impact
It would be best to mention the volunteer’s contribution to your organization and state how their help and efforts have enabled you to achieve specific organizational goals. You can also state what their accomplishments were and how the organization was able to benefit from them.
For Example:
Your clerical services helped organize events by ensuring accurate documentation and reporting within the organization. This was essential in relaying information between the different departments and to different stakeholders.
Step 3: Highlight future volunteering opportunities
In addition to thanking the volunteer for their contribution, you should also mention future opportunities for volunteering. For instance, if you have any upcoming events, you can mention them in the letter. This section should mention the availability of the opportunity without insisting the volunteer.
For Example:
With regard to the Eagles and Angles Foundation, we are planning a fund-raising event shortly. We would be grateful if you could support us by volunteering at this critical event. The event details will be provided once further consultation is done with our organization.
Step 4: Remind them why they have volunteered
Next, you should remind the volunteers why they volunteered in the first place. You can do so by mentioning the reason they gave when applying for the volunteer program or referencing something the volunteer mentioned while volunteering. This lets them know that you were listening and you care about their interests.
This section is an excellent way to keep volunteers motivated and inspired to continue offering services. You can also mention how they started and encourage them to apply for more senior roles in the organization. Finally, you can mention the growth opportunities, whether it is an opportunity to join an event committee, the board of directors, an online campaign, etc. This a great way of introducing volunteers to opportunities they did not know existed.
For Example:
We are grateful to you for being part of our journey to improve the life quality of the less fortunate in New York by taking an active role in our volunteering programs. You can further lift your personal growth by undertaking additional roles in the South-Bound Homeless People Train campaign that will start later this year. It would be our privilege to welcome you to a broad community of people dedicated to making the world a better place through our education and feeding programs.
Step 5: Add a personal statement of gratitude
You should then include a personal note of gratitude. The note can be a reflection on their contributions. It is advisable to have this section written by someone who interacted with the volunteer. This section is also great for you to give recommendations, praise, and recognition for outstanding volunteers.
For Example:
Thank you for making a difference with your outstanding skills in customer service! We are grateful for your contribution.
Step 6: Write the closing
Lastly, conclude the letter with a genuine closing. The closing can mention how you hope to meet them again at a future event or wish them happy holidays or a prosperous future, as applicable.
For Example:
We wish you a fruitful future and hope to work with you on any of our future projects. All the best.
Volunteer Thank You Letter Template
Subject: Thank You, [volunteer’s name]
Dear [volunteer name],
Our team at [organization name] would like to appreciate you for your help in the [event or project name], which was meant to [cause]. We are grateful for [specify the volunteer’s contributions].
Without your services, the team would have had a difficult time [specify a goal that would not have been fulfilled without the volunteer’s services]. However, with your assistance with [specific actions the volunteer undertook], we were able [specify the resulting impact].
We take this chance to inform you of [mention any future volunteering opportunities]. If interested, you can look for a role that aligns with your skill set. In addition, it would be a chance to further your [remind them why they volunteered].
Kindly accept our heartfelt appreciation for [mention something specific you thank them for in a personal statement of gratitude].
[Closing]
[Name]
[Title]
Organization]Â Â
Volunteer Thank You Letter Sample
Subject: Thank You for Volunteering
Dear James Wilder,
Beyond Borders Foundation Centre is writing to thank you for supporting our organization. We are indebted for the time and effort you have contributed towards our cause of providing healthy meals to homeless people in the last six months.
As an organization, we are impressed with your dedication to delivering meals to more than 100 people during the period you worked with us. Your efforts were essential in helping us achieve our objective of serving a community of more than 800 homeless people in Cape Town.
We will launch a new program targeting the less fortunate outside Mildview County in February 2023. This can be an excellent opportunity for you to take on a more supervisory role.
We are honored to have met someone passionate about helping the less fortunate like you. Your commitment to the cause is commendable, and your selflessness is remarkable. Thank you again. It was an honor to observe your interaction with people from different backgrounds and get along with them effortlessly. That is a gift, and it is a pleasure to have you use it within our organization.
We wish you overall personal and professional growth and success in your endeavors.
Sincerely,
Susan Hines
Volunteer Coordinator
Beyond Borders Foundation Centre
Effective Practices
Properly written thank you letters benefit your organization as they signify professionalism and encourage volunteers to work with you in the future. On the other hand, a poorly written thank you letter may harm your relationship with volunteers as it seems insincere.
To avoid this, observe the following practices when writing the letter:
Make it personal and specific
Personalize the letter by mentioning the name of the volunteer, their involvement in your organization, and their contributions. Reference any challenges they helped you overcome and noteworthy observations. Also, be specific when thanking them for their past services by including an example of an action they undertook. Do not issue generic thank you letters to thank your volunteers.
The letter should be friendly and empathetic, and the message should be heartfelt. Expressive and sincere thank you letters have a more substantial meaning and impact on volunteers. Therefore, do not hesitate to show your appreciation for their time and effort.
Be timely
Thank you letters should be issued immediately after a noteworthy action, event, or project. This way, their contribution, and experience are still fresh in both your and their mind. Consequently, you can write a more heartfelt message and reap the benefits of a volunteer who feels appreciated.
Discuss your cause
In the letter, it would be best to mention your cause as an organization. This will enable the volunteer to understand your cause, what it entails and what your organization is doing for the community. In addition, you can mention the volunteer’s personality traits, such as purpose, values, and passion, that make them valuable to the team.
Most volunteers offer their services because they believe in your cause or mission. So, use the thank you letter to promote your cause by indicating the objective, as it may influence the volunteers to return. Also, show how the volunteer’s work is connected to the mission, whether directly or indirectly.
Put in extra efforts
When expressing gratitude to your volunteers, they will feel more appreciated when you illustrate extra effort. This can be achieved by sending a thank you letter or card rather than email. Also, you can customize the card’s design and manually sign it instead of printing your name. These simple gestures can go a long way in giving the letter more sentimental value.
Acknowledge their sacrifices
It would help if you highlighted any sacrifices the volunteer has made for your organization. This can be in terms of time or money. You can also quantify how much time they spent on the project and what they achieved.
Ask for feedback
Another way of appreciating volunteers is by asking for feedback. For example, you can ask for their feedback on events and programs. You can also include a survey questionnaire if you are sending an email. If you ask for feedback from volunteers or team members, they will realize that you are considering their opinions and experiences when planning your next project.
Bottom Line
Volunteer management is integral to any non-profit organization that relies on volunteers. Volunteers are essential to any organization as they have active roles in promoting the cause or mission of the organization. When executed well, it is an opportunity for you to appreciate their valuable services through thank you letters. The letter serves as an official acknowledgment of voluntary services rendered.
The most successful thank you letters give some insight into the impact of the volunteer’s contributions and encourage them to volunteer for future events and campaigns. The letters additionally improve your relationship with volunteers and can be an excellent opportunity to promote your cause and gain their support. You can easily use our pre-made templates to prepare a thank you letter for your volunteers.