Well the fundraising year is done. You’ve reconciled all your money and presented it to the beneficiaries; you’ve signed off on all your paperwork and records for the year; you’ve thanked your volunteers and supporters, all done, right? Have you made a point of thanking your committee?

Sometimes thanking your committee among your big list of thanks at your presentation night or volunteer BBQ won’t be enough. Remember, the committee that feels valued will be back next year, which will save you a LOT of headaches getting the new fundraising year under way.
That’s why it is so important to finish your fundraising year on a high note by taking the time to thank all the volunteers that have made it happen. Of course there are as many ways to thank fundraisers as there are fundraising ideas themselves. Some of the more popular ideas include:

• Throwing a party: from a backyard barbie to a black tie dinner, anything goes! Make your volunteers the focus of the event with a personal thank you speech. Try and have fun, and create a sense of community among the volunteers.
• Conducting a prize giving ceremony: this is a great time of year to reward hard workers with well-earned incentive prizes. But don’t just drop the prizes off after work one day or pop it in the post – try and make the award publicly. School assemblies, sporting club award nights or even an event organised especially. Most people enjoy a sense of occasion!
• Giving your personal thanks: Of course the ability to give personal thanks will be dictated by the size of your fundraising operation. Most fundraisers have between 1 and 20 volunteers, which means some sort of personal gesture should not be out of the question. It could be as simple as a phone call, a handwritten note of thanks (so much more personal than email), a card or even a small gift.
• If your school or clubhouse has a carpark, allocate a ‘volunteer of the week’ car space, and reward a different volunteer each week.
• Connection to the cause: no matter how you thank your volunteers, be sure they are told how their efforts went, and what will be happening with the funds.

No matter how busy you are, or how exhausted you may feel, there are few jobs that are as important as thanking and recognising your volunteer force. And when the time rolls around again to find volunteers for the new fundraising year, you may find that people remember you with a warm heart, and volunteer again.

Glen Howard
Fundraising Directory
(c) Direct Digital 2007-2008

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