Open Forum

Hello!

I am the Volunteer Manager at the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC. We started our first volunteer program a few months ago and will be hosting our first major volunteer appreciation event/dinner this winter. In addition to socializing, thank you speeches/video, food and activities, we are considering handing out two awards. One award will go to all volunteers who have reached a certain hours-served threshold. The second award idea will be related to our institutional values (we have 5). The idea behind this award is to acknowledge "above and beyond" service that directly relates to our mission and vision (who best exemplifies each value). I, along with a few select staff members, would pick the recipients. The award itself would be a specially designed pin they could wear while volunteering (maybe over the years collect them all?). Before going ahead with these awards, I was hoping to get some feedback from current volunteer managers who have experience with awards during these types of events. Do volunteers like this style of recognition? Do they resent those who win? Is there a feeling of being "left out" if you are not singled out? Should volunteers vote on the winners instead of staff deciding? We want to make sure this is an inclusive event and fair process but also provide a personalized touch for recognizing excellent service. 

Thank you!

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Kia Hunter
Volunteer Manager
International Spy Museum
Washington DC
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------Original Message------

Hello!

I am the Volunteer Manager at the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC. We started our first volunteer program a few months ago and will be hosting our first major volunteer appreciation event/dinner this winter. In addition to socializing, thank you speeches/video, food and activities, we are considering handing out two awards. One award will go to all volunteers who have reached a certain hours-served threshold. The second award idea will be related to our institutional values (we have 5). The idea behind this award is to acknowledge "above and beyond" service that directly relates to our mission and vision (who best exemplifies each value). I, along with a few select staff members, would pick the recipients. The award itself would be a specially designed pin they could wear while volunteering (maybe over the years collect them all?). Before going ahead with these awards, I was hoping to get some feedback from current volunteer managers who have experience with awards during these types of events. Do volunteers like this style of recognition? Do they resent those who win? Is there a feeling of being "left out" if you are not singled out? Should volunteers vote on the winners instead of staff deciding? We want to make sure this is an inclusive event and fair process but also provide a personalized touch for recognizing excellent service. 

Thank you!

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Kia Hunter
Volunteer Manager
International Spy Museum
Washington DC
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Our facility currently celebrates years of service and hour milestones.  We post these monthly.  Our volunteers receive a button for their name tag as they hit each of these milestones.  In addition, they receive guest passes based on the milestone and a chance to earn a membership after 125 hours.  Every volunteer has a chance to receive one of these based on continued service.

There are certainly pros and cons to awards that single out individual contributions.  In my experience, volunteer reactions vary quite a bit.  Some volunteers want to celebrate the work of their peers - even if they don't win an award themselves.  Others feel like an appreciation event should be about everyone.  We have moved away from awards like this in favor of spotlights each week on our social media platforms.  This allows volunteers to tell their stories and gives us a chance to show the community what volunteering with us is like.  We try to be strategic about which volunteers we spotlight based on what programs we are recruiting for at that time.  We recently opened it up so any volunteer can initiate sharing their story with us for a spotlight rather than having our team decide.  Spotlights have been a great opportunity for us and something I highly recommend.

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Kelli Crawford
Greensboro Science Center
Greensboro NC
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Hi Kia,

I don't think it's impossible, but I personally would be hesitant of an "above and beyond" award, unless there are specific criteria that can be met, and clearly communicated prior, that isn't subjective (or could be viewed as subjective). Connecting recognition to institutional values is a great idea, but maybe the place for that is more in the speeches (giving examples of volunteers who did x).
We recognize all volunteers based on years - every 5 years of service. As many of our volunteers have been here for decades, it's a source of immense pride to receive and wear their year pins.


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Jennifer Michaelree Squire
Deputy Director of Visitor Programs
Washington National Cathedral
Washington DC
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Good Day!  

Congrats on celebrating your volunteers.  We surveyed our volunteer base to ask what is most meaningful to them.Recognition is ongoing...not just a one time event.   As an organization that has rewarded volunteers for hours - I have found it often to be inequitable.   Just because someone has volunteered many hours does not ensure they embody the mission and spirit of the organization.    Allowing other staff or volunteers to nominate is also another suggestion.   The pins have become a divisive issue in our volunteer corps.    We are considering milestone pins based on feedback from our recognition committee.  We are also considering a point system and volunteers can "purchase" volunteer swag.  

We also have a themed annual volunteer appreciation party.  Volunteers attend for free and they may bring one guests for $15.00.   There is a short program with remarks, dancing, dinner , opportunity to view a movie in our 4D theater and they are free to tour the Zoo.  Volunteers are encouraged to dress for the theme.  Each volunteer receives five raffle tickets for items donated by staff.  For example, they can tour our animal hospital, have breakfast with their favorite animal or tour the Zoo grounds with our Chief Life Sciences Officer.    We have a great time and everyone is welcomed.   


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Crystal Bell
Volunteer Services Manager
Detroit Zoo - Detroit Zoological Society
Royal Oak MI
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Hi Kia,

One organization I worked with had a Volunteer Advisory Council that could nominate volunteers to win our outstanding volunteer award. The Council also worked with staff to determine the selection criteria. But the final selection was up to staff. This let volunteers have a voice in the process, but also let staff have oversight of the process. 

I don't believe that the volunteers who didn't win felt left out or resented the winner. In most cases, volunteers were excited to recognize a peer who had done so much for the organization. The organization was transparent with the award process and selection criteria for our outstanding volunteer award, and we selected a different award recipient each year as well. 

Hope that helps,

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Kelly Gascoine
Volunteer and Internship Manager
Carnegie Science Center
Pittsburgh PA
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When I was at the Houston Zoo, we offered "Above and Beyond" awards, as well as "Volunteer of the Year", that were chosen by staff.  We also gave out service pins for milestones (years of service).  Most volunteers seemed to enjoy it, but I eventually got the feeling (and I heard from some of them) that many resented it.  I think the feeling was, for some, that it somehow diminished the importance of their time and efforts if they were not recognized.  One of them even said, "isn't all volunteer work 'above and beyond'?"  She had a point and it stuck with me.

Over the past 11 months, we've restructured our volunteer program at Space Center Houston and I have avoided awards that might garner this reaction.  I plan to offer service pins for years of service in the future, but no awards that are subjective.  I think this works better for my current volunteer group.  We do, however, (by the grace of our Membership department) award family memberships to volunteers that donate 90 hours in a calendar year (30 hours over their commitment), and an additional gift membership if they volunteer 120 hours (double the annual volunteer commitment).  This was the first year we awarded memberships and it was received extremely well.

In the end, it just comes down to knowing your volunteers and what they want.  I'm a big proponent of volunteer surveys to get their opinions on things like this, so perhaps surveying them would help you make the most informed decision.

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Paul Bishop
Volunteer Programs Supervisor
Space Center Houston
Houston TX
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Hi Kia!

The Volunteer Program for the Stark Museum of Art is also very new, and we will be having our first formal Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon in February (with a Valentine's theme - "We Love Our Volunteers"). I considered awards or some type of recognition as well.

One of the main problems I've encountered is that different tracks of service for our venues have different amounts of opportunities than others. For example, volunteer Tour Hosts for our historic home are considered active if they volunteer to give tours once a quarter since we are only open on certain weekends, while Greeters at our Museum Welcome Desk are required to work 2 four - hour shifts per month. In this case two different volunteers could be equally active according to our requirements, but the Greeter will have amassed much more hours. If I based an award off of hours served, I don't feel that would be fairly representative. I will probably end up offering pins (since they have to wear lanyards) based on the amount of time volunteers are active - 1 year of service, 5 years, etc.

I'm sure your volunteers will be perfectly happy with the event whether or not you include awards. I lean towards not singling anyone out as "above and beyond" without clear objectives that led you to the decision and could be reached by any volunteer. As someone else has mentioned, we have been doing a Volunteer Spotlight on social media and newsletters that has worked pretty well for individual recognition.

Hope this helps :)

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Hannah Colletti
Volunteer & Operations Coordinator
Stark Museum of Art
Orange TX
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Thank you all for your responses! It's very helpful in planning our event. 

Best,

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Kia Hunter
International Spy Museum
Washington DC
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