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.
------------------------------
Paul Bishop
Volunteer Programs Supervisor
Space Center Houston
Houston TX
------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 09-03-2019 03:51 PM
From: Kia Hunter
Subject: Volunteer Appreciation Events - Awards?
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!
------------------------------
Kia Hunter
Volunteer Manager
International Spy Museum
Washington DC
------------------------------