How to Write Thank-You Letters to Nonprofit Volunteers

William Arthur Ward once said, “Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” This quote beautifully captures the importance of showing appreciation. When it comes to nonprofit volunteers, expressing gratitude is not just courteous—it's essential. Volunteers dedicate their time and energy to support your mission, and acknowledging their contributions fosters a sense of belonging and motivation.

However, volunteer coordinators struggle with just how to package that particular gift of gratitude. We’ll go over the basic elements that should make up the thank-you letter to your volunteers, and how to avoid some of the most common pitfalls.

Best Practices for Volunteer Thank You Letters

Everyone expresses themselves in their own unique way. Our goal isn’t to try to dictate to you what you should sound like in writing. One of the most important parts of a good thank-you letter is to appear genuine, after all. 

However, if you are nervous about tackling this task, there are certainly some best practices to keep in mind. You can share these with your volunteer management team as well, to make sure you’re all on the same page. 

1. Personalize the Letter
   Nothing makes a thank you seem more insincere than the feeling that it’s a form letter. Real gratitude is about acknowledging the positive actions of specific people, which can sometimes be lost when you’re at your computer trying to get through a list of tasks. This kind of personalization is especially important when recognizing first-time volunteers.
   Personalization doesn’t have to be hard. You (hopefully) know what you’re thanking these people for, so mention it! Be clear that you understand the hard work they did, and what results it provided. If they helped at a fundraiser gala, mention what they did, and how effective that gala was. It’s simple, but sometimes easy to forget.
    
2. Express Genuine Gratitude
   Mentioning the specifics is a good start, but you also need to demonstrate you care about those specifics. There’s no one right way to do this, beyond being honest. Hopefully, if you work in the nonprofit space, nonprofit activities honestly excite and engage you. Just put those feelings into text. You know how hard nonprofit work can be. Put yourself in the shoes of the volunteers, and the gratitude should come naturally.
    
3. Be Timely
   Here’s one that is often missed. Make sure to send out your thank-you letters as soon as possible for them to have the most impact. A thank-you letter sent immediately after volunteer work feels like an organic and meaningful expression of thanks. One sent weeks later feels like an obligation that got pushed to the bottom of the to-do list.
    
4. Stay on Brand
   This is more of a general communications tip. Whenever you draft any message on behalf of your nonprofit, you are speaking in place of that nonprofit organization. Hopefully, your nonprofit has a brand-voice guide. If not, just take a few moments to think about your values and what tone is best. Professional? Friendly? Casual? A nonprofit with a professional reputation will sound flippant if its thanks are too casual. Meanwhile, a spunky startup nonprofit will sound cold if its thanks are too formal. Be yourself!
    
5. Emphasize Impact
   Everyone wants to feel like they make a difference. And when writing your thank-you letter, you have the chance to let your volunteers know that they made a significant impact. Always make sure to include some sort of tangible result in your thank-you note, so that your volunteers know their work was meaningful. This can be goals met, funds raised, or any other parts of the mission they achieved.
    
6. Mention Future Opportunities
   What else do people love apart from a meaningful impact? They love being included. Always mention future opportunities to some degree within thank-you letters. This demonstrates that you value their continued support and consider them an essential part of the team. Even if you don’t have anything specific planned, leave that door open.
    
7. Be Creative
   Why not have some fun with your thank-you letters? You’ll enjoy prepping them even more, and your recipients will also love receiving them. Visual elements are some of the easiest ways to get creative. And one of the easiest visual elements are photos from events—they serve as a great reminder for volunteers of the work they put in. 

If it's feasible, a handwritten note is an excellent way to show your sincerity, over an email. 

Why It’s Important to Thank Your Nonprofit Volunteers

Hopefully, you are thanking your volunteers out of an honest desire to do so. But it is understandable that it can seem like a large undertaking. You need to channel your sincere gratitude, while also completing a communications task that can be quite substantial. However, there are real benefits to taking this simple, kind step. Thanking your volunteers:

• Increases Retention Rates: Appreciated volunteers are returning volunteers.
• Increases Productivity: Appreciated volunteers are engaged volunteers.
• Increases Teamwork: Appreciated volunteers will more likely have positive relationships with your staff.
• Increases Reputation: Appreciated volunteers are ambassadors for your nonprofit.
• Increases Advocacy: Appreciated volunteers are more likely to become invested in your nonprofit’s mission and become advocates for it.
• Means More Volunteers!: Your nonprofit volunteers will talk about their experiences to friends and coworkers who may themselves want to volunteer.

Nonprofit Volunteer Thank-You Letter Template and Examples

Since a great thank-you letter will be crafted for the task at hand, it can be hard to find a truly encompassing template. Thankfully, there are plenty of websites that provide a wide range of templates to select from, letting you pick your best starting point. This site has an excellent collection, for example. 

If you’re someone who learns better with direct examples, don’t worry - here’s a generic template. You can use this as a springboard for your own ideas, or just to give you a sense of what such a letter will look like if you’re unfamiliar. 

Sample Starter Nonprofit Thank-You Letter Template 

Dear [Volunteer’s Name],

I just wanted to reach out to personally thank you for volunteering your time at [Event Name]. Your passionate hard work has truly made a difference in our continuing mission to [Describe Your Nonprofit’s Mission]. [Describe the specific contribution made by this volunteer].

Because of your contribution, we were able to [Describe result of contribution - people helped, money raised, etc.] Our ongoing work simply could not happen without the support and dedication of volunteers like yourself. 

We are incredibly grateful to have had you working as a part of our team. If you have any feedback or would like to learn more about new volunteer opportunities, don’t hesitate to reach out. We’d love to see you again at future events! We’re also ready to answer questions about everything you need to know regarding our upcoming events. 

Thank you once again for your generosity and commitment to our mission. We look forward to working with you again.

Gratefully,

[Your Name]

[Your Title]

[Your Contact Information (phone number, email)]

[Your Organization’s Name]

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Thanking Volunteers

By now, you should have a pretty good handle on what should go into your thank-you messages. However, there are still a few pitfalls to avoid when crafting these sorts of thank-you messages. You might be able to guess a few already, but here’s a more comprehensive list. 

• Being Generic: If your message doesn’t include the specifics of what the volunteer did, or where they did it, they’ll suspect you of creating a cookie cutter response.
• Being Late: We mentioned this before, but a long delayed thank-you note will lose much of its positive impact and meaning.
• Being Unspecific: Ideally a thank-you message will be very specific as to what the volunteer did. If they were on the fundraising team, mention that. This is especially important if they ever went above and beyond the call of duty.
• Being Egotistical: Don’t use the thank-you note just to brag about the successes of your own organization. This is a common mistake. Make sure that any celebration of success is linked to what the volunteer did to make it happen.
• Being Robotic: A real “thank you for volunteering” will sound human. Be honest and put some heart into it. Don’t write like you’re answering a business email from your boss. If you need help with letter writing, seek it out.
• Being Uninviting: You want your star volunteers to come back and do more great work, right? Make sure to leave an invitation or an open door in the message!
• Being Grasping: Be very careful about how you ask for more donations, if any, in a thank-you message to a volunteer. This can end up seeming greedy or off putting.
• Being Anonymous: Put your own signature on the message! This is a lovely personal touch that adds meaning to the gesture.
• Being Aloof: Don’t make the thank-you letter the last link in the chain. Volunteers should always be kept in the know for future events and charitable opportunities. A phone call can go a long way to making someone feel appreciated. 

Thanking Volunteers Beyond a Letter

Of course, thanks don’t need to be expressed in just a thank-you email! There are many more forms of gratitude out there. The letter should just be considered the minimal action—the least you could do. And there is so much more that you could do!

1. Public Recognition on Social Media
   This one has become quite standard but is still good to mention. Publicly recognizing volunteers on your nonprofit organization’s social media pages is a simple way to show appreciation. It also helps spread the news about what your nonprofit is up to, and can help attract more volunteers. Just make sure that the messaging is about honoring your volunteers, not just your organization.
2. Newsletter Features
   The newsletter is an old mainstay of many a nonprofit organization. So why not use the platform it provides to honor your volunteers? In fact, you can dedicate a section of the newsletter specifically to highlighting your star volunteers. This is also a great way to highlight the great work your volunteers are doing to your donors and your board members.
3. Awards and Certificates
   Established nonprofits have the chance to make the appreciation official. The creation of formal awards and certificates for volunteers provides more tangible proof of gratitude. You can also host award ceremonies to recognize volunteers before their peers.
4. Volunteer Appreciation Party
   Does an award ceremony sound too formal? Hosting a volunteer appreciation event can be a fun way to show your gratitude and celebrate a job well done all at the same time. A relaxed setting lets you make the event more about rewarding the volunteers than focusing on the accomplishments of your own organization.
5. Gifts
   After a particular fundraising event, a fun method of giving thanks is to prepare some gifts for everyone who participated. This could be branded merchandise, or better yet, personalized gifts. This doesn’t have to be complicated either. Your nonprofit likely has branded shirts, water bottles, bags or other accessories to use as gifts. This is also an excellent opportunity to provide a gift with a handwritten thank-you note attached.