Thanks a million: recognition of volunteers as a retention strategy

Simply because volunteers who feel appreciated are much more likely to stay. 

Your volunteers staying around is great for a variety of different reasons, most you likely know already. For example, it often means you can spend less time recruiting and training, and there's more continuity for the people your volunteers support.

What does the current volunteering climate tell us?

It's worth noting that regular volunteering in England is on the up: the Community & Engagement Survey found 18% of people volunteered formally at least once a month in 2025/26, a rise on the year before – though there's still ground to make up on the 23% seen in 2019/20.

NCVO's Time Well Spent research found that satisfied volunteers are much more likely to stay. 81% of satisfied volunteers said they were likely to carry on, rising to 90% of those who were very satisfied. Among dissatisfied volunteers, it was just 26%.

While most volunteers told NCVO they feel recognised enough, there's still big opportunity with younger volunteers:

• 49% of 18 to 24-year-old volunteers say recognition is important to them, but only 69% feel recognised enough

In other words, younger volunteers really value being thanked, so a little extra recognition could go a long way with that demographic.

It's also where there's most room to grow: 12% of people aged 25 to 34 volunteer regularly.

Where recognition makes a big difference

The good news is that when people do move on, it's most often because their circumstances have changed, such as a new job or caring responsibilities, rather than because of a bad experience.

What you can influence is their experience while they're with you. The top reasons volunteers give for staying are the organisation they help and the difference they're making (both 46%), and good recognition touches on both.

The best volunteer recognition ideas are often the ones your volunteers aren't necessarily expecting. Here's a mix of old favourites, and a few you might not have tried yet.

Small gifts can be a lovely touch, and NCVO's advice is to keep them modest and occasional. Valuable or regular gifts could suggest a contract and blur the line between volunteers and employees. Money, vouchers or gifts that could grow in value may also affect volunteers' benefits or tax. A certificate or a tin of biscuits for the team is plenty (and the biscuits are rarely wasted).

The UK has two natural volunteer recognition days a year, about six months apart: Volunteers' Week (1 to 7 June) and International Volunteer Day (5 December).

For 5 December, your winter volunteer recognition day, a few ideas that fit around a busy month:

• a short message from your CEO or chair, sent to volunteers personally rather than posted publicly
• a social post that names volunteers (who've said yes) and what they've achieved this year
• a "year in numbers" for each volunteer: hours given, events supported, people helped
• a thank-you hour where staff phone or message volunteers

St Luke's Hospice holds a Volunteer Thank You event during Volunteers' Week. Chris, who manages its, said:

"Assemble made it so easy to manage RSVPs and track attendance. It’s made event management a breeze and allowed us to increase participation at appreciation events.”

The simplest way is to ask! 

Ask early, note it down

You could even add "How do you like to be thanked?" to your volunteer sign-up form or first conversation. Keep the options simple:

• a private note or message
• a public shout-out
• a chance to learn something new or take on more responsibility
• a social get-together
• no fuss, please

Then record the answer somewhere your whole team can see it. If it lives in one person's head, it leaves when they do!

Think about personality

Personality plays a part, too. A confident extrovert might love being called up at the Christmas social, while a quieter volunteer would probably rather have a handwritten card. If you're not sure, start with something private until you know them better.

Team thanks can be just as powerful as individual praise, too. NCVO points out that singling people out can sometimes create a sense of "winners and losers", especially if some volunteers need more support than others, so celebrating the whole team is a great way to include everyone.

Match thanks to motivation

Why someone volunteers can be a good clue to the kind of thanks they'll like most.

A good thank you note for volunteers is specific, personal and quick to arrive. "Thanks for all your help" is kind. "Thanks for staying late on Thursday so the last three families got their food parcels" is a step up.

Five things to include:

1. Their name, spelled right, of course!
2. One specific thing they did, not a general list
3. What it made possible, for the people you support or for the team
4. Good timing, ideally within a day or two
5. No ask. A thank you that ends with "and could you do Saturday too?" stops being a thank you

Three sample notes to adapt

After a shift:

Hi Ada, thank you for Saturday. You kept the queue moving and somehow made everyone smile while doing it. Forty-two people left with a hot meal and a chat, and that's down to you. Sam

For a milestone:

Dear Mike, this week marks a year since your first befriending call with Joan. She told us your Tuesday calls are the part of the week she looks forward to most. Thank you for a year of showing up. Helen

For International Volunteer Day:

Hi Jo, today is International Volunteer Day, and we couldn't let it pass without saying thank you. This year you've given 86 hours to our helpline, and more than 200 callers have had someone to talk to because of it. That matters more than we can say. Tom, Volunteer Manager

Handwritten is lovely, if you have time. A personal email or text absolutely still works as a thank you note for volunteers though, as long as it reads like it was written for them.

Think of it like your fundraising calendar: a few fixed dates, with everyday thanks in between. It makes it much easier to keep going when things get busy, and to make sure everyone gets their moment.

Make thanking everyone's job

The recognition of volunteers doesn't have to come from the volunteer manager alone. Encourage staff, trustees and the people volunteers support to say thank you too. A quick word from a frontline colleague can mean more than a formal certificate.

Check it's landing

Regular check-ins, even 15 minutes over a cuppa or a call, often tell you more than a survey! Ask whether they feel appreciated, what they're enjoying and what's getting in the way. It's also a lovely chance to spot anyone who might need a bit more support, nice and early. A recognition question in your annual volunteer survey will give you the bigger picture.

To see whether your recognition is making a difference, you can also track your volunteer retention rate before and after you try something new. Here's how to work it out:

1. Count the volunteers you had at the start of the period who are still active at the end.
2. Divide by the number of volunteers you had at the start.
3. Multiply by 100.

So if you had 120 volunteers on 1 January, and 90 of those same people are still active on 31 December, your retention rate is 75%.

Tip: only count people who were already volunteering at the start, so a busy recruitment drive doesn't flatter the result. Decide what "active" means for you too, such as volunteering at least once in the last three months, and stick with it.

Say thank you on the way out, too

When someone steps back, whether that's down to health, caring or a change in circumstances, how you mark it matters to them and to the volunteers who stay.

In 2026, the "Cessation of Volunteering" survey by Newcastle University found that 37% of organisations had held a leaving do for older volunteers who stepped back, and about a third (34%) kept up formal contact, like setting up an alumni club, afterwards. There's plenty of scope to try something new!

Simple ways to mark someone's departure:

• a card or thank you letter, ideally from someone senior
• a certificate of service or a small keepsake
• a mention in your volunteer newsletter, with their permission
• an open invitation to drop in for a cuppa, or to stay on your mailing list

Build a simple recognition calendar

Here's an example:

Milestones are much easier to celebrate when everything lives in one place, rather than across spreadsheets, inboxes and sticky notes!

Good volunteer management software can help you:

• keep each volunteer's details and history together, including how they like to be thanked
• log hours and activities as they happen, so a 100-hour milestone or a "year in numbers" is easy to pull together
• send a personal message or share team news in a few clicks
• run reports to spot anniversaries, milestones and anyone you haven't heard from in a while

For example, Access Assemble brings all of this together, so more of your time goes on the actual thanking itself.

Mencap, for example, uses the Assemble news feed and messaging to help volunteers across the country feel more connected, and has grown its volunteer numbers by 71% in a year since introducing it.

Yes, and a refreshingly affordable one!

Satisfied volunteers are far more likely to stay, and feeling recognised is a big part of that satisfaction, especially for younger volunteers. What turns a kind gesture into a strategy is consistency: knowing how each person likes to be thanked, showing them the difference they make, marking the milestones in between, and saying a proper thank you when they move on.

International Volunteer Day on 5 December is a perfect place to start. Use it to thank your volunteers, then keep the momentum going into the new year.

A million thanks, one at a time.

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