3 Meaningful Ways to Show Employees and Volunteers That You’re Thankful

Whether or not you celebrate the holiday, Thanksgiving is the perfect opportunity to make your employees and volunteers feel appreciated. Saying “thank you” can brighten someone’s day—and strengthen their loyalty to your organization.

Here are three simple yet meaningful ways you can give thanks to the people who deliver your mission and make your programs possible. 

1. Create a moving thank-you video

In a normal year, you might thank employees and volunteers face-to-face. That might not be possible this year—but you can recreate the experience virtually by making a thank-you video. 

Whether it’s a short clip of your founder sharing how proud they are of all the great work the team has done, or a personal message from someone that your nonprofit has helped, video thank-you messages are great because they’re so easy to make. All you need is a webcam and some recording software, such as QuickTime, which is available for free on many computers. If your video conferencing platform offers built-in recording capabilities, you could even gather your entire executive team or board on a video call and have them all share a few words or say thank-you in unison. Of course, if you do have someone with video editing skills on your team, you could make a flashier video—but it’s the message that truly matters. 

Another benefit of making video thank-you messages is how simple it is to share them. Attach the file to an email, upload it as an unlisted video on YouTube and send the URL to your team so that it’s only viewable by them, or post it on social media for anyone to see. However you share it, it’s sure to put a smile on people’s faces. 

2. Surprise someone with a phone call

If you’re a small organization, calling employees and volunteers individually to thank them for their efforts can be incredibly meaningful. Aim to share specific details about amazing work they’ve done or times they’ve gone above and beyond—showing them that their work is truly seen and appreciated. 

Of course, if you have hundreds or thousands of employees and volunteers across your organization, you probably don’t have the time to make individual phone calls. Scheduling a group call or dedicating time in your next staff meeting to give thanks is a good alternative. Depending on the size of your team meetings, you could also create space for employees to say “thank you” to coworkers who’ve supported them this year, helping to strengthen team bonds.

3. Share a public message on social media

Public recognition can be just as impactful as a one-to-one “thank you”—if it’s authentic, specific, and from the heart. A generic thank-you post on social media likely won’t make your team feel appreciated—but a sincere message that highlights some of the ways they’ve made an impact this year will. 

Consider sharing photos and videos of your employees and volunteers to accompany your post. Since you might not have had many opportunities to take pics this year, these don’t have to be recent. Even a picture from your Thanksgiving potluck or a volunteering event last year will make team members feel appreciated, help supporters put a face to the organization—and let prospective employees and volunteers know that your nonprofit is a great place for them to share their talents. 

However you give thanks, let your team know how much you value them this Thanksgiving. And if you’re looking to hire some new nonprofit stars this holiday season, discover how our hiring solutions can help.