In the recent newsletter from Fundraising Directory, they included a great story and a fabulous tip.

The story told of a woman who had put a lot of work into a fundraising event for her club, only to receive no thanks or acknowledgement at all. The only way she knew that her work was recognised and appreciated was because the committee President asked her to do it again next year.

Naturally, she declined.

Isn’t that a common scenario? And it’s not that the committee decides intentionally not to thank their hard working volunteers, but everyone assumes someone else is going to do it. Or perhaps it slips through the cracks of the meetings action steps.

The newsletter says, “Saying ‘thank you’ is the right thing to do but in our busy lives (we’re all volunteers after all!) these simple gestures can be so easily forgotten. The added bonus is that you’ll retain your valuable volunteers for the long-haul!”

The clever tip is to appoint a Thank you Sergeant. Of course, you can name the role whatever you like, but by formally appointing someone whose job it is to thank people, you know the task will be done.

Perhaps you have someone who would dearly love to volunteer their support for your club but doesn’t have enough time. He or she might be the perfect person for the role. You know they are keen, and you are offering them a position that is really important but won’t suck up a lot of time.

How would your club feel about appointing a Thank You Sergeant? Can you convince them that it’s an important way to keep their best volunteers motivated?