With any sort of strategy and strategic planning, I always start with the why.  

You may be thinking, “Why do we need to talk about the why? You don’t need to convince me or I would be in a different breakout.” The why helps us stay motivated and on track with our intentions. It gives us purpose and direction. It helps advocate for budget money. The why helps keep our end goals and the big picture in mind, and we can’t be intentional and strategic without it.

So can you verbalize it? Can you verbalize why it’s important to be intentional about thanking our volunteers?  

Use this list to verbalize your why:

• What your volunteers do is worth celebrating. Their wellbeing = your ministry’s wellbeing. One of the most crucial aspects of your ministry is how well you’re caring for your volunteers. Your volunteers are the backbone of your children’s ministry; without their dedication and hard work, it would be impossible to reach and teach the kids in your community effectively. When volunteers feel appreciated and nurtured, they’re more likely to perform better and have a positive impact on the children they’re ministering to.
• It deepens the appreciation when there’s intentionality behind it. Part of appreciation is the thought that goes into the gift or appreciation. I’ve been on the receiving end of appreciation gifts that were hastily thrown together and seemed last minute. 
• It creates a team people want to join. Appreciating volunteers is a great way to recruit because people want to be part of the team that’s celebrated and appreciated and gets volunteers to recruit too. When people see others being thanked, it moves them to action and encourages them to want to get involved.
• Create a team people want to stay part of. Caring for your volunteers isn’t just about keeping them happy; it’s about creating an environment where they feel valued, supported, and equipped to serve. You show them you value them for more than just being a warm body in a room to meet ratios. Higher appreciation can lead to higher retention rates and less turnover (and everybody said Amen). 
• We forget! You wear a lot of hats as a kidmin leader, and things can slip through the cracks. Sometimes we get so focused on recruiting and training our volunteers, we forget that celebrating them is an important piece of the puzzle. When we aren’t intentional with our appreciation and strategic about a game plan, appreciation can easily fall by the wayside.
• It’s what Jesus did. Over and over again, we see Jesus pouring into His team, through a variety of methods and messages. Jesus demonstrated appreciation for his team, the disciples, by actively listening to them (we’ll talk about this), providing them with opportunities to learn and practice ministry firsthand, trusting them with important tasks, publicly affirming their strengths (You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church), and most importantly, showing unwavering love and support even when they made mistakes (Peter’s denials, washing their feet, his patience with their misunderstandings.) If we want to lead our teams like Jesus, we have to be intentional about expressing our gratitude to them, in the ways they feel most loved and in ways that help equip and empower them for their roles.

Creating a culture of appreciation with your team starts with a simple smile and a thank you, but creating a system where it’s woven in automatically takes thoughtful processes and intentionality. Appreciation is not just a one-time event. Creating a culture of gratitude and appreciation happens every single Sunday, not just with one event or one big gift at Christmas. 

Step 1: Set goals – What do you want to achieve with your appreciation plan?

• Remember your why we just talked about!
• Think about the current state of volunteer appreciation in your ministry. What is working well? What needs improvement? Where does your ministry already weave in appreciation throughout the volunteer experience? What have been the most well-received of those appreciation efforts?
• Create a list of “touch points” where volunteers can receive in-person and other forms of communication (beginning + end of serving time, follow-up emails, recruitment emails, social media, trainings, etc.) 
• Examples of volunteer appreciation goals:
  • Send handwritten thank-you notes to every volunteer after each major ministry event to show personalized appreciation.
  • Increase overall volunteer satisfaction by 15% by the end of the year, as measured through an annual survey.
  • Plan and budget for three appreciation events this year, such as a volunteer breakfast, a special recognition service, and a year-end party.
  • Foster a culture of gratitude, celebration, and community that aligns with our ministry’s values.
  • Complete a personal one-on-one check-in with each volunteer within the first quarter of the year.
  • Make it easier on you as a leader to streamline some of the processes and procedures. 
• Choose 1-2! Don’t overload yourself. 

Step 2: Outline options for when and how you’ll appreciate volunteers 

• Determine your budget (and you should have a budget for this!). Create a line item in your budget if you don’t already have one for volunteer appreciation. I’d recommend at least $10 per volunteer per year at a minimum. Remember – they’re worth investing in! Consider your budget and don’t spend your whole volunteer appreciation budget on Christmas gifts. 
• Know your volunteers.  What are their favorite snacks or favorite places to get coffee? During the onboarding process, ask volunteers about some of their favorite drinks or treats! Belinda, one kidmin leader shared: “One year I led VBS and asked all the workers what their all-time favorite snack was. At the end of the week, they came to the office and were gifted with it. One person wrote that they liked pickles, and they were completed shocked that I took the effort to find a single dill pickle! In retrospect, I think it all came down to the fact that I had listened to them and came through at the end.”
  • Identify their needs. What are some areas in their lives where they could use more support? What are their busy seasons when they need a little extra grace? Get to know them personally and relationally so you can support them in prayer too. 
  • Think about love languages – Think beyond gifts to other types of appreciation too including acts of service, quality time, and words of encouragement. (See the “non-gift ideas” section below for more details.)
  • Think about specific roles of your team and anyone in higher leadership positions. It’s OK if not all your volunteers get the same level of appreciation. Guess what? Not all your volunteers give the same level of commitment! And if you want to draw volunteers into a deeper leadership role, sometimes they need the incentive. 
• Create a Calendar – Map out appreciation events or activities for certain periods of time.
  • What milestones can you set for recognizing individual or collective volunteers? (number of services served, years served, etc.)
  • Also think about the touchpoints in the volunteer’s experience:
    • At sign up: Send a thank you message after they sign up to join your team and gift them with some ministry swag. Feed them at your volunteer training event. 
    • Before serving begins: Gather volunteers for a “VIP” gathering before they serve or include a message of thanks when sharing the week’s lesson.
    • At the end of serving: Thank volunteers for their time after Sunday is over. This could be verbal or via email or text. 
    • Annual recognition: Yearly gifts, recognition in front of the congregation, etc.
    • Random Surprises: These can be the most fun and unexpected!
  • Monthly or quarterly – What can you do monthly or quarterly to appreciate your volunteers? 

Step 3: Create specifics and systems.

• Identify 1 bigger event for ALL volunteers in your ministry or even the church as a whole. Partnering with other ministries can be a huge win for your team and your budget! 
  • Think about their families too. Rather than asking them to be away from their families for another event, invite their families TO the event! 
    • The Big Thank You (food trucks after church)
    • Bring in a Christian comedian for a comedy night
    • Family Movie Night with dinner and a movie on the lawn 
    • Partner with Another Ministry – Are you looking to combine budgets or celebrate your volunteers together? Team up with another ministry and do a crossover event. Family Ministry volunteer celebration anyone?
• Think about the time of year to celebrate or give extra appreciation (time change Sunday, special holidays, etc.)
  • Identify smaller monthly/seasonal sections. 
    • Easter
    • Fall
    • Summer volunteers
    • Time change Sunday
    • Spring Break
    • Christmas
  • Identify 2 gifts for ALL volunteers in your ministry. 
  • Identify some special volunteer appreciation only some volunteers receive. 
• Enlist your managers/team leads/lead volunteers to help! You don’t have to do it alone. 
• Set up automated or scheduled thank you emails. Utilize the features in your volunteer management system if you have one to track hours/Sundays served, etc. 
• Gather feedback! Use this volunteer feedback system to make it easy! (More details in the Non-gift ideas section below).

Remember to think beyond just gifts for appreciation! Think about your volunteers’ love languages and how you can show appreciation without physical items.

• Host a special event. Invite them out to dinner or host special event at your church just for your volunteers. Maybe you bring in a Christian comedian? Maybe you host a game night for their families? Maybe you provide lunch after services one Sunday in the form of a fleet of food trucks? Bonus points if you can include their families in the event too!
• Ask them questions, get their input, and gather feedback. One of the best ways to show volunteers you care and respect them is to reflect on the systems your volunteers interact with and the feedback they’ve given you, and implement changes for improvement. (Check out this resource for a ready-made volunteer feedback system to get you started!) 
• Share their stories and wins. While you’re gathering feedback, make it a habit to gather wins and celebrations too! How can you incorporate a time of sharing positive things that happen in your ministry? One church I know of has a “Tell Me Something Good” time every time their team gathers, and they spend 10-15 minutes just sharing good things they see happening, whether it’s related to child discipleship, administrative details, or even celebrating other volunteers. When you hear about a win or a good thing, don’t keep it to yourself! (And you can use our Sunday Celebrations journal to help you document these wins over 5 years! Find a printable version here, and find a hard copy on Amazon here!)
• Shout about them on social media! Use your ministry’s social media accounts to brag on your team and give them a shout out on social media. Use #TeamTuesday to share about someone on your team and why they’re so awesome. Snap a quick pic of them serving, and you’re all set!
• Launch a “Volunteer of the Month” campaign. Recognize your most active volunteers each month with a “Volunteer of the Month” award. You’ll acknowledge their dedication and even invite a bit of light-hearted competition. Feature your monthly volunteers on your website, in your family newsletter, and social media accounts. And if there are prizes involved? Even better! Volunteer of the month winners might receive a gift card, their favorite drink, some special ministry swag, etc. 
• Write notes. Create a system to make sure every volunteer receives a handwritten note from you or a key leader at least once a year. Instead of simply thanking your volunteers for their time (which should still happen often), use these notes to recognize their specific gifts and impacts. Be specific in your notes, and aim to show your volunteers that their efforts have real, powerful results. 
• Step into their world. Do you have any school teachers on your team? Ask if you can help them set up their classroom for the schoolyear. Does one of your volunteers have a fundraising event for their company? Ask how you can attend and support them. Is one of your volunteers a stay-at-home mom? Invite her and her little one out for a playdate, or offer to babysit so mom can get some errands done. Whatever it looks like, step into your volunteers’ world and find ways to serve them there. 
• Consider skill development. Can you bring your key volunteers to a conference, or set up a retreat for your team leads to get away for a night? How can you invest in the skills and gifts they have? 

Use this list and the links below to create a calendar for appreciating your volunteers all year long!

• January: A can of soda or some fuzzy socks with the generic version of this tag printable!
• February: “Thanks for Being the Heart of Our Ministry” + some Dove heart chocolates! (Not free, but here’s a printable to help!)
• March: Have a surprise basket of baked goods/treats (or extra coffee) on time-change Sunday!
• April: For anyone who serves with your special Easter Event or on Easter Sunday, grab some Peeps and thank them for being “one of your peeps!” (Not free, but here’s a printable to help!)
• May: The Big Thank You, a church-wide volunteer appreciation event with food trucks or popsicles available for free for all volunteers after service(s).
• June: For your Summer + Summer Event Volunteers, try this Super Volunteer Appreciation Printable with a small gift card or coupon to a local restaurant!
• July: Step into their world and serve them! Help a teacher set up their classroom, attend a fundraiser for their company, etc.
• August: Offer Ministry SWAG (mugs, shirts, lanyards, stickers, etc.). Bonus tip: Do it as part of your annual volunteer training!
• September: Make a big batch of Pumpkin Spice Chex Mix, attach this printable, and share with your team!
• October: Candy + “How Sweet It Is To Serve With You” Printable
• November: Write a hand-written note this month to all your volunteers.
• December: “Have a Cup of Cheer!” Printable + A coffee gift card, hot chocolate packet, mnistry mug, etc.

Honorable Mentions:

• Something for you just out of the blue – blue water bottle, blue candy/snacks (This printable can help!) 
• Thanks for being an amazing volunteer – amazon gift card with this themed card
• Host a dinner/take your lead team out for dinner or lunch.
• Give them a little flashlight or candle (attached to this Shine the Light Volunteer Appreciation printable)
• Lemonade and water bottle packets – “you bring the sunshine to our ministry”
• Keychains for free frosties from Wendy’s 
• Do you have a signature dish or dessert you make? Jam? Jelly? Pound cake? Chocolate chip cookies? Make and deliver! 
• Other christmas ideas: (some ideas below are available here!) 
  • You’re worth more than a pot of gold (hershey’s pot of gold chocolate box)
  • You warm our hearts, let us warm your hands (hand warmers) 
  • Your’e the balm (lip balm)
  • Thanks for your helping hands (hand sanitizer)
  • Thanks for quenching kids’ thirst about Jesus (tumbler) 
  • InvolveMINT and EncourageMINT – mints or gum 
  • Thanks for being EXTRA-ordinary (extra gum)
• Find even more volunteer appreciation ideas from other kidmin leaders like you here!