Celebrating Your Volunteers This International Volunteer Day

Volunteers who donate their time, energy, and skills are an essential part of the nonprofit ecosystem. Finding ways to make their experiences even more rewarding and fulfilling is one of the best ways to encourage repeat engagement and welcome new volunteers into the fold.

Celebrated on December 5, International Volunteer Day represents a tailor-made opportunity to celebrate your volunteers and their crucial contributions. Read on to find tips for volunteer recognition that reinforce the commitment of your existing volunteers while inspiring others to join the cause.

What is International Volunteer Day?

Established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1985, International Volunteer Day exists to recognize and promote the work of volunteers around the world. This observance is meant to educate the public, raise awareness, and mobilize meaningful action.

A different theme tends to be tied to International Volunteer Day each year. For example, in 2023, the UN’s corresponding message was about “the power of collective action” and imagining the transformative impact that would be realized if everyone volunteered.

Since there is a heightened level of attention and focus paid to volunteering around International Volunteer Day, which notably falls in the middle of giving season, it’s an excellent opportunity for nonprofits to join the conversation by shining a light on their volunteers and celebrating the impact that their efforts make.

What do nonprofit volunteers value?

In 2019, YouGov conducted a survey of more than 10,000 people in the UK on behalf of NCVO where it asked participants about the perceived benefits of volunteering. The number one answer was “I enjoy it,” followed by “it gives me a sense of personal achievement” and “it makes me feel like I’m making a difference.”

These answers probably aren’t surprising to anyone who has worked with volunteers or volunteered themselves, but they do provide a guiding light for your volunteer recognition efforts on International Volunteer Day and beyond. Here are some techniques for using LinkedIn to fuel a sense of personal achievement and difference-making within your volunteers.

Recognizing and celebrating your volunteers for International Volunteer Day

Post volunteer appreciation content on LinkedIn using timely themes and hashtags.

Volunteer appreciation posts are among the most straightforward ways to highlight the contributions of volunteers on your nonprofit’s LinkedIn Page. You could post photos of your volunteers in action, share thank-you videos featuring members of your nonprofit, or spotlight your corporate partners.

To help your nonprofit’s message reach an even bigger audience, be sure to tag the volunteers and organizations featured. This is a great way to encourage your volunteers to engage with your posts and even share them with their own networks, giving your content greater visibility. You can also include relevant hashtags like #InternationalVolunteerDay and #VolunteerAppreciation to be part of the broader conversation about volunteering on this key date.

Focus on the power of skill building and personal development.

International Volunteer Day falls at the end of the year, a time when many people are looking back on what they’ve accomplished over the past twelve months and thinking about personal goals for the future. This makes it an ideal moment to underscore the professional development opportunities you provide for volunteers — especially on LinkedIn, a platform that people associate with career growth and personal development.

For example, you could use International Volunteer Day to share testimonials from volunteers about the skills they’ve been able to build and sharpen during their time with your organization. Or, you could spotlight the different kinds of volunteer roles you offer and the skill sets associated with them. LinkedIn research shows that 75% of surveyed LinkedIn members are interested in starting to volunteer or volunteering, so give potential volunteers a reason to get involved by helping them see how volunteering can be an important part of their professional journey. 

• Learn more on our blog: Building a Nonprofit Professional Development Program That Works

Help your volunteers get the most out of their experiences.

Volunteering is often its own reward. But the more your volunteers get out of their time with your nonprofit, the more likely they’ll be to re-engage in the future and recommend the experience to others.

Skills development opportunities are one piece of the puzzle, but you can make these opportunities even more valuable by helping your volunteers showcase the skills they’ve gained on LinkedIn. Encourage your volunteer coordinators and others who work closely with your volunteers to endorse their skills on LinkedIn or even write a great recommendation for them. Endorsements and recommendations show up on members’ profiles and can give recruiters and potential employers confidence that a person has the skills they’re looking for, so this small step can go a long way to bolstering your volunteers’ career opportunities.

You can also encourage your volunteers to add context around the skills they gained by adding their volunteer experience to their LinkedIn profile. This benefits your organization, too, since your logo will appear on their profile and visitors can click through to visit your LinkedIn Page and learn more.

Celebrate International Volunteer Day on LinkedIn

Organizations of all kinds will be celebrating the spirit of volunteering on and around December 5. By joining the conversation and posting compelling content that captures the essence of your cause and puts people first, you can make your current volunteers feel seen and appreciated — and encourage new supporters to think about more ways they can get involved.

Learn more about attracting the talent you need on LinkedIn. Check out our discounted hiring solutions for nonprofits today.