• Thank volunteers – personal praise during the programme/at committee meetings/letters of thanks.  Try to refer to something specific when thanking volunteers, it shows that you have noticed what they’ve been doing!
• Ensure that all volunteers feel valued, regardless of their role within their club.
• Appoint a Volunteer Co-ordinator, or more than one to share the tasks!
  Acknowledge your volunteers (by name) in your club programme, newsletters and noticeboard.
• Run Newsletter features about people behind the scenes.
• Present an award for the Volunteer of the Year, or Long Service (this could be done during Volunteers’ Week in June, perhaps?).
• Provide refreshments for volunteers.
• Re-imburse out of pocket expenses, for example, travel.  Encourage all volunteers to take up expenses so that those who really need to do not feel stigmatised.  Have clear guidelines on what expenses will be paid e.g. mileage/public transport, meals.  Those who do not wish to keep their expenses can re-pay them as a donation to the club.

Volunteers need to stay motivated if they are to keep contributing. Motivation involves providing leadership which aims to ensure that their needs are being met and interest sustained.  There are several pointers to retaining volunteers:

• a clearly defined job
• aims which are challenging but achievable
• responsibility and appropriate authority
• feedback and recognition
• incentive
• development opportunities.

The pages on Supporting and Training Volunteers offer some more suggestions.