That’s what happened to a PTO in Michigan recently, which was the subject of a news report that detailed how the group spent $2,000 of the $13,000 it raised last year on volunteer appreciation. There was enough of an outcry that the PTO president, along with another board member, resigned. 

Ugh. 

The takeaway: Of course you should celebrate volunteers. We think thanking volunteers is critical to your group’s success. But there are so many ways to show appreciation without spending a big chunk of cash. 

When we asked our Facebook community members if they have guidelines on volunteer appreciation spending, many of you said your groups spend either a small amount or find ways to say thanks to volunteers at no cost at all. 

Here are some of the ideas shared: 

• We have a zero budget for volunteer appreciation! We get together for dinner at Christmas and pay for it ourselves.  - Kim T. 

• Our budget for volunteer appreciation is $300. It is almost entirely used for providing lunch for our all-day volunteers at events. - Amanda D. 

• Our teachers do a luncheon for those that volunteer. We also vote on a volunteer of the year, and they get a front row parking spot for the year. -Lisa V. 

• We have a budget that the general membership approves so there are no surprises. We spend zero dollars on volunteer appreciation.  - Kerri H. 

• Our PTO budgets $100 to $200 on volunteer thank-you gifts. Last year we created a little memos that said "Thanks for popping in and volunteering" and we taped them to bags of popcorn. Our parents don't expect anything, but it is just a small gesture of our appreciation because they do get involved and help in our school.  - Misty C. 

• The school makes a certificate that we attach to candy and the principal and his staff do a potluck style appreciation lunch for us. We spent about $50 total. - Kim L. 

• We have a $500 budget for an end-of-year dinner and a small gift. We raise over $60,000 throughout the year. - Jenny M. 

• We thank the volunteers for each event via Facebook, and we put an ad in the local paper at the end of the year! - Marty B

Also, we have lots of ideas for saying thanks to volunteers that won’t break the bank: 

In our article, Treat Your Volunteers Right, we share inexpensive ideas, like arranging for students to send thank-you card to volunteers. 

Remember that small gestures really do work. Send volunteers low-cost gifts like small plants, bouquets of hand-picked flowers, or hand lotions. We have a collection of volunteer gift tags you can use to make these gifts special, along with other fun ideas (like a Helping Hands Tree) on our File Exchange. 

And our slide show on volunteer appreciation gifts will give you good ideas on how to package up small treats for your helpers.