Acknowledging National Nonprofit Day 8 Months in Advance

Acknowledging National Nonprofit Day 8 months in advance allows me time to prepare for a moment when we can take stock and publicly appreciate #board members and #volunteers.

I just learned this morning that the official day takes place on August 17.

One #organization I worked for picked an occasion each year to thank its volunteers, community #advisory board members, board members, event folks, and more by providing a thank you gathering with quality food and beverages while asking nothing of the volunteers except to arrive. 

It was a brainchild of the #communications #manager, Elisabeth Flynn, and was brought to life with a team that understood how valuable the crew of unpaid stakeholders were to the #nonprofit. 

After consulting with the auditors, under the #leadership of the now-retired Bruce Braunewell, CPA, we were able to estimate their collective #value at $175,000 in the first year.

By year 5, using the standard provided by the Independent Sector, our volunteers (non-board members) gave an estimated $380,000 in value, which everyone agreed was far below what was indeed the total because we didn't capture all the volunteer services provided in writing.

*** Volunteers are tremendously helpful and hopefully not underappreciated.