"We'll keep you posted on new certificates, where to find other free cool stuff and other ways to reward your students and staff"
Motivation- Awards Boost Morale and Increase Development in Volunteers
Community service and the need for volunteers is often most noticeable during the holiday season. However, the less fortunate in your community aren't any better off during the rest of the year than they are around Christmas time. It's easy to find people who are willing to give of themselves during the holidays, but it's those people who volunteer throughout the rest of the year who really make a difference in the community. You can help motivate people who volunteer all year round with awards to make them feel appreciated and help them to see that they're making a difference, no matter what season it is.
You need to determine different ways that you can show appreciation and help motivate volunteers, including offering rewards and customized awards to commemorate their service, congratulate their accomplishments, or just as a way to say thank you for their help. It doesn't matter if the person is volunteering because they want to, or as a requirement for an organization; human nature causes everyone to want to feel appreciated and noticed for their efforts, so awards are always going to be a great tool for motivation and volunteer development.
You can get awards and templates for free, and simply download and customize them on your computer, then print them out. There are thousands upon thousands of different designs to choose from, as well as many different layouts, styles, themes, and templates. You can customize everything from the text on the awards and certificates to the colors and designs that are on them.
No matter how you decide to use or give these awards and certificates, people will always appreciate them and remember them for years to come. It doesn't matter that they didn't cost anything or that you didn't buy the most expensive gift; the thought and the inspiration that they offer is much more important to people than the dollar amount. You can even motivate volunteers with awards by setting up goals for them and offering awards for achieving the goals. For example, if you have a group of volunteers, you can encourage them with awards by setting a goal of 20 hours of service in a week, or two weeks. Whoever completes this is recognized with an award, and maybe even a small gift certificate, which will foster motivation and drive in the volunteers because they want to succeed.
By human nature, people are competitive and want to feel like they are appreciated. Using awards to motivate people to volunteer and succeed in their efforts to help others is a great way to accomplish both things. Offering an award gives people something to compete for, and when they receive it, they'll feel appreciated and like their efforts were noticed, which will make them want to help more. In a perfect world, motivation to help people would come from the satisfaction that you helped someone in need; however, this isn't a perfect world, so every little extra boost in morale will always help. Even something as simple as thank you, or holiday cards can go a long way in showing people that you've noticed what they did and are genuinely appreciative of their efforts.
0 
