12.1 Congratulations

You’ve worked hard, and now that your event or program has ended, it’s time to celebrate your success!

Thanks and Acknowledgements

In your event or program debrief (Chapter 11 – Evaluation), you and your team will likely generate a list of people to thank. Thanks should be given to anyone who had a role in the success of your program and event, including sponsors, donors, volunteers, VIP guests, external collaborators, and, of course, the program participants.

Programmers who skip the acknowledgements and thank-yous risk leaving sponsors and donors feeling snubbed or undervalued. Expressing gratitude is essential for maintaining positive relationships and encouraging continued support (and its just good manners!).

Ways to Say Thanks

The bigger or more complex your program or event, the greater the need to show gratitude! Here are a few ways to show appreciation:

1. Personalized Thank-You Notes: Take the time to write personalized thank-you notes to each sponsor, donor, key staff member, VIP or volunteer. Mention specific contributions or actions they took at your program or event that made a difference and contributed to your success.
2. Recognition Ceremony or Event: Host a special recognition ceremony or event where you publicly acknowledge the contributions of sponsors, donors, key staff members, VIPs or volunteers. This can be done during or after the event.
3. Social Media Shoutouts: Use the organization’s social media platforms to publicly thank sponsors, donors, staff, volunteers, and participants. Tagging individuals in posts, sharing photos or videos of the program or event (signed photo/video release forms may need to be obtained prior) and highlighting their presence and contributions amplifies their impact and is a great way to show appreciation.
4. Acknowledgment in Promotional Materials: This is a way of showing thanks in advance. Include the names or logos of sponsors and donors in promotional materials for your recreation program or event, such as flyers, posters, and event programs. This not only shows gratitude but also provides these individuals and organizations with visibility and recognition.
5. Exclusive Perks or Discounts: Offer sponsors, donors, staff, volunteers, participants, and attendees exclusive perks or discounts for future events or programs as a token of appreciation for their support and participation.
6. Volunteer Appreciation Events: Organize a special event or gathering to specifically celebrate and thank volunteers for their time, effort, and dedication. This could be a casual get-together, a volunteer appreciation lunch, or an afternoon of fun activities.
7. Certificates of Appreciation: Present certificates of appreciation to sponsors, donors, staff and volunteers, recognizing their contributions and expressing sincere gratitude for their involvement.
8. Feedback and Impact Reports: Provide sponsors, donors and staff with the post-event feedback report generated from the debrief detailing how their contribution(s) made a difference. Be sure to cite feedback metrics, statistics, anecdotes and testimonials to illustrate the impact of their support. Note: In some instances, when a program or event has only been made possible due to a grant, sharing feedback or impact report isn’t just a courtesy but a requirement of the granting body.

Implementing the above strategies allows recreation professionals to do some appropriate post-program bragging! Sending thanks and showing gratitude strengthens the recreation programmer’s relationships with sponsors, donors, staff, volunteers, participants, and attendees. It also fosters a deeper sense of community belonging and community identity among the participants, non-participants and other stakeholders.