A few years ago I wrote an article about the four appreciation languages, informal thank-yous, tangible gratitude, public acknowledgement and appreciation events.

I’ve talked and written a lot about them but I’ve learned, over the last while, I missed one – and it is the most important one—meaningful appreciation through "practical kindness."

When I start working with a new client, I always begin with an audit of their volunteer engagement. Part of that process includes having interviews with some of their current volunteers.

One of the organizations I worked with recently has extraordinary volunteer retention, above and beyond what simply a powerful mission would create. In my conversations with the volunteers, the reason became obvious. When I asked how appreciated they felt, they all said “highly”. But when I asked how the organisation demonstrated that appreciation, the answers were insightful.

“When we had to work late, they brought in food so we wouldn’t have to cook when we got home.”

“When a courier lost the materials we needed for our event, a staff member drove over an hour to bring us replacements.”

“When I had an audacious idea, they jumped on board and provided me with everything I........

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