@Julian will most likely agree with me, that the biggest impact of a handwritten card, is the aching hands and fingers after a few days of writing many, many cards/letters to individuals 

With that said, the cards were very much appreciated because it was so unique and surprising to receive something that took time and effort, when it would’ve been a lot easier and less time consuming to send a private message, email, or start a general topic of ‘thanks’. 

I had this experience myself actually, just before Christmas. OVO has been giving out free jumpers to all staff over the winter to help them all keep warm. They’re not for sale and there’s no way to obtain one unless you’re employed by OVO… Or you happen to be highly active on the forum…

Not only is the jumper I received from @timcavey and @JessPritch REALLY comfy and very warm, it was also a really nice surprise to find a personal note included in the parcel - which I almost missed had I not checked the package again before disposing of the envelope! XD

It’s not always as easy as you might think. As a volunteer, I cannot receive nor accept any kind of financial reward at all, because of weird anti-bribery rules and employment law type stuff that surrounds being a volunteer. If you start paying me cash, do I suddenly become an employee for example?!?!?! So yeah, hard cash is totally impossible and technically even gift cards can be a bit risky. The other one to avoid is free product/service/credits for that company as that falls into the same snags and more. If OVO was to give me free electricity in return for helping out, that would undermine my status as an independent volunteer and cause a huge Conflict of Interest which would be a nightmare to fix. However, a tangible object of some kind like a handwritten card, free mug or (in my case) a staff-only jumper “acquired” from OVO’s head office in Bristol is perfectly fine.

After all, not only is no money changing hands, but it’s also got sentimental value for me. Sure, I could sell it off and get cash, but who else would it have any value to? And if I did that, there’d be literally no way I’d be getting another one! So it’s also an incentive for me to treasure it and keep it safe. Bonus!

I even get to joke with the Support Team about the fact I snuck into the office and ran off with the jumper that whichever agent I’m on the phone to was meant to have. :D

It’s a really, really complicated thing to do safely and reliably. But if you manage to pull it off, I can definitely say it will delight your community members. Certainly did for me! :)

Wow, thank you everyone for the time you gave to answer my question. Loved the advice and personal experiences you all shared!

You all are the greatest!

-Taylor 

No worries, glad we could help! :)

Could you fill out your forum profile for us when you get chance though? I often check there for info that might make it easier to answer your questions, especially if it relates to your community.

There can also be a lot more that goes on here than just this. For starters, you’ve got the never ending Points battle between Daniel and Julian, a huge amount of ideas shared and sometimes the odd joke or two.

If you need a hand with anything else, feel free to stop by anytime. We’ll help you out as best we can!

@Taylor Tarpley We do both.

We just started using Tremendous for gift cards and so far so good. It literally took minutes to setup, you can fund easily with a credit card or transfer, and there are lots of global options plus charities. We just bought a group of users coffee for their 1:1s, awarded some prizes for a contest, and provided a thank you gift to some speakers. There are tons of options for this, if you need some suggestions to explore, LMK. 
 

On the card side, we’ve been using Handwrytten and have been having some fun with it. It does really on your community members being willing to share their personal details, and does have some cost involved, but our pilot with our ambassadors and a few other users got good feedback and we’re exploring other ways to use it, abet sparingly. Bonus of using a service like this is the personal touch while also avoiding a sore hand.