26+ Certificate of Appreciation and Letters

What Is a Certificate of Appreciation and Letter?

A certificate of appreciation is a specialized document prepared by companies or organizations to show their gratitude towards someone’s work, performance, or participation in a particular subject. Giving this certificate to the person involved displays how a business fully acknowledges a job well done. Besides a straightforward certificate, this document can also be as detailed as a letter of appreciation where you say thanks in a letter format.

Based on a survey, 78% of employees agreed that being acknowledged for their contributions or efforts helps them feel motivated at work.

Why Is a Certificate of Appreciation Important?

A certificate of appreciation is essential to help boost the morale of people. In the workplace, for example, the employee who receives an appreciation certificate may feel inspired, driven, and confident that his or her efforts were recognized by the company. Oftentimes, this document is given as an award certificate where not only will the people’s names be announced to the whole team but they may receive special rewards too. Thus, it prompts others to be more dedicated to their job to be acknowledged as well.

Also, certificates of appreciation are not only used for employee appreciation. You can also display your thanks to a donor, guest speaker, student, the army, or anyone who has shown outstanding work, support, or performance. The same goes when a person of an organization leaves the group so at least his or her time and effort being given to the team can be noted in the certificate to say farewell graciously.

What Are the Basic Parts of a Certificate of Appreciation?

Albeit companies and organizations consist of different contents for the certificates of appreciation, there are standard parts worth taking note of too. And these elements are what make up a basic structure of an appreciation certificate. So without further delay, here are the standard elements of a certificate of appreciation:

Title: First of all, a certificate of appreciation must have a straightforward title for its document. That means the words ‘Certificate of Appreciation’ should be clearly seen in the document. It is usually written at the top center of the certificate and written in large fonts to give away the main purpose of the document automatically.Branding: A company or employer branding is crucial for the certificate. This practice helps market the company’s signature color, design, and brand. That way, people would know to which company this certificate is from. Therefore, expect to incorporate the enterprise’s official logo, signature colors, contact information, and other branding details in the certificate of appreciation.Name of the Person: Of course, the most important part is to write the name of the person or group you want to say thanks to. This part of the certificate marks the recipient of the appreciation. Expect to write the person’s complete name as well as some titles associated with them like the job title or role in the organization.Official Statement of Appreciation: “This certificate is proudly presented to,” “This certificate is awarded to,” and “This certificate goes to:” are examples of a certificate appreciation’s official statement of appreciation. Take this section as the introductory statement that follows after the title to inform the certificate’s message further.The Reason behind the Appreciation: Indeed, the title, official statement, and person’s name already give away the gist of the appreciation certificate. But people would want to know what did that person do to receive the certificate in the first place. And this is where you add the reason behind it by stating the person’s stellar performance, special participation, generous service, or every contribution that led him or her to receive the award.Name of the Organization Issuing the Certificate: Besides the branding, it is standard to write the full name of the organization issuing the certificate. It could also be the name of the employer or HR since they are the highest authority of an organization. And they are usually the last people to sign the certificate since their confirmation is what validates the certificate.Name of the Authorized Person Issuing the Certificate: On the other hand, the name of the authorized person issuing the certificate is on a slightly lower level of the HR or manager but is the one responsible for confirming the efforts and contributions displayed by the person being thanked for. It could be the team leader or assistant manager. And it is through how they monitored every member of an organization that they can tell who deserves to receive an appreciation certificate.

How to Create an Impressive Certificate of Appreciation

A person who receives a single certificate of appreciation can already make a huge impact. But be sure not to ruin your display of appreciation by providing a poorly made appreciation certificate or letter. In fact, making certificates of appreciation is not that difficult. You can come up with a well-made certificate of appreciation by following these six steps:

Step 1: Prepare the Certificate or Letter Early

As much as possible, be punctual in making the certificate of appreciation. Otherwise, the person who did something great to the organization may be forgotten if you process it weeks or months afterward. Also, a quick job will be appreciated more since it shows how a company really keeps track of the members’ progress rather than leaving them behind. And the key is to ensure you prepared a monitoring or evaluation report to see right away who deserves the certificate.

Step 2: Use a Sample Certificate of Appreciation

Making a certification of appreciation from scratch sure sounds like a tedious task. But that is not the case when you use sample templates instead. As you can see above, sample certificates of appreciation and letters are provided. Just pick your favorite sample to work on until you can craft the certificate in no time. Each sample is premade and customizable which gives you enough freedom on what to add, change, or improve to the document.

Step 3: Complete the Certificate’s Basic Parts

From the title, branding, name of the person, and other parts discussed before, be sure to implement those parts into your certificate or letter as well. Having the basic elements of a certification of appreciation will complete your certificate’s data. Otherwise, you might forget to mention the name of the person or the official statement of appreciation which is crucial to the document. Thus, use the certificate’s basic parts discussed earlier as your task checklist to make sure you won’t forget a single thing.

Step 4: Be Sincere with Your Words

Certificates and letters must have a cordial touch to them. Hence, you should adopt sincerity with your words in saying “Thank you,” and other kind words. A certificate is not just a grand display to be thanked by appearance as it is about giving thanks genuinely. And that is why personal messages that add well to the appreciation certificate are welcome so employees or the people being thanked for would feel that it is more than just a piece of paper. It is a huge honor to be appreciated then.

Step 5: Double-Check the Content and Person’s Background

It would be a complete blunder to write the wrong name and incorrect background statement in the certificate. Hence, do your research too by ensuring you got the correct spelling of the name. The same goes for what the person contributed to the organization. Maybe you mentioned a certain project which that person you thanked for did not do and that would cause drama afterward. So it only makes sense to have a thorough review of the certificate first before even producing or presenting it.

Step 6: Finalize Your Preferred Format and Design

Lastly, think about how you want the certificate to appear in its final form. Besides deciding the format in PDF or MS Word form, you can also alter every detail and design from transforming it into a printed version or simply a digital copy. Also, you can add more parts to the certificate aside from the previously discussed based elements of an appreciation certificate. And if you need multiple batches of these certificates, no worries—you can produce them as many times as you like. Once crafted, don’t forget to set the schedule of when you will give or present this certificate to the person concerned.

FAQs

When should you give a certificate of appreciation?

To effectively acknowledge the person to thank, it works best to give the certificate of appreciation during a business meeting or maybe a special ceremony. This way, people get to congratulate the person involved and recognize his or her work as announced rather than just giving the certificate in person with no one else around.

Is a certificate of appreciation considered an award?

Yes, a certificate of appreciation is synonymous with an award where you congratulate someone for his or her performance in a particular subject. In the certificate’s case, the award is more of a written statement or proof rather than prestigious awards such as trophies, cash prizes, and the like.

What is the difference between a certificate of appreciation and a certificate of recognition?

Indeed, the certificate of appreciation and the certificate of recognition are often interchangeable. But there is a slight difference where a recognition certificate focuses on what people did whereas an appreciation certificate is often about who people are.

What is a graduation appreciation certificate?

A certificate of graduation appreciation is a special document thanking a student who has finally graduated from school. This document is a way of thanking students for all their efforts and sacrifices as they finally finished school and can go to the next school level or go to work. And just like a school diploma, it is something to be proud of as well.

The next time you need an inexpensive but expressive way of thanking a person formally, don’t forget to make a certificate of appreciation and letter. This way, you can avoid the impression of taking for granted all the efforts and sacrifices some individuals made for an organization or event. Thankfully, you won’t have to struggle in making them since sample certificates of appreciation are available 24/7. Create a certificate of appreciation and letter now!