Volunteering is generally a self-rewarding endeavor. You are rewarded by the satisfaction of helping those in need. Undoubtedly, service itself is incentive enough for the generous men and women who dedicate themselves to making a difference in their communities, but what if, after five hours of work, you could stay in a luxury hotel with expenses paid? Would that have you a little more excited about volunteering your time?

One Atlanta-based company attempting to build volunteer excitement is Do Good Get Rewards. Do Good Get Rewards does its business by allowing volunteers at partner organizations to earn points for their volunteer hours and cash them in for valuable reward packages such as hotel stays, airline flights and Caribbean cruises. For 15 hours, volunteers can take a two-day cruise of the Caribbean. For 20 hours, they get airfare and hotel accommodations in cities throughout the U.S.

Tammy Allen, the executive director and founder of Do Good Get Rewards, said the whole idea stemmed from her desire to help those who help others.

“I wanted to find a way to reward people for everyday acts of kindness,” said Allen. “People don't do it to get rewarded, and that just warms your heart... They give their time, and you just want to give them something back.”

The company boasts of embracing the model of conscious capitalism, in which businesses can not only make profit, but also act as a positive force in their communities. Do Good Get Rewards has been able to entice companies to provide reward packages for volunteers in exchange for the public relations benefits of partnering with nonprofit organizations.

In Mableton, the Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta have made good use of the Do Good Get Rewards program. Beth Messer, the vice president of services and volunteer education for the Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta, said many volunteers with the Girl Scouts have used the program and earned the rewards.

“I think volunteers feel recognized and supported,” Messer said. “We said, 'Thank you for what you do for the Girl Scouts. You're not only making a difference in the lives of girls, but we want you to get a little something back in exchange.'”

One goal of Do Good Get Rewards is to help nonprofit organizations keep the volunteers they already have. About one third of volunteers do not continue volunteering their time one year after they begin. Do Good Get Rewards is trying to fix this by offering more incentive for volunteers to stay. For the Girl Scouts, this seems to have worked as retention rates have improved since the inception of the program, Messer said.

Of course, doing good should not be about receiving material rewards, but who is going to argue with an idea that gets big business to pay people for volunteering?. For more information about Do Good Get Rewards, visit dogoodgetrewards.com.