Volunteering round up: May 2018

Volunteers’ Week is nearly here!

It’s just two weeks to go until Volunteers’ Week 2018!

Hopefully you’ve seen our new Volunteers’ Week website and downloaded all the resources you need to celebrate your volunteers! If you haven’t, just go to the resources page and sign up with a new password for full access. We’re also promoting charity events on the website – so if you’re hosting an event, tell us about it! All you need to do is upload the details on our website.

Other things to look out for:

• we’re offering 10% off Volunteering and the Law 22 June and Good Practice in Volunteer Management 2 July if you book any time during Volunteers’ Week 1 – 7 June! Quote the discount code when you book: VW1810
• as well as taking to Twitter again, we’re also spreading our social media wings onto Facebook and Instagram. Follow us and share your stories, pictures and events using the hashtag #volunteersweek
• we’ll be focusing on different areas of volunteering throughout the week – read about our themed days.
• and finally, we’re running Twitter parties on 1 June and 6 June. See our events page for full details.

Latest volunteering data released

NCVO’s Civil Society Almanac 2018 has been published. Every year, NCVO researchers sift through a huge amount of data to provide a comprehensive overview of the UK voluntary sector. Read Claire Bernard’s blog summarising the 2018 research findings.

Volunteer managers will be especially interested in trends in volunteering. Other findings such as why people volunteer and why they stop, will also provide useful insight.

Stepping into volunteers’ shoes

As some of you will know, NCVO is carrying out extensive research into volunteering experience. This month we’ve launched a survey that will go out to 10,000 people, including current volunteers, those who have not volunteered recently and those who have not volunteered for a long time or ever.

The survey has been launched through YouGov’s panel. You can read more about this exciting piece of volunteering research in NCVO researcher Amy’s blog.

We need to talk about diversity

NCVO researcher Lisa Hornung shares her top three lessons from researching diversity in volunteering. Worryingly, class and education have a big influence on volunteer participation, and ‘formal’ volunteering opportunities are more exclusive. There’s plenty for volunteer managers to digest here about how they might broaden their volunteer base.

Lisa presented her findings at the NCVO Annual Conference at a session chaired by Jarina Choudhury in the Volunteering Team. Jarina has followed up with her reflections on the panel discussion.

Community transport update

After being approached by concerned charities, I wrote a short blog to explain how  an impending EU Regulation could harm the community transport sector.

The Community Transport Association gives more information and details of how you can get involved in their growing #WithoutCT campaign.

Any questions? Get in touch.

Civil society strategy

In March, Tracey Crouch, the minister for civil society, launched a consultation to inform the new civil society strategy.

The consultation closes on 22 May and includes  questions about how we grow volunteering and get more people involved. We urge charities with volunteers  to respond so that volunteering is properly represented.

Got time for a quick survey?

In November 2017, NCVO produced six factsheets and six short videos about volunteering in migrant camps to prepare volunteers and raise awareness of safeguarding issues within organisations.

We’re carrying out a five-minute survey and are very keen to hear your views – take part here. The survey will close on 23 May.

What we’re reading

• Inspiring volunteer stories, from volunteers and organisations, for the new Volunteers Week website.
• In new research, the Scouts found improved life satisfaction (70%) and self-esteem (66%) among volunteers, but also how volunteers struggle to balance their volunteering commitments with full-time work.
• The BBC’s report on the growing movement of community volunteers tackling speeding on their local roads.
• The BBC’s interviews with campaigners who volunteered at the recent local election campaigns for political parties.
• A volunteer for disabled people’s charity Breakthrough UK, shares his story on how he got involved in volunteering and never looked back.

Congratulatory Corner

Congratulations to another round of organisations who achieved Investing in Volunteers (IiV) in April. IiV is the UK standard for organisations providing outstanding volunteering opportunities.

Special congratulations to Norfolk & Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust- the only organisation to achieve IiV five times! The other brilliant latest achievers are:

• Cedarwood Trust
• Child Dynamix
• CASBA Advocacy
• Connected Together CIC
• CSW Group
• Deafness Support Network
• Healthwatch Wakefield
• Home-Start Richmond, Kingston & Hounslow
• Leeds Trinity Students’ Union
• LGBT Foundation
• Newcastle Carers
• Northampton Hope Centre
• Oswestry Community Action
• Portsmouth Museums and Visitor Services
• St Joseph’s Hospice
• The ReUse Centre Limited
• The Sharp End
• Trinity at Bowes Centre Plus (TaB Centre Plus)
• Winner, the Preston Road Women’s Centre.

Training and events

We’ve got all the training you need to become an even better volunteer manager:

• Safeguarding for volunteer managers – 21 May 2018
  *Last chance* to book onto this course which introduces the basics of safeguarding within a volunteer managers role and highlights effective safeguarding practice.
• Volunteering and the Law – 22 June 2018
  This course introduces volunteering and the law in relation to issues such as safeguarding, data protection, health and safety, equality and diversity, insurance, and benefits.
• Good practice in volunteer management – 2 July 2018
  This course provides an introduction to the key principles of good practice in volunteer management and how to apply them to your organisation.