NVF: Incentivised volunteering and rewarding volunteers
We held our National Volunteering Forum on 2 October in Birmingham. It was a great event where delegates and speakers from over 50 organisations came together to discuss the benefits and challenges of incentivised volunteering and rewarding volunteers. You can read my blog summarising the speeches and check out the Twitter moment giving a snapshot of what people were talking about on the day.
Our next Forum will take place on 25 January 2019 at NCVO in London and will coincide with the launch of the final report on the volunteer experience research we have been conducting. Make sure to save the date in your diary and sign up to updates from the volunteering team to know when tickets are released.
Our National Volunteering Forums are popular, and we always have a large waiting list. We want to keep these events free for our members, but we do also want to make these events as open to as many organisations as possible so that as many as possible can benefit. We will therefore be limiting the number of free member tickets to two per organisation from the next forum onwards.
Call for information regarding Tier 5 (charity worker) visa issues
Over the last few months, several of our members have told us they have been experiencing difficulties related to the use of Tier 5 (charity worker) visas for overseas volunteers. If your organisation has experienced any difficulties of this kind, please get in touch with me at Charles.Gillies@ncvo.org.uk .
AVM Conference 2018
We will be at the Association of Volunteer Managers (AVM) conference on 18 October in London. This is a fantastic event bringing together those who are passionate and proactive about volunteer management for a day of discussion and networking. We will be tweeting live from the conference so make sure to follow #AVM2018 to see what we’re talking about on the day.
Celebrate volunteer managers on 5 November
International Volunteer Managers Day (#IVMDay2018) is on 5 November, a day on which we celebrate the contribution of volunteer managers around the world.
This year’s theme is ‘Time for Change’: the organisers of the day are urging us to ‘explore the changes needed in our great profession, to ensure it remains relevant and powerful into the future.’
#iwill Week 2018
This year #iwill Week 2018 is 12-16 November and celebrates the contributions of young people involved in social action across the UK. If young people are involved in social action in your organisation, this is the week to amplify their voices allowing them to talk about the impact they have on their communities. Get involved with talking about youth social action on Twitter using #iwillWeek and find out more about how you can engage with the campaign.
NCVO/BWB Trustee Conference: Good governance, great organisations
Join us at our annual Trustee Conference on 5 November in London where we will use the Charity Governance Code to explore the key principles of good governance and how to embed them across your organisation. Using the code, we will give you practical tips and guidance on how to support your charity to follow best practice in governance and help you to develop in your role as a trustee.
Book your place at the conference.
Volunteering in later life can have many benefits
Lisa Hornung, senior data and research analyst at NCVO has written a blog summarising the findings of an evaluation of the Residents as Volunteers project which aimed to support over-75s living in Abbeyfield care homes to volunteer. Abbeyfield have now produced some good practice guidance on involving care home residents as volunteers based on the evaluation project.
Investing in Volunteers (IiV)
Investing in Volunteers (IiV) is the UK quality standard for good practice in volunteer management. This month, congratulations go to Humankind (formerly DISC) who have successfully renewed their IiV accreditation. Ann Hall, volunteer development manager at Humankind has talked about how IiV strengthens their volunteer programme and gives advice to organisations working towards achieving the IiV standard.
Training and events
Keep up to date with latest volunteering policy, research and practice at our sector-leading events:
NCVO/BWB Trustee Conference 2018: Good governance, great organisations – 5 November 2018 – The Brewery, London
Join us as we explore the key principles of good governance and how to embed them across your organisation.
We have all the training you need to be an even better volunteer manager:
Assessing the impact of your volunteers – 9 November 2018 – NCVO Conference Suite, London
This workshop will give you step-by-step guidance on how to assess the impact your volunteers are having on your organisation, your beneficiaries and themselves, as well as on the wider community and other stakeholders.
Good practice in volunteer management – 12 November – NCVO Conference Suite, London
This course provides an introduction to the key principles of good practice in volunteer management and how to apply them to your organisation.
Volunteering and the Law – 30 November 2018 – NCVO Conference Suite, London
This course will enable you to understand volunteering and the law in relation to issues such as safeguarding, data protection, health and safety, equality and diversity, insurance and benefits.
Charlie is a trainee volunteering development policy officer at NCVO, supporting NCVO's volunteering policy work. He has been volunteering since childhood in various roles, including at a community development charity working with the eastern European Roma community in Glasgow, as an adviser at a Citizens Advice bureau, and as a Scout leader. 
