National Volunteering Forum – Digital: A help or hindrance to the volunteer journey?
Love it or hate it, digital is making a massive impact on the way we live. For volunteer managers, this includes how we interact with volunteers too. But is it all good? Can digital tools make volunteer management easier? How can we keep a personal connection with volunteers? How easily can volunteers find our opportunities online?
Come and join us and a panel of experts at our National Volunteering Forum on 15 May as we consider digital and the volunteer journey.
And as ever, there will be lots of time to network – the forum is a great chance to meet others involved in volunteering around the country.
Our National Volunteering Forums are always very popular, so don’t miss out and please book your place today.
NCVO Annual Conference 2019
NCVO’s Annual Conference 2019 will be held in London on 1 April 2019. Join over 600 colleagues from across the sector to explore trends and tools that you can harness to strengthen and support your organisation. Book your place now.
This event is for senior leaders of voluntary organisations and is very relevant to volunteering leaders. You can view the full programme for the conference, which includes a breakout session focusing on strategic volunteering. Join speakers Shaun Delaney, NCVO’s volunteering development manager, and Rob Jackson, of Rob Jackson Consulting, who will be leading a discussion on how you can strategise and make tactical choices for volunteering in your organisation.
NCVO Members’ Assembly – Bradford
NCVO Members’ Assemblies are a great opportunity for our members to network with each other, share ideas about current issues and talk directly to NCVO staff about how we can support them. Our assemblies also enable us to gather vital intelligence from the sector and understand the challenges voluntary organisations face which informs all our work. We hold 10 meetings throughout the year, aiming to reach all nine English regions. The next meeting will be on 25 March in Bradford, book your place now.
Call for case studies on volunteer expenses, recognition, rewards and gifts
We are planning to work with HMRC to develop clearer and more up-to-date guidance on volunteer expenses, recognition, rewards and gifts. We are really interested in hearing from our members about any situation involving volunteer-related expenditure and how it was dealt with. All case studies will be anonymised and only used to improve understanding of how volunteers are rewarded or incentivised. If you would like to help other volunteer-related organisations please email: volunteering@ncvo.org.uk
Call for NHS voluntary service managers – workshops to help strengthen NHS England’s volunteer recruitment and management guidance
NCVO is currently engaged in work to strengthen NHS England’s Recruiting and Managing Volunteers a Practical Guide. As part of this work, we would love to hear from NHS voluntary service managers and volunteering by holding online user testing workshops in the weeks commencing 18 and 25 March.
The purpose of these workshops is to ensure the guide is developed with its users at the core. If you are an NHS voluntary service manager/leader we would be really interested in hearing from you at these workshops. If you are interested in being involved, please complete the survey to let us know your availability.
Heritage Volunteering Conference 2019
Heritage Volunteering Group’s annual Heritage Volunteering Conference will be on 10 May at the National Railway Museum in York. Emma Faragher Smith, volunteer coordinator at the National Railway Museum, tells us: ‘Whatever your position if you manage volunteers Heritage Volunteering 2019: Leading at All Levels is the conference for you. With speakers and workshops from Science Museum Group, Canal & River Trust and The Museums Association the event will help you become a better leader of volunteers.’ The event will also host the Heritage Volunteering Group’s Volunteer Manager of the Year Awards. Book your place at this conference here.
Understanding barriers to volunteering among young people in deprived areas
Drawing on qualitative fieldwork conducted in Glasgow, James Davies’ paper aims to understand the barriers to volunteering among young people in deprived urban areas. The paper has been made available for free until 31 July 2019 as part of Voluntary Sector Review Editors’ Choice.
Institute for Volunteering Research evidence bank
We are really pleased to announce that all documents and reports from the Institute for Volunteering Research (IVR) evidence bank are now available for free on the British Library Social Welfare portal.
Investing in Volunteers (IiV)
Investing in Volunteers (IiV) is the UK quality standard for good practice in volunteer management. Recovery Connections has held Investing in Volunteers since October 2016. Read BRIC Lead Kayleigh Dunnigan’s reflections on their IiV journey and its benefits to the organisation.
Training and events
Keep up to date with latest volunteering policy, research and practice at our sector-leading training and events:
Good Practice in Volunteer Management – 29 March 2019 – NCVO Conference Suite, London
This course introduces the key principles of good practice in volunteer management and shows how to apply them to your organisation.
NCVO Annual Conference 2019 – 1 April 2019 – The Brewery, London
Join more than 600 colleagues from across the sector to explore trends and tools that you can harness to strengthen and support your organisation.
Assessing the impact of your volunteers – 2 May 2019 – 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.
National Volunteering Forum – 15 May 2019 – NCVO Conference Suite, London
Come and join us and a panel of experts at our National Volunteering Forum as we discuss digital and the volunteer journey.
Volunteering and the Law – 12 July 2019 – NCVO Conference Suite, London
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. 
