National Volunteering Forum – employer-supported volunteering
We are pleased to announce that our next National Volunteering Forum will be on Wednesday 23 October at The Studio in Leeds where we will be discussing employer-supported volunteering. Make sure to sign up to updates from the volunteering team and follow us on Twitter so we can let you know when tickets have been released.
Our National Volunteering Forum brings together volunteer-involving organisations and volunteer infrastructure bodies from around England to discuss issues of shared concern, feed into NCVO’s policy positions and to network. You can see previous topics we’ve covered here.
NCVO Campaigning Conference 2019 – book your place now
NCVO’s annual Campaigning Conference is now less than a month away! It’s the major event for campaigns, public affairs, and policy professionals working across the voluntary sector. This year’s conference will take place on Friday 6 September at NCVO in London. Join us to learn practical skills, share knowledge and expand your network.
View the programme for the conference and book your place
This year’s conference includes a breakout session looking at how organisations can ensure their campaign volunteers are representative of their supporters and present an authentic voice.
NCVO/Bates Wells Trustee Conference 2019 – book your place now
Registration for the annual NCVO/Bates Wells Trustee Conference is now open. Join us on Monday 4 November at The Brewery in London as we explore what good governance looks like for modern charities, using the key principles of the Charity Governance Code. We will give you practical tips and guidance to help you develop in your role as a trustee and support your organisation’s governance to go from strength to strength. This year the conference will include a breakout session outlining the legal issues trustees should be aware of when involving volunteers in their organisations.
Book now for the early bird discount.
Investing in Volunteers (IiV) Essentials – get involved and have your say on the development on a new free online tool
The Investing in Volunteers (IiV) team are developing a free online tool and would like to hear your views. Jo Maycock, Investing in Volunteers Programme Manager tells us more:
We’d love to hear views from a variety of organisations and groups that involve volunteers but do not hold the Investing in Volunteers quality standard. We’d like to see how IiV Essentials, a new free volunteering health check tool, could work to support your practice.
Be part of the current consultation of this new tool. IiV Essentials will help give an indication of how close your organisation or group are to having the essential elements for good practice in place. It will help you see if you have embedded the core foundations in line with the Investing in Volunteers quality framework. It will help you consider best approaches for effectively and meaningfully involving volunteers, and where there are areas that you might improve or develop.
Here’s how you can get involved:
- Try the draft tool and give us your thoughts by online survey.
- Book to attend an online workshop.
Retroactive changes made to Tier 2 and 5 sponsors guidance by the Home Office
The Home Office have recently made some retroactive changes to their Tier 2 and 5 sponsors guidance. The Tier 5 visa system is used by international volunteers (non-EU) coming to the UK and their sponsor organisations. The changes to the guidance apply with immediate effect to all current and future applications for a new or renewed sponsor licence.
Chetal Patel, immigration lawyer at the firm Bates Wells tell us:
With the UK immigration system under review and Brexit looming, changes to Home Office’s policy and guidance are to be expected. It is vitally important to be vigilant to the impact these changes will have on individuals and organisations that use the immigration system every day.
You can read more about the retroactive changes to the guidance on the Bates Wells website and sign up to Bates Wells’ e-updates about the latest legal and regulatory changes affecting charities and social enterprises.
IAVE Volunteering Together e-magazine
The International Association for Volunteer Effort (IAVE) releases a quarterly e-magazine, Volunteering Together, that focuses on volunteering-related news and insight from across the world. You can read the latest issue online: it’s all about youth volunteering and features an article about Step up to Serve.
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 – 13 September, 18 October, 6 December 2019 (one-day course running on three different dates) – NCVO conference suite, London
This one-day course provides an introduction to the key principles of good practice in volunteer management and how to apply them to your organisation. - NCVO Campaigning Conference 2019 – 6 September 2019 – NCVO conference suite, London
The major event for campaigns, public affairs, and policy professionals working across the voluntary sector. Join us to learn practical skills, share knowledge and expand your network. - Voluntary Sector and Volunteering Research Conference 2019 – 10 and 11 September 2019 – Aston University Business School, Birmingham
The conference provides a unique opportunity for academics, policy makers and practitioners from the UK and further afield to come together to share findings and discuss the implications of research. The theme for this year’s conference is ‘a civil society for the future. The early bird rate deadline is 12 July. - Assessing the impact of your volunteers – 26 September, 28 November 2019 (one-day course running on two different dates) – NCVO conference suite, London
This one-day 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. - NCVO/BWB Trustee Conference – 4 November 2019 – The Brewery, London
Join 400 colleagues from across the sector at the leading annual event for trustees, chairs, honorary treasurers, chief executives and anyone who works with a governing board. - Volunteering and the law – 15 November 2019 (one-day course) – NCVO conference suite, London
This one-day course helps 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. 
