NCVO’s manifesto for the next government: a bigger role in building our future
NCVO has just published its manifesto for the next government: A bigger role in building our future – our vision for charities and volunteering.
The manifesto advocates for the next government to strengthen and value volunteering, calling on them to:
- introduce a statutory duty to allow employees of organisations over a certain size to take a limited amount of time off work to volunteer, including to perform trustee roles
- develop new funding for volunteer-involving organisations to help them better involve disabled people and break down barriers to volunteering.
You can read the manifesto in full and also check out Elizabeth Chamberlain’s blog post summarising the main policy asks.
National Volunteering Forum: Employer-supported volunteering
Last month, we held our National Volunteering Forum in Leeds where we brought together dozens of speakers and delegates from the sector for a day of discussion, learning and networking. The day focused on the theme of employer-supported volunteering (ESV), discussing the challenges, the benefits and the ESV landscape going forwards.
You can read my blog post to find out more about what happened at the event and check out the #VolForum hashtag see what delegates and speakers were talking about on the day.
Volunteers’ Week: What we learned
As soon as one Volunteers’ Week finishes, planning for the next one begins. Amira Tharani, senior consultant at NCVO Charities Evaluation Services, wrote about what we learned from evaluating this year’s event.
You can also find out about our plans Volunteers’ Week 2020 by getting in touch with us on the Volunteers’ Week website.
International Volunteer Managers Day guest blog
To coincide with International Volunteer Managers Day 2019 on 5 November (#IVMDay2019) Joel Rackham of Muscular Dystrophy UK wrote a fantastic guest blog post for us about the main challenges he faced in his first year as a volunteer manager.
Karl Wilding: My first few weeks as chief executive
Karl Wilding, NCVO’s new chief executive has written about his first few weeks in the role, telling us about the conversations he’s been having with NCVO members and his thoughts on what the key issues will be for the sector over the coming months.
You can also read this Civil Society article to find out what Karl said about volunteering at the recent Association of Volunteers Managers (AVM) annual conference.
Investing in Volunteers – how to feel proud and confident about your volunteering opportunities
At the end of October we celebrated 19 organisations from across the UK achieving the Investing in Volunteers standard (IiV). These organisations have all completed 12-month IiV development journeys, reviewing and developing practice to meet the standard.
Receiving an IiV award helps showcase confidence in volunteering programmes and enables organisations to feel proud about the opportunities they offer and the positive experiences of their volunteers.
You can find out who the new IiV achiever organisations are and contact them to find out more.
Here is what some of them have said about completing IiV:
It provided a fantastic platform to evaluate the programme and get feedback on all aspects from a broad selection of our volunteers…
A positive and worthwhile experience, ensuring we continue to challenge ourselves as an organisation to do the very best for our wonderful volunteers.
– Forestry England’s Westonbirt, The National Arboretum
Achieving the standard shows our volunteers and potential volunteers how much they are valued by the Trust, and gives them confidence in our ability to provide an outstanding volunteer experience.
– Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust
Find out more about the benefits of IiV.
International Volunteer Day 2019
International Volunteer Day, mandated by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, will be held on 5 December. The UN tell us that it’s a ‘unique chance for volunteers and organizations to celebrate their efforts, to share their values, and to promote their work among their communities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), United Nations agencies, government authorities and the private sector.’ You can find out more about the day on the UN website.
Call for papers: Voluntary Action History Society 7th International Conference
The Voluntary Action History Society’s (VAHS) 7th International Conference will take place at the University of Liverpool between 8 and 10 July 2020.
VAHS have announced a call for papers for this event: they are looking for papers ‘which will provide insights into the development of the history of voluntary organisations and volunteering in the past thirty years and address the challenges it faces in the future.’
You can find more information about the event and how to submit a paper on the VAHS website.
Training and events
Keep up to date with latest volunteering policy, research and practice at our sector-leading training and events:
- Volunteering and the law – 15 November 2019 – NCVO Conference Suite, London (one-day course)
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. - Assessing the impact of your volunteers – 28 November 2019 – NCVO Conference Suite, London (one-day course)
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. - Good practice in volunteer management – 20 January 2020, 6 March 2020 – NCVO Conference Suite, London (one-day course running on two different dates)
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. - Safeguarding for volunteer managers – 10 February 2020 – NCVO Conference Suite, London (one-day course)
This one-day course introduces the basics of safeguarding specifically within a volunteer managers role. It highlights effective safeguarding practice when working with and supporting volunteers.
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. 
