Registered Charity No. 1097376 Company Ltd by Guarantee.
Registered in England No. 4689779
» Accessibility Statement
Volunteer Centre Help For Organisations
Topics covered in this section:
» What is a ‘volunteer’?
» What organisations can we help and how?
» How do people choose volunteer opportunities?
» What checks do we make on prospective volunteers?
» Do we have lots of volunteers?
» How does your organisation register a need for volunteers?
» What information do we need to recruit volunteers for you?
» How do we advertise the opportunities registered with us?
» What are the good practice standards?
» How is good practice among organisations given public recognition?
» Any questions about the service?
What is a ‘volunteer’?
At VAEF, we believe that a volunteer is someone who, regardless of their age, race, sex, sexuality and other factors…
- Engages in voluntary activities through their own free will and is able to assert choice.
- Is given the opportunity to help in the community, whatever their abilities.
- Meets an existing need for help.
- Gives their time and skills with no expectation of payment.
- Is entitled to be valued and treated with respect and care by the organisation/people they help.
A volunteer is not...
- An employee or a substitute for one.
- Someone who has a role created to suit their skills or needs. This includes someone who needs to gain particular work experience to further their training.
- A general ‘helper’ with no clear role or responsibilities.
- Someone who is instructed or obliged to give their time without payment in order to meet the requirements of others. This includes placements required to keep receiving government benefits and activities pressed upon an individual by their family, social worker, CPN etc.
Click here to download a factsheet which defines ‘volunteering’ in more detail.
What organisations can we help and how?
VAEF provides a service matching volunteers with volunteering opportunities in a wide variety of organisations including the public, voluntary and community sectors.
We can:
- Promote your volunteer opportunities
- Recruit prospective volunteers on your behalf
- Obtain character references for Volunteers Plus volunteers so that you don’t have to
- Help you to manage your volunteers well so that both you and they get the most out of their volunteering experience.
How do people choose volunteer opportunities?
Everyone seeking a voluntary role through the Volunteer Centre is asked to complete a registration form. Most prospective volunteers visit our offices for a short one-to-one chat about the opportunities available. This helps them to choose from the opportunities that have been registered with us. It can introduce people to organisations and opportunities they might not otherwise have considered. Some people will be very specific about the type of volunteering they would like to do and will select just one opportunity. Most select several and will decide which opportunity/ies to opt for once they have visited the chosen organisations.
What checks do we make on prospective volunteers?
If a potential volunteer is assisted by Volunteers Plus, two character references are obtained before sending people's details to organisations. Where appropriate, we ask for additional information or a risk assessment form from professionals. Apart from new recruits to EFPCT opportunities, we no longer obtain references for volunteers recruited via our 'mainstream' (25 years plus) or MV (16-24 years) services. We also lack the resources to obtain CRB checks on volunteers on behalf of organisations. You will therefore need to consider if your organisation will do either or both of these before someone starts to volunteer with you. If so, please let the Volunteer Centre know so that we can tell prospective volunteers.
Once we have helped someone to choose what volunteering they would like to do, we will forward their details to the chosen organisation(s). Depending on a person's needs, the Volunteers Plus Co-ordinator may accompany them to their initial visit to see you and give them ongoing support in their placement. However, once someone is volunteering for you, they become the responsibility of your organisation.
Do we have lots of volunteers?
Most people are placed with organisations once they have been through our recruitment process. This means that we do not have a ‘pool’ of people waiting to volunteer. Although we recruit lots of new volunteers each year, there are always more opportunities than people to fill them. Also, some opportunities attract more interest than others. We therefore suggest that you use our service in conjunction with other methods of volunteer recruitment. We can provide advice on this.
How does your organisation register a need for volunteers?
First, your organisation should register with VAEF. A form for this is available by clicking here. The subscription fee depends on which of our services you wish to benefit from. VAEF membership does not mean automatic registration with the Volunteer Centre. This is because not all members require volunteers.
To additionally register your need for volunteers, please complete as many Volunteer Opportunity registration forms as you have volunteer roles. For example, you may need a volunteer Retail Assistant for your charity shop and a volunteer Administrative Helper for your main office so we ask you to complete a separate form for each one. Click here to download a Volunteer Opportunity registration form.
Please let us know as soon as possible if an opportunity changes or is filled. We will continue to assume that you need more volunteers unless you inform us to the contrary. We welcome feedback on how suitable the people are whom we recommend to you.
What information do we need to recruit volunteers for you?
In our experience, having a clear, specific opportunity title and a brief, appealing role description is key to attracting prospective volunteers. A factsheet giving tips on this can be downloaded by clicking here. Please provide literature about the work of your organisation so that we can give or show it to prospective volunteers. It will help them to decide whether they would like to volunteer for you.
How do we advertise the opportunities registered with us?
All volunteer opportunities are advertised on the national ‘do-it’ website: www.do-it.org.uk. This brings in a growing number of volunteers. No contact details for organisations are posted there. All enquiries come through us.
We also distribute leaflets about volunteering, attend promotional events, make presentations, have touring displays, regularly have articles in the local press, and organise one-off volunteering events such as the annual Volunteers Tea Party and Make A Difference Day. Take a look at our news page to find out more.
What are the good practice standards?
The good practice standards we encourage organisations to meet are linked to the Compact Code of Good Practice on Volunteering. A revised version was unveiled in October 2005. Unlike the previous draft, the Compact now provides an unequivocal definition of volunteering (as an unpaid activity), gives greater clarity about the range of appropriate volunteering activities available, and a Government commitment to free CRB checks for volunteers. The Compact recognises four principles fundamental to volunteering: choice, diversity, mutual benefit, and recognition. The Compact is available to download by clicking here.
The Volunteer Centre provides advice and support to organisations on good practice in volunteer management. This includes one-to-one meetings, literature and the option to join a local Volunteer Co-ordinators' Forum.
If you register with us as needing volunteers, we will expect you to either have or be actively working towards having the following basic standards applicable to all volunteers:
- Written volunteer policy and volunteer agreement
- Volunteer opportunity assignments each comprising a Role Description and a Person Specification
- Health and Safety policy
- Equal Opportunities policy
- Insurance relating to volunteers
We can provide information on all of the above, and in some cases models, which you can use and adapt for your organisation. We also have a series of factsheets on topics such as reimbursement of volunteers' expenses. These can be requested directly from the Volunteer Centre.
In our experience, potential volunteers lose enthusiasm if they aren't contacted personally within a fortnight of an organisation receiving their details from the Volunteer Centre. We therefore expect all the organisations that use our service to try to ensure they meet this standard. Bear in mind that often a potential volunteer has selected several organisations so the organisation that contacts them soonest and gives the best impression is likely to be the one they choose.
Our leaflet 'Your Rights and Responsibilities as a Volunteer' is given to everyone we assist to find a placement. It outlines what they can expect from the organisations they volunteer for as well as what organisations can expect from them. Click here to download this document. We believe that volunteering should be a mutually beneficial partnership between organisation and volunteer.
How is good practice among organisations given public recognition?
The Volunteer Centre is keen to highlight those organisations that meet more than the minimum standards of good practice. We do this in a variety of ways. For example, to mark national Compact Week 2005 (1st - 7th November), the Volunteer Centre presented Certificates of Excellence to local voluntary groups that have set a high standard in volunteer management. This was based on comparison of their practices with the national Volunteering Compact Code of Good Practice, the Local Volunteer Compact, and the Volunteer Centre Agreement, with which all organisations benefiting from our service are asked to comply. John Scott (Joint Chief Executive, EFDC), Jacqui Webb (Chief Officer, VAEF) and Jo Price (Volunteer Centre Coordinator, VAEF) presented certificates to three organisations in recognition for this area of their work:
- Chigwell Disabled Group
- Nacro and Epping Forest Sports and Leisure Project
- Loughton and District Citizens' Advice Bureau.
L-R: Jo Price and Jacqui Webb (VAEF), Tony Ames (Loughton and District CAB), Kim Marshall and Lee-Ann Lesage (Chigwell Disabled Group), and John Scott (EFDC)
L-R: Jo Price and Jacqui Webb (VAEF), Tony Ames (Loughton and District CAB), and John Scott (EFDC)
Jacqui Webb (Chief Officer, VAEF) says "We were delighted to select these organisations from the 122 registered with the Volunteer Centre. They have all achieved excellent standards in volunteer management as outlined in the Compact Volunteering Code of Good Practice. This is reflected in their success at recruiting and retaining volunteers, many of whom have come through the Volunteer Centre. Their practices set an excellent example to other organisations. "
Any questions about the service?
The team are always happy to help. Click here to find out how to contact us.
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