News Articles
Using inclusive language in volunteering
Dave Thomas, Volunteering Development Officer at NCVS, continues his series of articles in support of Leaders of Volunteers. This time, Dave looks into the use and significance of inclusive language in volunteering. At the last Leaders of Volunteers Network meeting, we had an interesting discussion about the use of inclusive language in volunteering. Since then, I have done…
Sign our open letter to save our sector from budget cuts!
Many of you will have responded directly, either personally or on behalf of your organisation, to Nottingham City Council's budget proposals for 2024/2025. In reducing support to our communities, especially to some of Nottingham's most vulnerable citizens, the proposals will have a dramatic impact on VCSE sector service provision, and on the health and wellbeing of all Nottingham people. While…
ASDA Foundation Grants for Local Communities
This fund closed for applications on 24 May 2024 The ASDA Foundation supports small, grassroots organisations through various grant schemes. Local Community Champions work with groups to find the best way the ASDA Foundation can support them.Groups can apply for between £400 and £2,000, the total amount applied for must fully cover the cost of any individual item. Groups with an annual…
Imposter Syndrome in Leaders of Volunteers
Dave Thomas, Volunteering Development Officer at NCVS, continues his series of articles in support of Leaders of Volunteers. This time he has some tips to help identify and resolve "imposter syndrome". In the past few weeks, I have had a number of conversations with Leaders of Volunteers facing a similar crisis of confidence in their own ability. So, I did some digging about this and re-…
Who looks after Leaders of Volunteers?
NCVS Volunteering Development Officer, Dave Thomas, writes: Volunteers really can do anything! Every day, in organisations and groups across Nottingham, volunteers are stepping up to tackle a myriad of different challenges. The most effective volunteers also have good leadership. That’s where Leaders of Volunteers come in. We might call them Volunteer Managers, Volunteer Coordinators or Volunteer…
We support Nottingham communities to 'Travel Well'
We're pleased to announce that NCVS is part of a new Active Travel social prescribing pilot project in Nottingham. The trial will give healthcare professionals and social prescribers the ability to refer patients to services that promote walking, cycling and wheeling delivered within the community. Locally, the project is called 'Travel Well' and is led by Nottingham City Council in partnership…
Unveiling volunteer motivation: insights from the latest data
Dave Thomas, Volunteering Development Officer at NCVS, has been reviewing some of the latest reports on VCSE sector trends, helping to draw out the facts and figures which relate to volunteering. Leaders of Volunteers already know that volunteers are the unsung heroes of our society, dedicating their time, energy, and skills to support various causes and organisations.…
Thank you to our Cheers for Volunteers partners
A big thank you to all fourteen volunteer-involving organisations who took part in “Cheers for Volunteers” at the Victoria Embankment Memorial Gardens. The event this month (October 2023), was designed to celebrate volunteers in the south of the city and to generally promote volunteering. All sizes and types of organisations had stalls. Nottingham Green Guardians and Parks Volunteers, Community…
Supporting and Supervising volunteers
A good practice article for Leaders of Volunteers by Dave Thomas, Volunteering Development Officer at NCVS. Two of the many hats that Leaders of Volunteers wear are those of Volunteer Supporter and Volunteer Supervisor. Often these two hats seem interchangeable, but it is good to think of them both as separate parts of volunteer leadership with quite different functions. In my Mind your…
New Nottinghamshire app gets you moving from screen to green
We've launched a smart phone app to help boost the health and wellbeing of people in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire by encouraging them to explore the great green spaces in their community and beyond. The GreenSpace NG app was developed by NCVS in collaboration with Doug Colton, a volunteer app developer, as part of Nottingham’s green social prescribing project, GreenSpace. You can download the…
