A Good Volunteering Standard for Nottingham
During 2019, NCVS and partner organisations across the city met to create A Good Volunteering Standard for Nottingham, to form the basis of a Volunteer Strategy for the city. Feedback and ideas were invited from Leaders of Volunteers and volunteers themselves. This resulted in 10 key principles to promote and encourage volunteering best practice in Nottingham. A cross-sector partnership continues to review and develop these principles.
We value your ongoing comments. Please email volunteercentre@nottinghamcvs.co.uk with your thoughts on these three questions:
- Do you think by implementing our standard that it will help your organisation to recruit and retain volunteers more effectively?
- How will the standard support you in your role as a leader of volunteers?
- What comments have you had from your volunteers about the standard?
Brief articles to stimulate ideas and discussion
Our Volunteering Development Officer, Dave Thomas, writes regular articles and updates to assist Leaders of Volunteers in your work. Here are some recent examples:
- Is the person applying for your volunteer role allowed to do so?
There are a number of legal constraints on who we can allow to volunteer. However, there are also people who may think they are prevented from volunteering who are not. Read this update about volunteering and the law.
- Volunteering by people with support workers
How workers supporting vulnerable clients can make best use of our NCVS Volunteer Centre, to link clients with volunteering opportunities. This article also invites feedback from Leaders of Volunteers.
- Beyond promotion - the second step in the volunteering journey
Some tips to improve communication with potential volunteers, and build an immediate positive relationship, once someone responds to your recruitment advert.
- Involving young volunteers
How can your organisation support young people to volunteer?
- Tapping into a wealth of experience
Are you making the best use of older volunteers’ skills and experience? Involving older adults in volunteer work is beneficial, not just for the communities they serve but for the volunteers themselves and the organisations they support.
- Is that new role really a volunteer role or should it be a paid job?
What to consider when volunteers are delivering services alongside paid workers.
- Supporting online and remote volunteers
Some learning from the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic about keeping in touch with volunteers remotely.
- Supporting and supervising volunteers
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.
- Best practices in volunteer supervision and support
Some best practices for supervising and supporting volunteers, highlighting the key differences between supporting volunteers and managing paid employees.
- Volunteer leadership: key skills and attributes
Being an effective leader of volunteers requires a blend of empathy, communication, adaptability, organisational skills, and the ability to inspire.
- What do we offer our volunteers?
Encouraging Leaders of Volunteers to consider what more you can offer your volunteers, and/or how to describe this differently.
- Volunteer recognition and reward
How to ensure that the contribution of all your volunteers is known and appreciated by the volunteers themselves and by staff across your organisation.
- The benefits of involving Lead Volunteers
Lead Volunteers are experienced volunteers who take on additional responsibilities to offer first-line support to a small group of their peers. This approach benefits both the organisation and the volunteers who take on the role of Lead Volunteer.
- Mind your language
Why the language we use to talk or write about volunteers and volunteering matters.
- Using inclusive language in volunteering
A summary of good (and bad) practice when looking at the use and significance of inclusive language in volunteering.
- Imposter Syndrome in Leaders of Volunteers
Are you facing a crisis of confidence in your role as a Leader of Volunteers? Here are some tips to help identify and resolve "imposter syndrome".
- What is the impact of volunteering?"
How to measure the difference your volunteer programme makes when you have few resources or little time to carry out detailed research.
- How do you know that volunteering really makes a difference?
Ten steps to help you measure the impact of involving volunteers.
- What's in it for me?
Creating a volunteer role profile that meets the needs of all stakeholders.
- Volunteer Management software review
A review of different Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems that could be used by organisations to manage your volunteer programme.