Good IDEAS Toolkit

For community groups, organisations and charities who have volunteers..

WELCOME

We hope this tool kit will help you consider how you can make volunteering with your organisation more inclusive. We will identify and explore best practice, barriers to participation, communication, promotion, hints and tips, supervision and support.

DEFINITION

So, What is Supported Volunteering?

For the purpose of this toolkit, we are defining supported volunteering as providing levels and type of support appropriate to the needs of each individual volunteer.

What does IDEAS represent?

Inclusion
Diversity
Equality
Access
Suggestions

Introduction

The motto used by Volunteer Centres and volunteer-involving organisations(VIOs) fits into what this tool kit seeks to address, that

“ Volunteering is for all” and “Anybody can be a volunteer”.

This toolkit aims to provide basic resourceful principles that support all volunteers from a person-centred approach. Everybody needs some support, though levels will differ. There are many benefits to making your volunteering offer more inclusive.

Are there things that might be stopping people from engaging with your group/organisation? Can you identify provide support that might encourage a potential volunteer to come forward?

A supported volunteering approach: Key benefits to the Volunteer

Sense of Belonging – Feeling valued and connected to a wider community
Enhanced Wellbeing – Contributes to positive mental, emotional, and social health
Increased Confidence & Self-Esteem – Encourages personal growth and self-belief
Inspiring Ambition & Building Resilience – Motivates individuals to set goals and overcome challenges
Skill Development & Networking – Gaining new skills and building meaningful connections.
Greater Awareness of the Organisation – Learning more about our work and potentially making new friends
Fostering Independence & Responsibility – Encourages ownership, initiative, and personal accountability
Increased Work Readiness – Provides relevant work experience to boost employability and future prospects

A supported volunteering approach: Key benefits to the Organisation

Appeals to people who want to volunteer but don’t know where to start or what they want to do
Volunteers have greater awareness on the range of services you provide, so can better inform others
Volunteers can be current or future service-users and have an established connection
Potentially a pool of job-seekers to alleviate recruitment challenges
New perspectives and wider-ranging feedback
Creates conditions for engagement with seldom-heard cohorts
Helps develop partnerships & networks with other organisations

A supported volunteering approach: Key benefits to the Community

Increasingly, volunteers are the glue that holds a community together
Volunteers have greater awareness on the range of services you provide, so can better inform others what’s available
Volunteers talk about volunteering, so can encourage others to volunteer
A ready-made contact list for emergencies..?

Supported Volunteering: Basic Principles

Adopting a person-centred, strength-based approach for enquirers
What are their skills, aspirations, interests, availability, values, motivations for volunteering?
What would they like to do?
What are the possibilities?
Find a role for the volunteer, not a volunteer for the role
What challenges do they feel they face?
What support would they like / would help them to in their volunteering?
Inclusive induction process
Check-ins at a frequency and format to suit the individual
Ongoing support and opportunities to redeploy when things change
This might mean they don’t volunteer for you – but more likely they will continue to volunteer in the community