How can we create a better future for volunteering?

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Our development officer, Lizzie Clapham, shares her thoughts on what the future looks like for volunteering.

What’s the future for volunteering?

The volunteering landscape is constantly changing and adapting. We all know that volunteers are essential to maintaining our vibrant communities, and that volunteering offers individuals a wide range of benefits from developing new skills to improving social connections.

However, we are seeing that volunteers are becoming harder to recruit and retain.

A couple of weeks ago, I attended a Vision for Volunteering workshop. It was an insightful session which has caused me to put pen to paper today.

What is the vision?

The Vision explores what volunteering might look like by 2032. It recognises that volunteering, in its current form, isn’t accessible or equally enjoyable for everyone; that there were changes in volunteering and activities during the pandemic -not all positive or permanent – and that there are changing patterns in who volunteers, how, and in what activities and roles. This is certainly evident in the latest NCVO Time Well Spent report – more of this later.

The Vision proposes five themes for the future of volunteering:

  1. Awareness and appreciation – a future where a culture of volunteering is part of everyone’s life and volunteer roles are given the recognition they deserve
  2. Power – a future where volunteers (and the communities they serve) lead on change that matters to them
  3. Equity and inclusion – a future where it’s easy for people to give their time and energy to the causes they care about, they feel welcomed, and the benefits are equally distributed
  4. Collaboration – a future where collaboration is natural and spontaneous, where people do great stuff together because they want to
  5. Experimentation – a future where communities aren’t afraid to try new things, and to develop their own, innovative solutions to engaging and supporting volunteers.

Workshop participants were asked 1) what they are currently doing that relates to each theme 2) if there are new or different things they would like to try and 3) if there are any support/training/resources that might be needed to achieve these.

It was evident that lots of people are already doing great things but there is still a way to go. The Vision team are now working on sharing stories, building networks, influencing, curating resources and exploring ideas. They are currently developing a toolkit offering a framework for starting conversations in communities.

If you would like to have a copy of the slides and jamboards from the workshop I attended, to prompt discussion in your own organisation, please get in touch by emailing info@communityfirstyorkshire.org.uk. It will certainly be interesting to see how the Vision develops and is implemented, particularly given the findings from the latest NCVO Time Well Spent report which was launched earlier this week.

About Time Well Spent

Time Well Spent is NCVO’s research programme focusing on people’s experience of volunteering.. Time Well Spent 2023 surveyed 7,006 adults across the UK, and explored what volunteering, and the  volunteer experience, looks like now. The report findings showed that:

  • while volunteer satisfaction is high, it is lower than it was. Younger, public sector volunteers, and disabled volunteers continue to be less satisfied
  • Despite efforts around equity, diversity and inclusion in recent years, a lower proportion said they see volunteers from a wide range of backgrounds around them indicating an inequality in volunteer experiences
  • Remote and flexible volunteering is valued and increasingly common with those who volunteer remotely indicating they feel as satisfied, supported and connected as those who don’t. Non-volunteers say flexibility is the factor most likely to encourage them to volunteer
  • Despite external changes, the core motivations for volunteering remain the same – wanting to improve things or help and making a difference are still the top reasons for starting volunteering
  • The financial impact of volunteering is increasingly seen as a barrier. 14% of non-volunteers say worries about being out of pocket is a reason for not volunteering, up from 5% in 2019
  • Wider data also suggests a decline in formal volunteering
  • The main reason people stop volunteering is having less time due to changing circumstances.
My main learnings from ‘Time Well Spent’

I think my key take away from the report is that, while there are many things we can’t influence, we can shape our volunteer experiences.

If we want to keep volunteers engaged, we need to be proactive and keep adapting to the inevitable changes that lie ahead, hopefully ensuring that volunteering continues to be time well spent.

Further information

Take a look at the Vision for Volunteering website where you can also sign up to their mailing list.

Twitter: @VisionForVol

Instagram: @VisionForVolunteering

Facebook: facebook.com/visionforvolunteering

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/vision-for-volunteering

Take at look at the NCVO Time Well Spent report here.

You may also be interested in the five key takeaways from Time Well Spent 2023 here and a recording of the Time Well Spent 2023 launch event.

 

How can we help?

At Community First Yorkshire we have a wide range of experience in supporting volunteering and volunteer involving organisations. From recruitment and induction to policies and practice, do get in touch with our development officers if you have a question.

You may like to join our Volunteer Coordinators Network which meet regularly to share good practice and ideas.

Welcome to our new Age Friendly Network coordinator

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She’s only been in post a few weeks but our new Age Friendly Network coordinator, Jeanette Hague, is keen to say hello.

The Age Friendly Network aims to give people aged 50+ in North Yorkshire a voice to help shape services that have an impact on living and working in the county. Find out more here.

Welcome Jeanette. Tell us a little about yourself.

Hi! My name is Jeanette, I am 51 years old and I live with my family in a village in North Yorkshire.

I have a love of everything outdoors, a passion for the moors and woodlands around North Yorkshire and the drive to be a positive force for good in the communities of this beautiful county. My working life has been based mostly around people and community; most recently I worked in a thriving, rural GP Surgery and before that for a music charity, making intergenerational connections through the universally joyful medium of music!!

What attracted you to this role?

What matters most to me is people, community and connection. I am both excited and honoured to be working with the Age Friendly Network and it’s partner organisations on this very practical and meaningful project.

We know it’s early days as you’ve just joined Community First Yorkshire, but what are your plans for the Age Friendly Network?

I look forward to helping develop a thriving and diverse group, with fair representation, respected opinions, practical actions and meaningful connections. Above all, I’m keen to help provide a platform for effective communication channels that will give a voice to people aged 50+ in North Yorkshire and, together, help shape the future of all aspects of health and social care in our community.

How can people get involved?

If you want to sign up to become a member of the Age Friendly Network, have a chance to work with Jeanette on shaping future support services in North Yorkshire, and be kept up-to-date via our enewsletter, click here.

Rothwell Social Prescribing

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Miranda Foster was our Rothwell Community Builder and worked alongside individuals and groups to showcase the best of Rothwell. Her aim was to encourage more people to get involved in developing new activities, relationships, events and ideas. Miranda chatted to some of the amazing local social prescribers about what they do to support people in Rothwell.

Let’s celebrate the fantastic work of the NHS and the social prescribers who work in the Rothwell area.

GPs, nurses and other primary care professionals use social prescribing to refer someone to activities, groups and services in their community that can help with their health and wellbeing.

Social prescribing can support people to reconnect socially with others. Activities could be anything from local craft making and walking groups, to food growing projects and local support groups for people with chronic conditions.

Selina is one of our wonderful Social Prescribers and is helping to organise the Rothwell Springhead Park parkrun for the NHS 75th anniversary celebrations on 15 July. Here she gives an insight into Health Coaching and what she does for local residents on a day-to-day basis:

“Health Coaching allows you the time and space to think about a change and unlock your skills to move forward and achieve your goals. It aims to help you make healthy behaviour changes, such as if you have diabetes and encourages people to become more active in their health and care.

“A health coach will help you think about how you can reach your goals and what matters most to you.

“Health Coaching gives you 45-60mins of time to discuss what is important to you and what you would like to change. You can also have further sessions to help you stay accountable to your goals. Just contact selina.thompson3@nhs.net if you are interested in making that change.”

Michaela Auty is another Social Prescriber for the area. Here are her comments on the role that both she and Hayley do:

“The Primary Care Network (PCN) social prescribers are working within the community to deliver a personalised service to those experiencing social isolation, low mood, financial, housing, and employment related issues.

“Currently working alongside Linking Leeds to reduce the local waiting list, the PCN social prescribers can conduct home visits to patients who are housebound due to medical, social anxiety and frailty issues, ensuring that people can feel relaxed and heard in the comfort of their own homes.

“Social Prescribers can provide appointments to patients for up to an hour, and will work with people for as long as needed, providing a light touch, or more intensive support.

“Hayley, another social prescriber, and myself frequently attend the local groups and facilities in the area to identify and bridge the gaps of what the communities and patients need and want.

“You can be referred to the social prescribing service by talking to a member of your GP practice or completing an online request via PATCHS.”

Contact:

To get in touch, please email Sarah Hart, our Rothwell Assets Based Community Development Officer / Nidderdale Community Led Housing Officer on: sarah.hart@communityfirstyorkshire.org.uk.