What is it? 

Community First Yorkshire’s Volunteering in North Yorkshire directory is a free to use online resource for organisations in North Yorkshire seeking to recruit volunteers. The directory allows organisations to add and edit details of volunteer opportunities and respond to enquiries from potential volunteers.

How does it work?

The directory is easy to use and we also have a user guide with step by step instructions and photos showing how to upload an opportunity that we can share. Once logged on organisations are prompted to create an account with an individual login so that they can add further opportunities, amend existing ones and also see which volunteers are potentially interested in their role.

Once the opportunity has been loaded onto the directory and verified, potential volunteers can then search for opportunities by geographical area, the time or day they would like to volunteer, or by the type of charity or cause they would like to support. Once they have found an opportunity they like they can message the organisation directly.

Watch this short video to see the directory from a volunteer perspective.

What do I need to include?

Role title and text

Make sure the role title fits what you would like the volunteer to do, also try and avoid jargon, overly technical language or acronyms in your text. A colourful picture showcasing what volunteering for your organisation looks like, also helps to catch people’s eye.

Expectations

Set out clear but realistic expectations of what a volunteer would be expected to do and also what skills you would like the volunteer to bring to the role. Outline what the time commitment is and also what training or support will be given.

If you are unsure what a good opportunity looks, scroll through some of the current opportunities on the directory and see what catches your eye.

Verification

To make sure that we are only promoting genuine volunteer opportunities we will also ask anyone who wishes to advertise an opportunity on the directory to confirm that they have certain volunteer friendly policies and procedures in place before we will display an opportunity.

Does it work?

There is no one magic solution to recruiting volunteers. Experienced volunteer coordinators will always say that word of mouth is the best route to finding more volunteers, but it is best practice to use a number of approaches and using an online directory is just one method. The benefit of the North Yorkshire volunteering directory is that it allows you advertise for free across the whole of North Yorkshire, you can display multiple volunteering opportunities in one place and the users retain control of editing – so you can update your opportunities whenever you need.

“I found VINY very progressive and positive. It’s very good for widely promoting our opportunities. We found high quality volunteers. They [the volunteers] are very active, and we are proud to have these people in our team. We recruited 33 volunteers from across North Yorkshire in one year with the directory.” Lada, Volunteer Coordinator, Sept 2020

How else can Community First Yorkshire help?

Once the volunteering opportunity has been uploaded Community First Yorkshire can also feature the opportunity in our weekly e-newsletter and across our social media.

If you have new volunteer opportunities to share or you would like to find out more about the directory please visit Volunteering in North Yorkshire.

If you have any further questions or need support with any aspect of volunteering, please do get in touch volunteersupport@communityfirstyorkshire.org.uk

Further support and information

New enquiries – if you need support with any aspect of volunteer management please complete a New Enquiry Form and one of our developments officer will be in touch to support you.

General info – for general information, guidance, templates, online training and resources please visit our Community Support North Yorkshire website which includes factsheets that cover many aspects of volunteer management e.g. recruitment, supervisions and template policies.

Volunteer co-ordinator network meetings – a network meeting for volunteer co-ordinators and those in a charity with a responsibility for volunteers across North Yorkshire to network and share information, advice, tips and thoughts on all aspects of volunteer management, see for more information.

Volunteering Charter – we have a Volunteering Charter for organisations involving volunteers in North Yorkshire. Our Charter highlights twelve areas a good organisation considers when it involves volunteers and makes a commitment to supporting them. Why not sign up, raise the profile of your volunteering locally and demonstrate to your existing and potential volunteers that you are committed to good practice and providing safe and rewarding roles.