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You've decided you'd like to involve volunteers in your organisation but are unsure about what it involves.
Here is a list of frequently asked questions that may help you decide whether involving volunteers would be suitable for you.
Why do we have to register with The Volunteer centre?
Registering your organisation with the Volunteer Centre enables us to promote your organisation and the opportunities within it, using our brokerage service as well as online avenues such as TimeBank, the national volunteering database 'do-it.org', and our own website. During the registration process we can assist you in defining roles for volunteers to help your organisation. We can also offer help and best practice with the structure to support involving volunteers. Once registered we will aim to keep regular contact, providing ongoing assistance with further roles for volunteers as needed, thus enabling your organisation to flourish. One of our aims is to provide support to the smallest organisations run only by volunteers, as well as meeting the needs of the larger volunteer involving organisations operating in the Waltham Forest area, from the basic question of 'how do we get volunteers?' to the more complex issues of best practice. We offer a range of services for organisations - So don't be afraid to get in touch! You can download a registration form here
Do we have to pay volunteer expenses?
Each volunteer gives their time freely and should not be out of pocket when doing so. Whilst some organisations may not be in a financial position to pay expenses, if possible we like our organisations to pay reasonable expenses to volunteers. Reasonable expenses generally include travel costs and also lunch if the volunteer is there all day. An inability to pay expenses does not mean that you cannot register your organisation with the centre as a volunteer involving organisation.
Are volunteers reliable?
Like all of us, volunteers have their good and bad days. The important issue here is to establish your expectations right from the get go. You should hold an induction session with the volunteer in order to establish what they're going to be doing and when you expect them to be available. Part of the induction should involve them signing or agreeing to a document which spells out both party's expectations and responsibilities. That way, if you have any problems with their attendance, or any other aspect of their performance, you both have something to go back to and focus attention on. In the download section you'll find a couple of examples of 'volunteer charters' (you should not sign anything with the word 'agreement' in it as this has legal implications). Part of the charter might involve spelling out what you will do if a volunteer consistently under performs or doesn't turn up when they're supposed to. This will be similar to a disciplinary procedure, but of necessity will be less complex than those applied to staff members.
Does the centre take up references and carry out CRB checks?
We do not offer this service as each organisation has differing requirements. The onus is with the organisation to take up any references and Criminal Records Bureau checks it feels are necessary for the volunteering opportunity. Whatever your needs or questions please feel free to give us a ring, we will do our very best to help you.
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