ADO Volunteering Masterclass

28th November 2012

Who am I?

• Worked in sector since 1994• Strategic roles in national charities• Six years in fundraising • Director at Volunteering England• Now Director of Rob Jackson Consulting Ltd

– Engaging and inspiring people to bring about change

• Active volunteer– School governor, former trustee, online

Our session today

• Bridging The Gap– How volunteering is changing and what

organisations need to do to respond

21st Century volunteering

Part one

The volunteering landscape

Levels of formal volunteering are static

Proportion of people volunteering formally

010

2030

4050

2001 2003 2005 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11

Year

%

At least once a month At least once a year

Why people volunteer (%)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70 I wanted to improvethings/help people

Cause was importantto me

I had spare time

Meet people/makefriends

Use my skills

Learn new skills

Source: Citizenship Survey 2008-09

What prevents people volunteering (%)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60 Work commitments

Looking afterchildren/home

Have other things todo with my sparetime

Haven't hear aboutopportunities

Don't know groupsthat need help

Source: Citizenship Survey 2008-09

Policy

Legal

Key elements:

•Volunteer agreements

•Expectations vs. obligations

•Expenses and ‘if contracts’

•National Minimum Wage

•Interns

PracticeNationally

Volunteering England (merging with NCVO)

CSV (Community Service Volunteers)

NNVIA (Network of National Volunteer Involving Ass.)

EVDC (England Volunteer Development Council)

AVM (Association of Volunteer Managers)

Volunteer Centres

Councils for Voluntary Services (CSVs)

Locally

Also:

•Volunteers in the public sector (Health Service, Education etc.)

•Volunteers in the private sector (Games Makers, Interns?)

LocallyLocallyLocallyLocallyLocallyLocallyLocally

21st Century volunteering

Part two

Volunteering doesn’t exist in a bubble

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85

201020152020

Thousands

Source: nfpSynergy - Population Projections/National Statistics/nVision Base: UK ; 21774: The New Demographic Landscape

Age structure of the UK population

Choice

• TV channels– When I was a child there

were three in the UK

• Drinks– Used to be tea or coffee

• Supermarkets– Much wider choice of food

than 20 years ago– Now sell financial products,

clothes, furniture, legal advice

The social media revolution

Internet use by UK adults

Source: ONS (2010)

A one slide summary

• The world has changed quite significantly in the last decade (& will do even more in future) but:– Levels of volunteering haven’t– The ways organisations involve volunteers

haven’t changed much either (and are largely process driven)

National Trust vision for volunteering

Efficient

Consistent

Build capacity

Build capability

A flexible offer

A dynamic offerA wider range of activities

Shaping our work, not just delivering it

A better quality experience

80% volunteer recommendation

A more diverse range of people

The challenge we face

• Disconnect (growing?) between what people want from volunteering and what organisations are offering

• The need to embrace different approaches to getting and keeping volunteers

• We’re competing with anything people can spend their spare time doing

Bridging The Gap

Part 3

What are the gaps and what can we do about them?

Bridging the gap

• What people are looking for in volunteering

• How organisations are engaging volunteers

• Actions to ‘bridge the gap’

Source: Bridging The Gap (2011)

What did they find?

• The legacy of the uber volunteers

• Potential of past volunteers

• Gaps & why they exist

• How we can respond

The legacy of the uber volunteers

• 31% of the adult population provide almost 90% of volunteer hours

• 8% of the adult population provide almost half the volunteer hours

Source: Mohan, J – What do volunteering statistics tellus about the prospects for the Big Society? (2010)

Potential of past volunteers

• Most promising opportunity to engage more volunteers is amongst past volunteers

• We have to understand and address their issues

• UK data– 1 in 5 people had

volunteered but weren’t now

– Changes in personal circumstances the main reason

– 54% of non-volunteers would like to volunteer

• Your organisation?

Source: Helping Out (2007)

Gaps

• People want group activities but there are few on offer

• People come with skills but don’t always want to use them

• We have clearly defined roles but volunteers want to shape their own roles

• We want long-term volunteers but people want shorter term, flexible ways to engage

• We focus on our needs but volunteers have their own goals

Source: Bridging The Gap (2011)

Why these gaps?

• Motivations, availabilities and interests change during our lives

• Volunteering is a two-way relationship• Skills transfer and development is

important• Time is our most valuable resource• In other words, today’s volunteers are

different!

Less….

More….

How can we respond?

• Re-think how we involve people to achieve our mission

• Focus more on what needs doing than on how and when it is done

• Be flexible and provide greater choice• Be well organised but not too bureaucratic• Provide opportunities for online engagement• Build meaningful relationships with volunteers

Source: Bridging The Gap (2011)

“Improving participation opportunities requires starting where people are and taking account of their concerns and interests, providing a range of opportunities and levels of involvement so people can feel comfortable with taking part and using the personal approach to invite and welcome people in.”

Pathways Through Participation

Discussion

• What has struck you most from this session and why?

• How do you see these trends and issues impacting on volunteering with the Trust?

• What actions could be taken to ‘bridge the gap’?• How can you support your property staff to

implement these actions?• What support do youyou need?

Useful reading/resources

• 21st Century Volunteer – nfpSynergy• Bridging the Gap – Volunteer Canada• Participation: trends, facts and figures – NCVO• Helping Out: National Survey of Volunteering

and Charitable Giving – Institute for Volunteering Research

• Pathways Through Participation – NCVO, Involve and Institute for Volunteering Research

• The New Breed – Thomas and Jonathan McKee

How to get in touch

Email: rob@robjacksonconsulting.com

Phone: 07557 419 074

Web: www.robjacksonconsulting.com

Twitter: @robjconsulting

Blog: www.robjacksonconsulting.blogspot.com