Leading volunteering charity, Royal Voluntary Service, has created a digital volunteering platform, thanks to support from players of People’s Postcode Lottery, to help charities across the country to connect with would-be volunteers in their communities.
Local and regional charities are vital to the fabric of the East Midlands, and many rely on the time and support of volunteers, yet charities across the board are seeing fewer people step forward in recent years.
However, research by Royal Voluntary Service found that people in the East Midlands are interested in volunteering their time, if they could fit it around their lives. 48%1 of people in the East Midlands agreed that an app or platform offering the ability to volunteer on an ad-hoc-basis and fit in and around their life would make them more likely to volunteer, suggesting there’s an untapped pool of potential volunteers in the region. When combined with the finding that making a valuable contribution to society or local community was a leading motivator for people to volunteer, a positive picture is painted for local causes looking to recruit.
The platform will launch to the public in the autumn, when potential volunteers will be able to browse, search, filter, click and connect with causes and charities they care about. Charities across the region are able to sign up to the platform now completely free of charge and will be invited to upload roles to test the platform from June onwards, ahead of the full launch to local people in the autumn.
It is hoped that the platform will be a hub of flexible, accessible digitally-enabled volunteering, and a resource that local charities can tap in to, to supercharge their volunteer recruitment. Charities of all shapes and sizes, from sporting or arts charities, to those supporting people living with health conditions, and environmental causes to animal charities, are urged to sign up and consider uploading as diverse a range of volunteer roles as possible in the coming weeks and months.
Ensuring volunteering opportunities are varied and inclusive, from one-off, remote and flexible roles, to team-based, skilled, and traditional volunteering roles will help to broaden access to volunteering and inspire a new generation of volunteers for the benefit of causes and communities across the region.
Charities will also be able to benefit from welcoming new volunteers, whilst reducing the costs and admin associated with recruitment. The goal of the platform’s simple ‘on-board once’ process for volunteers will mean that once a person has registered and completed an identity check, they will be able to move seamlessly between volunteering opportunities, charities and causes through the platform, without the need to re-register and repeat basic assurances. Eventually, charities will also be able to utilise free criminal record checking, which will be introduced to the platform at a later date.
Catherine Johnstone CBE, Chief Executive of Royal Voluntary Service said: “We have shaped this exciting new platform in partnership with charities big and small across the country, to make sure it’s valuable for causes of all sizes. Together we can make volunteering more accessible and empower more people to give their time to support the host of invaluable charities and causes they care about, across the East Midlands. The platform addresses what we know to be barriers for would-be volunteers and makes fitting volunteering in to modern life easier than ever. Thanks to support from Postcode Lottery players we are on the cusp of a volunteer revolution, and I am passionate that as many charities and causes be a part of it as possible.”
Clara Govier, Managing Director at People’s Postcode Lottery, said: "We work with a range of amazing charities and we understand the fundamental part that volunteers play in their operations and in civil society. Thanks to our players' support, Royal Voluntary Service is creating a platform which makes it simpler for volunteers to find the opportunities that suit them, either where they live or online. Just think what could be possible for our communities if new generations of people start to volunteer their time. I’d like to thank everyone who plays People’s Postcode Lottery for their support in making this possible.”
The platform is entirely free for charities to use, including identity checking of volunteers. Charities interested in participating in workshops and webinars, or registering to upload their volunteering opportunities to the platform can find out more and sign up at royalvoluntaryservice.org.uk.