Recruiting Volunteers

Inclusive Volunteering

An inclusive volunteer programme makes it as easy as possible for people to take part, with the right support and reasonable adjustments where needed.

Inclusive volunteering helps organisations involve people with different experiences, skills and ideas.

This can strengthen services and help organisations better reflect the communities they support.

Volunteering for All

Our Volunteering for All project can offer guidance for organisations and help for volunteers.

NAVCA: Inclusive volunteering starts with local action

Includes practical reflections and a downloadable resource on making volunteering more inclusive. 

Guide to Recruiting and Supporting Volunteers with Hearing Loss

Volunteers with convictions

The NCVO offer guidance on how to ask someone about their criminal history plus links helping organisations assess the risks and relevance of convictions.  The Disclosure and Barring Service has an eligibility tool to help you decide if a DBS check is required for a role.

Family volunteering

Student volunteers (over 18’s)

Although students may have more limited availability during term time, they are often highly motivated and committed to causes they care about. Offering flexible opportunities that fit around academic commitments, providing training and clearly communicating the impact of the role can help organisations attract and retain student volunteers.

There is no single guide on recruiting university students as volunteers. However, the following resources provide practical guidance on volunteer recruitment and management:

Who to contact:

• University of Cambridge Careers Service – to enquire about promoting volunteering opportunities through their vacancy service, newsletters or careers events.
• Anglia Ruskin University Employability Service – to discuss promoting volunteer opportunities to ARU students.
• Cambridge Students’ Union – to enquire about promoting opportunities through student communications, societies or Freshers’ Fair.
• Student societies – Contact societies whose members may have an interest in your cause, such as Psychology, Medicine, Engineering, Law, Environmental Sciences or Languages. Most universities maintain an online directory of student societies.

Many language schools welcome opportunities for students to practise English, gain UK work experience and meet local people. Contact the school’s student services or activities coordinator to discuss promoting volunteering opportunities.

Young volunteers under 18s

Volunteering helps young people thrive and transforms the communities they live in. It teaches them vital skills and prepares them for the future.

Young People and Volunteering Guide. A short and useful guide with tips and links to excellent resources providing guidance to groups in the community and voluntary sector who offer opportunities to young volunteers.

Community First’s Young Volunteer Toolkit. The aim of the toolkit is to break the barriers that organisations have with placing young people into volunteering opportunities.

The Volunteer Cambs website includes opportunities suitable for:

• 16–17 year olds
• Under 16s
• School-age children

It is also worth contacting:

• Local schools
• Sixth forms
• Further education colleges

Young Volunteers – Intergenerational Project Delivery

Practical tips on intergenerational project delivery created for the Maps Murmuration’s Project. 

Where to promote your volunteer opportunities:

Printed material

Posters and leaflets in locations your target audience might view them.  Particularly important where people have more limited access to digital messaging.

Local media

Share good stories of the benefits of volunteering to attract editorial coverage or opportunities to be interviewed about your volunteering opportunities.

Local events

Piggy-back on existing events to share information about your volunteering opportunities.

Online

Promote opportunities through:

• Your organisation’s website
• Your organisation’s social media channels
• Relevant community social media pages

Ensure volunteering features regularly on your social media pages.

How to write a good volunteer role

Volunteer roles should be of value to the volunteers, as well as adding value to your organisation. This may be through giving volunteers experience, training, practising skills, meeting new people, etc.

Roles which are de-motivating will not attract or retain volunteers.  Be flexible in your thinking; one of the great benefits which volunteers bring to an organisation is diversity.

NCVO provides guidance on creating effective volunteer role descriptions.