Introducing resources to help you engage and support volunteers

As part of our activity to help Birmingham enact the Vision for Volunteering, we have put together a variety of free resources, guides, top tips and templates. These resources will support you to attract, recruit and involve volunteers in ways that celebrate difference, enable collaboration and show appreciation to your volunteers for their incredible efforts.

Birmingham’s Vision for Volunteering

The Vision for Volunteering sets out an aspirational view of how we want volunteering in Birmingham to look by 2027. It has been co-produced with citizens, voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise (VCFSE) organisations, as well as the public sector and academic partners in Birmingham.

There are three key principles that underpin Birmingham’s Vision for Volunteering:

· Celebrating difference: Volunteering in Birmingham is accessible and welcoming to everyone, everywhere, so that the benefits are felt by all individuals and communities. Communities are able to identify needs and are given power to tackle them.

· Collaboration: Partners across communities, and the VCFSE, public and private sectors all work together to support a thriving volunteer environment.

· Awareness and appreciation: Birmingham is a city that recognises and values volunteering in all its forms – from occasional to regular, highly organised to informal and from individual volunteers to volunteer-including organisations. It's always easy for citizens to find ways to make a difference and get involved in the city. Any contribution, big or small, is celebrated and valued and every volunteer has a positive experience.

You can find out more about the vision and how to be part of it here.

The Resources Hub

The hub takes you through the stages of volunteer involvement, from thinking about how and why to involve volunteers, to designing excellent volunteering roles, attracting volunteers, involving them effectively and when the time comes, ending their time with you well. Whether you are just starting to think about involving volunteers, you already involve a few, or your work is led by volunteers, we want to support you to engage volunteers safely and effectively. Take a look today to see how the guidance and resources could support your work.

If you have any feedback on the resources or would like to make suggestions about additional guidance and support that would be helpful, contact Becky, the Vision for Volunteering Implementation Manager – [email protected]

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