Last week, the NCVO - The National Council for Voluntary Organisations – published their report into the experiences of volunteers throughout the UK. The results of surveying over 10,000 people nationwide are generally positive though they also demonstrate some of the challenges involved in running volunteer programs.

Seven in 10 volunteers say they have or would recommend volunteering to friends or family

Focussing on the experience of volunteers is interesting for the non-profit sector as ultimately it will help organisations such as Clea better support their volunteer teams – boosting their overall impact whilst making sure volunteers feel their time is indeed well spent. The survey found that ‘96% of volunteers say they are very or fairly satisfied with their volunteering’ which is great news!

Positive Connections & Improved Mental Health     

As we touched on in last week’s Clea blog on the benefits of volunteering, over two thirds of survey participants (68%) felt that volunteering “helps them feel less isolated”. With our volunteer program Give IT Back, you can give as much or as little time as you would like, though regular volunteers will undoubtedly experience greater benefits from ongoing connection to a particular non-profit or working towards a cause that means something to them.

10% of volunteers give time through via employer-supported volunteering

At Clea, we think this should change! The report summary suggests that “low levels of participation in employer-supported volunteering reflect a wider lack of awareness of this kind of volunteering.” We encourage you to ask your team leader if such opportunities exist and make the most of them! Perhaps you could pioneer a program with your employer – the benefits will ricochet back to the business. Employer-supported volunteering will help get people of diverse backgrounds and incomes involved with community programs and help challenge the lack of diversity in volunteering revealed by the report.

Give IT Back

At Clea, we will try to incorporate the report’s recommendations into Give IT Back to help us support our volunteers. Clea’s hybrid approach, with a lean core employed team leading on projects, attempts to solve the problem of finding the right balance between organised structure (enjoyed by volunteers and organisations alike!) and bureaucratic heaviness (disliked by all!) This way we ensure consistent quality project delivery for our non-profit partners whilst working with our volunteers’ aspirations in mind.

To find out more about our Give IT Back volunteer program or to read the NCVO report, please use the buttons below.