Win for the charity

• Gaining knowledge, skills and experience for free that can often be hard to access elsewhere or unaffordable for a small charity. Particularly valuable when volunteers bring contextual knowledge
  from other sectors.
  
  
• Opening up networks by connecting with others or build new networks outside of the direct volunteering relationship. This could be either other volunteers or useful contacts or other businesses, all of whom could add further benefits to charities.
  
  
• Unlocking new opportunities for longer term commitment or ongoing volunteering by making it possible for volunteers to engage in one off or short term volunteering first. Similarly, being able to reach a wider pool of volunteers through remote opportunities.
  And more, see report.

Win for the volunteer

• The volunteers themselves are able to gain new skills or deepen, test and embed existing ones and thus develop professionally and build their CV.
  
  
  
• The volunteers’ confidence grew through helping another organisation in a different environment and context.
  
  
  
• Volunteering contributed to a greater sense of fulfilment by volunteering for a cause or community they care about or have a personal connection to be it through lived experience, family connection, or location. Volunteering also enhanced pride in their place of work that it was facilitating and enabling such opportunities.
  And more, see report.

Win for the business

• Skilled volunteering programmes contribute to staff learning and development directly impacting the strength of a workforce, its wellbeing as well as building staff connection, and relationships.
  
  
  
• The social value added through volunteering programmes has a direct positive impact to a business’s reputation.
  
  
  
• Enabling volunteers to gain a better understanding of societal issues can lead to greater support for customers who may themselves face the same issues.
  And more, see report.

Recommendations

Through this research and a decade delivering skilled volunteering programmes and 2,800 volunteering opportunities, we’ve captured six key lessons as to what we believe best enables everyone involved to gain from skills based volunteering. The six key lessons shown in above graphic are detailed as:

1. Choice and variety matter for volunteers and charities. Whether it’s one off or ongoing volunteering, individual or group initiatives and the option of remote and online volunteering opportunities, the variety enables more volunteers to engage. Skills based volunteering can often generate this wider range of opportunities than more traditional physical volunteering which is typically on a specific day in a fixed place in a group.
   
   
2. Identifying charity needs and where volunteers can have the biggest impact is important. Including businesses identifying the skills their employees have and creating volunteering programmes that allow staff to use and refine these skills.
   
   
3. Volunteers from businesses need support in translating their skills to a different sector. This can be achieved through information sharing, onboarding and connecting this as part of staff learning and development opportunities. As once done both parties often realise they have far more to offer and gain than they perhaps initially thought.
   
   
4. Support for volunteering should come from leadership and be embedded in an organisation’s culture. This takes the form of role modelling from senior leaders, line managers and peers as well as an organisation wide commitment.
   
   
5. Relationships take time but getting the right match and investing in the partnership generates long term payoff with many volunteering partnerships extending beyond the initial activity. From setting expectations, matching commitments and giving both parties time to define the relationship and opportunities that suit both.
   
   
6. Seeking out partnerships with small charities in particular can maximise the impact of the charity and volunteer. Smaller teams and income streams mean that volunteers can have a much greater impact by working with small charities while in turn strengthening their own skills by applying them in more challenging contexts.

Through our partnership with Lloyds Banking Group we nurture relationships between bank staff and small charities. 

Read more.

Skills based volunteering has the potential to revolutionise corporate social responsibility, providing significant advantages to businesses, employees, and charities, according to our new report.

Read more.

"Volunteering with Ella’s as a trustee supports my role at Lloyds, which involves looking at how the Group can develop products and processes that supports the financial inclusion of survivors of modern slavery."

Read more.