Volunteers: The Heart of the Sector

Somebody asked me recently if I thought we should change our name from the charitable and voluntary sector to something different, such as the not-for-profit sector or the civil society sector. 

My answer to that is a resounding ‘no!’ The root of the word charity comes from the Latin ‘caritas’ which at a basic level means love, but at a more profound level means care and compassion for others – and there is no more powerful an example of this in practice than the millions of people who volunteer for causes they care about. 

The reality is that most of the work done by our sector is done by volunteers. 91% of registered charities have no paid staff at all, relying solely on volunteer support for their operations.   

And there are very, very few charities where it’s just paid staff doing the work. In fact, paid staff are in the minority in terms of the number of folk ‘working’ on behalf of and for others. Around 1.2 million paid staff compared to the estimated 16.3 million who volunteer formally and informally. 

Volunteers are the beating heart of our sector. Without them, nothing works. And pretty much every charity, even those with paid staff, are governed by volunteers in the form of trustees. 

They don’t just fill workforce gaps – they bring passion, skills and an enormous sense of community which powers our work. 

And it’s the latter that I think matters most. People who volunteer for a charity are much more likely to be happier, to engage with others in their community and to have more compassion for people in general.  

But more than that, they are a beacon to others of what life can be like if you engage more with the people and community around you.

Having said all that, let’s be honest – we’ve all had volunteers who we wish wouldn’t. 😉 

But with the right support, all of our volunteers will be enthused, productive and feel valued so they keep coming back. 

There are 5 key ways in which we can do that: 

1. Be clear about what we expect from them. Give them a role description which doesn’t just outline what you want them to do, but why it matters and what difference they will be making. 
2. Make sure we train them properly. Just shoving them into the deep end, hoping they can remember how to swim, won’t cut it.  Treat them as you would a paid member of staff and give them a proper induction and job training. 
3. Give them proper support and guidance. Make sure they know who is looking out for them, who to turn to for advice and guidance and who will be checking up on how they’re doing. 
4. Include them. Volunteers are often left out of the loop when it comes to consulting on the work of the charity; making future plans; making decisions, and so on. They’re doing most of the work – it’s daft not to ask them for their views! And make sure you also update them on how things are going. 
5. Praise, praise, praise. As often as possible and as publicly as possible. 

And then we have all the love, care and compassion we so desperately need in our society!