In times of financial uncertainty or hardship volunteering has a key role to play in supporting communities and individuals.

Key issues for organisations

• A greater need for services may require you take on more volunteers and create new roles.
• If unemployment increases there is more demand for opportunities to volunteer.
• People with specialist skills to offer may be available to volunteer for you.  Are you ready to take advantage of this?
• Newly unemployed people who wish to volunteer will not know how long they will be available for and may be apprehensive about making a commitment.  Be prepared to be flexible and accommodating.
• As obtaining funding becomes more challenging any cut backs to your volunteering programme may not be cost effective in the long run.  For a programme to work effectively volunteers need support and resources.
• Good practice in how you manage volunteers is more important than ever in ensuring efficiency for your organisation and a beneficial experience for your volunteers.

Some good practice points to note

• Reimburse expenses promptly and in cash.  Consider if there is a need to pay travel expenses upfront to enable a volunteer to get to your organisation.  Back this up with the receipt later.
• Providing training and opportunities for personal development is great for CVs.  Help volunteers to see the relevance of their skills and how they are appropriate in different work situations.
• Let volunteers know that you are able to provide them with a reference.
• Consider the use of telephone, internet and computers to enable volunteers to job search.  Have as clear policy on this with any boundaries as appropriate.