Volunteer Centres provide support at a local level for volunteer involving organisations:

• Helping you find new volunteers, promoting your volunteer vacancies locally and online.
  
  
• Advice and support on how to manage and support volunteers and develop your volunteering programme.
  
  
• Working with organisations to help create a variety of volunteer opportunities that not only make a real difference, but are appealing, welcoming and fulfilling.

In Lincolnshire the Volunteer Centres are part of the local voluntary / community sector development agency for each district, sometimes known as the CVS (Community and Voluntary Service). All are independent charitable organisations.

 

The district-based Volunteer Centres are all funded in different ways. This means they may work in slightly different ways, but all work to a common set of standards and are accredited by Volunteering England, which acts as an umbrella body for all of England’s Volunteer Centres.

 

Volunteer Centres throughout England deliver the following six core functions:

 

Brokerage – matching people with volunteering opportunities

Volunteer involving organisations can register their opportunities for free with the Volunteer Centre, which then promotes the opportunities to people online, face to face, at events etc. The Volunteer Centre offers potential volunteers advice and information on finding opportunities that match their interests, aims and availability.

 

Marketing Volunteering

Volunteer Centres get involved in promoting and marketing volunteering through local, regional and national events and campaigns.

 

Good Practice Development

Volunteer Centres promote good practice in working with volunteers to all volunteer involving organisations, including offering training, advice and resources for people who manage and support volunteers.

 

Developing Volunteering Opportunities

Volunteer Centres help voluntary and community organisations, public sector agencies, social enterprises, local clubs and other groups to develop imaginative and varied volunteering opportunities that meet the organisation’s needs whilst at the same time appealing to a diverse range of potential volunteers.

 

Policy Response and Campaigning

Volunteer Centres may identify proposals or legislation that could impact on volunteering and participate in campaigning on issues that affect volunteers or volunteering.

 

Strategic Development of Volunteering

Volunteer Centres work to inform strategic thinking and planning at local, sub-regional, regional and national level.