Get involved in the Vision for Volunteering

The Vision for Volunteering is an exciting new movement looking to create a more diverse, innovative, ambitious, equitable and person-centred future for volunteering. It asks the key questions that volunteering needs to face up to over the next decade including:

• What do volunteers need now, and during the next ten years, in order to make their most effective contributions?
• How do we capture new practice and technology and harness it to create a better future for volunteering?
• How can we let go of practices that no longer serve us and tackle some of volunteering’s most long-standing inequalities?

The Vision for Volunteering sets out a view of what volunteering needs to look like, and how this will make volunteers feel about their roles, by 2032. It does this under five themes:

• Awareness and appreciation – A future where a culture of volunteering is part of everyone’s lives and volunteer roles are given the recognition they deserve.
• Power – A future where volunteers (and the communities they serve) lead on change that matters to them.
• Equity and inclusion – A future where it’s easy for people to give their time and energy to the causes they care about, they feel welcomed, and the benefits are equally distributed.
• Collaboration – A future where collaboration is natural and spontaneous, where people do great stuff together because they want to.
• Experimentation – A future where communities aren’t afraid to try new things to develop their own, innovative solutions to engaging and supporting volunteers.

What do I do with it?

The Vision for Volunteering is not about telling organisations and volunteers what’s best for you or what you need to do. It’s about helping you think about your current practices and where you can start to make changes for the better over the next decade. This could include starting a conversation with your peers about positive steps you could take, introducing the Vision for Volunteering to others in the sector who might not have heard of it, making a commitment for change, or sharing your story to inspire others to follow your example. At whatever stage in your Vision for Volunteering journey you are on, there is plenty to get your teeth stuck into.

Join the movement

The Vision for Volunteering is an ambitious one and turning it into reality requires action from us all. We know that many are already working on the principles outlined in the Vision or are keen to take them on board. Whatever stage you are at, you are welcome to join the movement.

• Share your story – Tell us what you’re already doing that fits under the Vision for Volunteering themes and we’ll amplify your story to inspire others and demonstrate how the Vision can be implemented practically.
• Make a commitment – Tell us what you’re planning to do to help make the Vision for Volunteering a reality and we’ll provide support and resources to help you do it.
• Start a discussion – Want to have a discussion locally in your community or organisation about the Vision for Volunteering? Get in touch at hello@visionforvolunteering.org.uk and we can provide you with resources and/or speakers who can help you take the first steps to implement the Vision in your context.
• Join the conversation – Use the hashtag #VisionForVolunteering to get the conversation going and start swapping ideas with others who are also interesting in improving the future of volunteering.

The Vision for Volunteering is proud to be funded by the Department for Cultural, Media and Sport (DCMS) and is run by a partnership of organisations including DCMS, NCVO, the Association of Volunteer Managers, NAVCA, Volunteering Matters and Muslim Charities Forum.

Opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily the views held throughout RBC Brewin Dolphin Ltd.