Retention

Overview

• Retaining Volunteers

Articles

• How to say 'thank you' to volunteers - VE Information Sheet
• Accreditation of Voluntary Work - VE Information Sheet
• Briefing on Volunteer Retention - Voluntary Arts Network
• "Building Staff Capacity" - from 'Turn Your Organisation Into A Volunteer Magnet'
• "Making Friends With Volunteers" - from 'Turn Your Organisation Into A Volunteer Magnet'
• Award Versus Reward ? - What is the difference
  between award and reward ? (A Community Answers Information Sheet)

Examples

• Volunteer registration form

Links

• Volunteers' Week website
  Volunteers' Week is celebrated each year on 1-7 June. Organisations across the UK use the Week as an opportunity celebrate the contribution of their volunteers. The special website offers a range of resources and tips to help organisations plan and publicise a Volunteers Week event, as well as downloadable certificates and posters.
  http://www.volunteersweek.org.uk
• English Nature page 59 of survey talks about feeling valued by local teams and methods of recognition
  http://www.english-nature.org.uk/
• The Running Sport website, created by Sport England, offers downloadable resources for volunteer managers and volunteers, including a 'quick guide' to recruiting and retaining volunteers.
  http://www.runningsports.org/
  

Awards

• Timebank's guide to awards and recognition lists awards schemes which are particularly relevant to young volunteers
  http://energise.timebank.org.uk/
• The Association of Charity Shops gives annual awards, including one for Excellence in Volunteer Recognition which is presented to the winning charity for their commitment to valuing their volunteers. Shelter won the award in 2005. Read the press release here: http://www.charityshops.org.uk/
• The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service rewards excellence in voluntary activities carried out by groups in the community
  http://www.queensawardvoluntary.gov.uk/

Publications

• The Volunteering Impact Assessment Toolkit
  This toolkit produced by the Institute for Volunteering Research (IVR) enables organisations to assess the impact of volunteering on all key stakeholders - the volunteers, the organisation, the beneficiaries, and the broader community. Organisations can able to use it to assess a wide range of impacts, from the skills development of volunteers to the economic value of volunteering organisations.
• VIVA - The volunteer investment and value audit: a self help guide
  This IVR research bulletin offers a guide for organisations on how to use "VIVA" to assess their volunteering programme

Share your experiences!

The Good Practice Bank is growing steadily as more information is added to it. An important feature of the Bank is allowing users to share their documents with other volunteering organisations. We are particularly interested in receiving example policies or documents that you are happy to share with others. If we use your contribution, you could win a book on volunteering from our regular prize draw.

• If your organisation has an example to contribute, please use our simple form to submit it.
• Or, please send us an email or telephone 0800 028 3304 (phone and textphone)