There are many brokers across the country providing a range of brokerage services from brokering ad-hoc individual volunteering opportunities for no fee – through to running a bespoke scheme that generates income and involves employers and strategic local organisations in contributing to the leadership and strategic direction of a branded programme.
The following list provides you with initial information on brokerage agencies and how to access them, and provide a brief flavour of the services they provide.
Arts & Business
Arts & Business helps business people support the arts & the arts inspire business people. Its purpose is to enable business and its people to be more successful by engaging with the arts and to increase resources for the arts from business and its people, and delivers a range of services to both sectors.
www.aandb.org.uk
Bar in the Community
Bar in the Community is a Bar Council-funded initiative, launched in October 2000, which aims to help voluntary sector groups by identifying barristers willing to serve on Management Committees. www.barprobono.org.uk
Business Brokers
The Business Broker initiative helps Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs) to engage the private sector in developing and delivering their local neighbourhood renewal strategies. Independent evaluation has shown that there is a threefold increase in business engagement where brokers are in place.
www.bitc.org.uk or www.partnershipsacademy.org.uk
Cares (Business in the Community)
Cares is Business in the Community’s national campaign to engage employees in their communities through volunteering. More than 400 companies support city-based and regional Cares partnerships in 32 locations. Cares operates in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and works in partnership with Scottish Business in the Community (SBC).
ProHelp is a national network of over 1,000 professional firms who give their time and expertise for free to local community groups and voluntary organisations ProHelp support is valued at over £6 million each year is delivered through 40 local groups across the country with member firms, both large and small, undertaking one-off projects, contributing to advice surgeries or entering into longer term partnerships within their local community.
www.bitc.org.uk/cares and www.bitc.org.uk/prohelp
CC Works
CC Works offers consultancy, project management and implementation to both companies and charities in order to build strong community investment programmes and corporate partnerships.
www.ccworks.co.uk
City Action
Established in by the City of London, City Action acts as a free volunteering broker to facilitate the transfer of time, skills and resources between City firms and community-based organisations in the City and the seven boroughs surrounding the City; Camden, Hackney, Islington, Lambeth, Southwark, Tower Hamlets and Westminster. www.city-action.org
CSV
CSV is the UK’s largest training and volunteering charity. CSV services for employers include c onsultancy; delivery of one-off events; management of volunteering programmes including individual placements, Schools Partnerships and Team Challenges; and opportunities to volunteer on environment projects.
www.csv.org.uk
Do-it
Launched in 2001 as part of the registered charity YouthNet, do it is a national online database of volunteering opportunities. This searchable database offers over 60,000 opportunities for volunteering and giving time.
www.do-it.org.uk/wanttovolunteer/evsvolunteering
ELBA
The East London Business Alliance (ELBA) is a business led and business funded regeneration agency that encourages and facilitates business involvement in the social and economic regeneration of East London and assists in the transfer of business skills, experience and resources to community and voluntary projects in East London through a large scale Employee Volunteering network.
www.elba-1.org.uk
Employee Volunteering
Employee Volunteering is a private consultancy which develops bespoke programmes for employers who would like to start or develop their employer supported volunteering. It offers professional planning, risk assessment, organisation and administration, as well as a comprehensive PR package.
http://www.employeevolunteering.co.uk/
ENGAGE
International business-led campaign that aims to increase the quality and extent of employee engagement in the development of healthy and sustainable communities.
Run by the IBLF and Business in the Community, ENGAGE helps to build business competitiveness and to meet community needs through the time, talents, energies and resources of employees. ENGAGE is delivered by a network of expert national partner organisations able to facilitate quality employee community engagement opportunities in countries across the world.
Previously called the CECILE network, this group is now called ENGAGE and comprises members of the CSR Europe Network as well as specialists in the development of community partnerships. www.iblf.org/activities/engage
The Heart of the City
Joint initiative launched by the Bank of England, the Corporation of London and the Financial Services Authority. The aim is to make it easy for companies and individuals in the City, City Fringe and Docklands to get more involved in their local communities. www.theheartofthecity.com
Impact Development Training Group
This company are global leaders in experiential learning.They design and deliver development programmes that are designed to achieve real improvements in performance. The programmes can include employer supported volunteering.
http://www.impact-dtg.com
IT 4 Communities
IT 4 Communities is an initiative to encourage companies, employees and individuals with professional IT skills to volunteer these skills for the benefit of local charities and community groups.
www.it4communities.org.uk
Media Trust
Support voluntary and community organisations with their communications by encouraging media professionals to volunteer their time and skills working across the UK on PR and press, marketing, design, online media and video.
www.mediatrust.org
NCVO Trustee Bank
The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) has a developed a comprehensive Trustee Bank, which lists agencies who can match trustees to vacancies and will also advertise vacancies.
The website also provides online trustee brokerage, with a number of agencies providing matching services on the internet.
The trustee bank can be found at www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/tgt
The National Education Business Partnership Network
The umbrella organisation and national voice for 138 Education Business Partnerships working in the 11 regions.
Education Business Partnerships (EBPs) are the link between local schools, colleges and the business community and they provide a number of roles including preparing young people for the world of work in particular and adult life in general, contribute to the raising of standard achievement via work-related contents and support the business community.
For more information on EBPs and to find your nearest office go to:
www.nebpn.org/aboutus.htm
REACH
REACH matches the skills of experienced people to the needs of voluntary organisations. Reach recruits and supports people with managerial, technical and professional expertise and places them in part-time, unpaid roles in voluntary organisations that need their help. The organisation places people in organisations near where they live, anywhere in the UK. There are no age limits and there is no charge for the service.
www.reach-online.org.uk
RSVP
CSV's Retired and Senior Volunteer Programme (RSVP) was founded in 1988 to offer an easy way for those aged 50+ to get involved in your community. It now has over 8,500 volunteers throughout the UK.
www.csv.org.uk/Volunteer/Senior+Volunteers
Smartchange
Using the smartchange giving system, charities can present information about their cause, their needs and their volunteering opportunities to over 100,000 UK employees. Smartchange services include online donation of money, time and other support, as well as web-building and hosting services.
www.smartchange.org.uk
Three Hands
Three Hands links business, people and communities and meets learning & development and Corporate Social Responsibility needs in doing so. The company runs a range of programmes and services that help businesses and their people to understand experience, engage with and benefit the communities in which they operate.
www.threehands.co.uk
TimeBank
National campaign encouraging people to give their time and get involved in their local communities. Through web-based technology, TimeBank matches the skills, interests and availability of TimeGivers with a range of opportunities and a local TimePartner. Special programming produced by the BBC, TimeBank’s broadcast media partner, goes out on network television, local radio and on-line.
www.timebank.org.uk
Volunteer Centres
This national network of over 300 volunteer centres, supported by Volunteering England, provides support at a local level for individual volunteers and volunteer-involving organisations. An increasing number also provide signposting and brokerage of employer supported volunteering opportunities.
www.volunteering.org.uk/finder
