A summary of our recent Volunteer Managers Forum

michawoodworth3
May 8
3 min read

And is a Jaffa Cake a biscuit?

How do we all perceive Volunteering, do we all share common needs, goals and aspirations?

It was energising to see such a great turn out at Byrne Avenue Baths for last week's Volunteer Manager's Forum. Many thanks to Jane for being a wonderful host, sharing her own experiences on wearing ‘two hats’ and also for showing us around.

Many thanks to Amy from Make It Happen for setting the back drop of the Forum and work done so far. Amy and Make It Happen are keen to support us coming together and to bring about a shared Wirral Vision for Volunteering. How we can bring this to life!

Topics of discussion and shared thinking

We came into the session last week with some main topics to address:

The importance of Volunteer Managers Forum for Wirral and what this needs to be moving forward. How often do we meet, what is the value, why do we come together?
Recruitment, Training & Retention.
Use of and functionality of the Volunteer Portal.
Working to create a Volunteer Passport that is transferable across organisations.

Suggestions & ideas shared

From our initial agenda, some excellent discussions and ideas developed around the following issues:

Peer-led sessions - Increasing capacity.
Asset Based approach to training and a bigger focus to ongoing training needs of volunteers across Wirral.
'Train the Trainer' models.
Skill sharing
Training menu/map - Existing, readymade programmes that can be offered out e.g. Mental Health First Aid, Boundaries, Managing Conflict etc.
Volunteer induction checklists - That also enable volunteering from people that may need additional support and/or fall within protected characteristics. What resources are out there? How can we be more adaptable?
Joint campaign – A campaign to encourage more people to volunteer across the Wirral. Wirral CVS can support the proposal brought to VMF to actualise the bringing together of a Wirral-wide volunteering campaign later on in 2025. This will based on what Volunteer Managers feel will work best, hence why your feedback matters!
Processes & policies - Who has what, where are the gaps?
Safeguarding vs. Conduct and managing risk.
DBS checks - What do others do? Do people use U-Check? Is this free for Charities and Community Interest companies? For example, offering volunteering opportunities to ex-offenders, understanding this a Volunteer Manager, roles and responsibilities.
Volunteering Summer event.

Discussions on what difficulties organisations across the room have been working with led to some interesting take-aways:

Some organisations require committed people with specific skill sets and ability to offer long-term volunteers.
Some can offer less intensive roles ('micro-volunteering' and 'soft starts') as a good way to introduce people to volunteering.
Capacity to host and support students - Is this utilised enough? Who does this well?
Social responsibility from Public Sector organisations - How can this be utilised to it's fullest?
How to bring in and work with Trustees.

What next?

The skills, experience, energy and existing good practice in the room was clear. It would be tempting to be hasty in what the next steps could be, but those in attendance agreed on the need to be clear in our initial priorities and building blocks. What matters most?

It's clear the importance of getting things right for sustainable growth and change will be a big priority going forward. ‘We can’t boil the Ocean’ was one memorable term used. 😊

Volunteers' Week 2025

Wirral CVS would be keen to work with everyone on how we can work together and make the most of this year's Volunteers' Week (2nd – 8th June). We want to focus on celebrating and showcasing volunteering on the Wirral which enriches our local communities each and every year. If you haven't already, it's worthwhile subscribing to the Volunteers' Week mailing list for all the updates and resources available for this year's celebration.

Everyone in attendance went away with three things they were going to take away and do after the meeting, with the most popular responses being:

Register on the Volunteer Portal if not already.
Feedback on user experience of the Volunteer Portal.
Fill in the quick survey and help us create the Vision for Volunteering.

Ideas are welcome, so we can learn and grow together for more inclusive volunteering & greater impact in our community. Please feel free to e-mail & book time in with us to discuss anything raised at VMF or for volunteering support. We're here to help! 😊

The next Volunteer Managers Forum is on Tuesday 10th June at Crea8ing Community (Ridgeview Rd, Noctorum, Birkenhead CH43 9HG) To join us, simply RSVP on the link below and come along!