Employer-Supported Volunteering: Making it Work for Smaller Charities
- jenpaton5
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
Maximizing Employer-Supported Opportunities during Small Charities Week
Employer-Supported Volunteering (ESV) can be a fantastic opportunity for small charities. It can bring in extra capacity, introduce people to your cause and sometimes lead to wider partnerships with local businesses.
But for organisations with small teams and limited resources, it isn’t always as simple as saying yes.
A group of enthusiastic employees arriving for a day of volunteering can be a real boost. Equally, if the activity hasn’t been properly thought through, it can take up valuable staff time and leave everyone feeling frustrated. The key is making sure the opportunity works for your organisation as much as it does for the employer.
Think about impact, not just hours
It’s easy to get caught up in the numbers. Twenty volunteers giving up a day sounds impressive. But the real question is whether their time helped your organisation achieve something that mattered. If they are coming to paint a fence, could you have done it yourself in the time it took you to set the activity up? What difference did it make to the people you support?
For some charities, a team challenge day might be exactly what’s needed. For others, support with marketing, HR, IT or governance could have a much bigger impact. The organisations may have staff with these skills who could support you remotely, making it even easier for people to get involved.
Small charities know where the gaps are. Don’t be afraid to shape opportunities around those needs.
It's ok to say no - Be clear about what you can offer!
One of the biggest challenges with ESV is that everyone comes to it with different expectations. Businesses may be looking for a team-building activity. Employees may expect a well-organised experience where they can immediately see the difference they’ve made. Charities, meanwhile, have to think about safeguarding, health and safety, supervision and whether the activity is actually useful.
Not every opportunity will be right for your organisation and trying to accommodate requests that don’t fit can create unnecessary pressure for staff and existing volunteers. Having honest conversations from the start helps everyone understand what is realistic.
Remember that volunteering isn’t free!
Volunteers give their time freely, but managing volunteering still requires investment. Someone has to organise the activity, complete risk assessments, arrange equipment, answer questions and make sure volunteers feel welcomed and supported. Afterwards, there is often follow-up to do, whether that’s sharing the impact of the day or maintaining the relationship with the employer.
For small charities especially, these hidden costs can be significant.
Recognising this doesn’t diminish the value of volunteering, it simply acknowledges the expertise and coordination needed to make it successful.
Make the experience meaningful
Ultimately, the dream is that people enjoy their ESV time with you so much that they want to give more. People are much more likely to want to stay engaged when they understand why their contribution matters.
Taking the time to explain your organisation’s work, sharing the difference volunteers have made and saying thank you can all help create a more rewarding experience.
For some employees, a volunteering day may be their first introduction to your charity. A positive experience could lead to future volunteering, fundraising support or advocacy for your cause within their workplace.
An opportunity to build relationships
At its best, Employer-Supported Volunteering is about more than completing a task. It can help small charities build connections with local businesses, access skills they wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford and raise awareness of their work in the wider community. However, these benefits are most likely to happen when charities feel able to lead the conversation.
Small charities understand their communities and the people they support. They know where extra help could make the biggest difference. By being clear about what they need and what they can realistically offer, they can create Employer-Supported Volunteering opportunities that work for everyone involved.
As interest in ESV continues to grow, small charities shouldn’t feel they simply have to fit around corporate requests. Instead, they should feel confident in shaping opportunities that reflect their values, support their priorities and benefit the communities they serve.
Want to learn more? Join our conversation
On Wednesday 29th July, Wirral CVS is hosting an online conversation between VCFSE organisations and organisations that have Employer-Supported Volunteering schemes. This is a chance for you to find out what opportunities exist, and what people accessing these schemes are looking for.
If you are interested in joining this conversation please book your place on our events page:
Useful guidance
If you are thinking of setting up an ESV scheme, the following guidance may be useful to you:
NCVO's Time Well spent report 2019 - Time Well Spent: Employer-supported volunteering
This NCVO report draws on further analysis of the Time Well Spent data, existing and recent evidence from the literature, and new research carried out with employers, volunteer-involving organisations and brokers. It aims to fill gaps in knowledge and incorporate previously unexplored perspectives to create an updated picture of ESV.
This site has some useful documents including 9 Expert tips for setting up an Employment Supported Volunteering Programme, risk assessment templates and role description templates that you may find useful.
If you'd like any support with your Employer-Supported Volunteering programme, or have questions about volunteering in general please contact the Volunteering team on volunteer@wcvs.org.uk
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