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Who are VCI ?

VCI was founded in 2001.
VCI is the umbrella organisation for a network of, at present, 22 volunteer centres nationally. In January 2005, the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Volunteering published its report, "Volunteers and Volunteering in Ireland", in which it specifically recommended that the existing volunteering infrastructure be developed through volunteer centres. The government responded in March 2005, announcing a package of measures to support the development of the volunteering infrastructure which included funding VCI.

Volunteer centres act as ‘brokers’ between individuals who want to undertake voluntary activity and organisations that are seeking volunteers.

VCI has lobbied government to support a national infrastructure of volunteer centres.
VCI and its member centres throughout Ireland receive funding from the Dept of Community, Rural & Gaeltacht Affairs.

Role of VCI

VCI :

Facilitates the national network of volunteer centres
Externally promotes the national network of volunteer centres and the services they provide.
Develops best practice within and across volunteer centres and the volunteer-involving organisations they work with.
Represents the volunteering infrastructure nationally and internationally.
Manages the only national on-line database of volunteering opportunities in Ireland, whereon organisations can upload volunteering opportunities and individuals can register to volunteer and view volunteering opportunities.
Manages www.volunteer.ie, the national portal for volunteering in Ireland which provides access to the national database.
Makes frequent and regular contributions to policy debates, including the National Committee on Volunteering (2001), the Joint Oireachtas sub-committee hearing (2005) and the Taskforce on Active Citizenship (2006).
Publishes a ‘Step by Step Guide’ to volunteering drawing on the shared knowledge and expertise of the network
Works closely with other volunteering and third-sector development agencies to collectively improve volunteering and the volunteering experience in Ireland. Organises National Day of Volunteering (formerly Give It a Swirl Day), the national day of volunteering in Ireland.

Recent Stats
In 2009

13,036 volunteers registered with Volunteer Centres
More than 4,389 placement were made
364,745 volunteering hours were generated, contributing more than €5.5 million to the economy through labour costs alone.
70% of registered volunteers were female
61% of registered volunteers had never volunteered before
67% of registered volunteers were under 35, 33% under 25
1 in 3 registered volunteers were not Irish

In 2008

7, 545 volunteers registered with Volunteer Centres
More than 3,165 placement were made
200,136 volunteering hours were generated, contributing more than €3 million to the economy through labour costs alone.
69% of registered volunteers were female
58% of registered volunteers had never volunteered before
69% of registered volunteers were under 35, 36% under 25
1 in 3 registered volunteers were not Irish

In 2007 alone:

Over 4,000 volunteers registered with Volunteer Centres
More than 1,680 volunteer placements were made
143,500+ volunteering hours were generated620 volunteer-involving organisations registered (adding to the 950+ organisations already registered).
60% had never registered before.
70% were aged 35 and under (50% of whom were aged 26 and under).

These figures are heartening when set against the 2006 Census, which showed that the 45-49 age group had the highest participation rates in voluntary activity and that almost one in four of all volunteers were in their forties. Clearly, young people do want to volunteer and Volunteer Centres appeal to them as a means of getting involved.
Working with the Government Policy on Volunteering VCI are working with the Department of Community, Rural & Gaeltacht Affairs to draft the first ever formal policy on volunteering infrastructure. VCI will be providing assistance in the realisation of its directives also.

Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs said –

"This Department is pleased to be working with Volunteer Centres Ireland to develop a transparent and consistent policy relating to the centres in Ireland. This development of a supportive framework for Volunteer Centres is important in the context of the Government’s commitments under Towards 2016 and the recommendations of the Task Force on Active Citizenship"

Active Citizenship

VCI and our member volunteer centres participated in the public consultation held by the Taskforce for Active Citizenship. In addition, VCI made a formal submission and was invited for a private consultation by a sub-committee of the Taskforce. VCI welcomed the recommendations the report made relating to volunteering, which included:

Funding schemes to support capacity development amongst community and voluntary organisations
Public servants to be given time off for volunteering and the recognition of volunteering activity in job applications and performance evaluation
The establishment of an Active Citizenship Week and National Presidential Awards Scheme to recognise civic engagement, including volunteering
Appropriately supported initiatives to encourage and facilitate volunteering amongst third-level students
The development of a certificate or award earned through volunteering
The establishment of an Active Citizenship Office

VCI and the emerging volunteer infrastructure will play an important role in assisting the Office of Active Citizenship achieve the targets it has set itself in relation to volunteering. These targets include:

Increasing the pool of people active in their community by 60,000 each year for the next three years
Increasing the number of adults engaged in at least one form of ‘civic activity’ by 60,000 each year for the next three years
Reaching, by the end of the current decade, a level of at least 60% voter turnout amongst 18-24 year olds
Increasing the level of voter participation from an estimate of 75.5% in the General Election of 2002 to at least 80% in all future General Elections, with targeting of areas of exceptionally low turnout
Increasing the proportion of adults agreeing with the statement that they ‘can influence decisions affecting your local area’ from 54% in 2006 to 65% in 2010

VCI , via its membership of volunteer centres, already significantly develops the range, extent and quality of volunteering in Ireland. Crucially, our member volunteer centres work directly with volunteer-involving organisations to assist them engage volunteers. Our experience is that, while there is no shortage of people wishing to volunteer in Ireland, volunteer-involving organisations benefit from assistance in developing volunteering opportunities that are appropriate to the supply of volunteers and their needs.

The VCI database system already tracks volunteering in volunteer centres individually and nationally, providing up-to-the-minute reports on the profile of volunteers (age, nationality, gender, and attraction to the volunteering role) and where and how often it occurs.

In addition, VCI and the emerging volunteering infrastructure already engage and can further assist the Office in achieving the wider aims of Active Citizenship:

Participation in the democratic process Volunteer Centres already engage in voter participation drives and can provide a virtual and physical space through which people might access information about voting, receive practical assistance and engage in debate
Public service and citizens Volunteer centres can be utilised for the purposes of consultation and are an obvious partner for the ‘civic fora’ mentioned in the Taskforce’s Report. As specialists in the field, the expertise of staff in volunteer centres can advance the development of volunteering programmes, as well as monitoring and tracking them on behalf of, and in collaboration with, employers (private and public) and other third sector organisations. Community engagement and promoting a sense of community. The work of VCI and our member volunteer centres focuses specifically on community engagement. We are further interested in how we can build bridges between communities and sectors.
Education for citizenship In collaboration with educational institutions, proto volunteer centres could be established at first, second and third level, providing volunteering opportunities internally and externally
Ethnic and cultural diversity and the challenge of engaging newcomers. Volunteering is an important means by which newcomers to Ireland can get involved in Irish society and feel part of it. At present, 1-in-3 volunteers registered with volunteer centres is a non-Irish national. Already, volunteer centres have fantastic stories to tell of successful volunteering opportunities undertaken by non-Irish nationals that have benefited them, the organisation they volunteer with and the wider community. These individual stories are also templates of projects that can be adopted and adapted across the country. The space that the volunteer centres occupy in the community – supported by the state but not an instrument of it – means it can feel owned by all sectors of the community.

Work with the Taskforce on Active Citizenship is ongoing.

Need to know more?

Please contact Eva Early at 01 7994519 or eva@volunteer.ie.

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