WHAT IS A VOLUNTEER CENTRE?

Volunteer centres act as ‘brokers’ between individuals and groups who want to undertake voluntary activity and organisations that seek to involve volunteers. Their primary function is to match individuals and groups interested in volunteering with appropriate volunteering opportunities and tooffer advice and support to volunteers and organisations through a range of services.

Local volunteer centres provide an invaluable link between individuals wishing to undertake voluntary activity and organisations seeking to involve volunteers. Volunteer centres believe passionately in the value of volunteering and the benefits of volunteering for all: the individual, the organisation and the wider society. They contribute to community development, active citizenship and social capital and are a vital component of any national volunteering infrastructure, providing local support at the same time as informing future initiatives and national policy.

In addition to placing volunteers, volunteer centres stimulate and encourage volunteering by promoting volunteering at local, regional and national events and in local, regional and national campaigns. They work towards breaking down the barriers to volunteering, targeting specific groups of people who are under- or un-represented in volunteering. Volunteer centres develop volunteering opportunities through consultation with local voluntary and community organisations. They recognise the potential of volunteering and encourage groups and organisations – be they private, statutory or voluntary and community – to think creatively about volunteering roles and to develop imaginative, non-traditional opportunities for potential volunteers.

In addition, volunteer centres work to promote good practice in working with volunteers through the delivery of training and support. They campaign and respond to legislation that may impact on volunteering and, as local experts on volunteering, inform planning and policy at regional and national level.

Volunteer centres would never claim to ‘own’ volunteering. Rather, they take a pro-active approach to facilitating and enabling volunteering. They will work with any organisation that seeks to do likewise. International models of best practice show that volunteer centres themselves should not be ‘owned’ either. Instead, they should remain independent organisations, free to devote their time and resources working for and on behalf of volunteers and volunteering. Both nationally and internationally, there is evidence to show that volunteer centres set up by and as an element of larger organisations tend not to be the lead player within that agency and have proved vulnerable as a result.

It is also the case, not only in Ireland but elsewhere too, that the independence of a volunteer centre ensures greater community support. Volunteer centres service the needs of all sector s of society from the individual volunteer (existing and potential), the community and voluntary organisation and public and private organisations. If they are seen to be part of another organisation or agency, even a partnership or county council, there may be resistance to the centre itself.

In fact, there are several reasons why volunteer centres should maintain independent. They include the following:

• It is fundamental to development and sustainability
  
• It is international best practice
  
• It is recommended in Tipping the Balance
  
• It priorities the development of a local, regional and national volunteering infrastructure
  
• It increases the range of funding a volunteer centre is eligible to apply for
  
• It provides an independent, dedicated lobbying and advocacy organisation which all members of the community can invest in
  
• It is in keeping with the March 2005 core-funding arrangement between volunteer centres and central government
  
• It enables county-wide cohesion in volunteering
  
• Independent volunteer centres enhance transparency and accountability within volunteering in Ireland

Volunteer Centres Ireland advises that volunteer centres establish themselves as separate legal entities – companies limited by guarantee not having a share capital – and register as charities also. In addition, it is a requirement of VCI membership that volunteer centres are separate legal entities.

THINKING OF ESTABLISHING A VOLUNTEER CENTRE?

If there is not a volunteer centre in your area, perhaps there is a group of individuals or organisations that would be interested in establishing one? If you would like to talk to someone about establishing a volunteer centre, please do contact VCI at the details below. VCI have also compiled a ‘Step by Step Guide to Establishing a Volunteer Centre’.

VCI believe that everyone in Ireland, no matter who they are or where they live, should have access to the services of a local volunteer centre. Further, we believe that the quality of services provided by volunteer centres should be equal, and of an equally high standard, across the country. To this end, we have compiled our ‘Step by Step Guide to Establishing a Volunteer Centre’ as an information pack. You can contact us directly to receive a copy of this guide. Alternatively, a slightly amended version is available on this website, with downloads to accompany it.

Drawing on the collective knowledge and experiences of all the volunteer centres currently in existence in Ireland, our guide will help you through the stages of establishing your own volunteer centre, from putting together a steering committee (.doc 50kb) to launching the centre. It will prove equally useful as a reference pack as your volunteer centre develops.

In putting together the guide, our aim has been to provide you with as much practical and relevant information as possible. Each section deals with a specific aspect of the volunteer centre and includes examples of policies adopted by various volunteer centres in Ireland and sample forms from them which can be downloaded. We believe that volunteer centres should develop organically, in response to local needs. As such, we do not advocate a ‘one size fits all’ policy. Equally, however, we believe that there is much to be learnt from the experiences of others and little point in reinventing the wheel.