Involving Volunteers

For many organisations, taking on volunteers has many benefits. It also has resource implications and it is not a step that should be taken lightly.

If, when you take time to discuss why you are taking on volunteers, you come up with reasons like they will be cheap labour, or simply you feel you should, it's likely you do not have a valid reason for taking on volunteers. The decision to take on volunteers needs commitment from all levels of the organisation and has many time and resource implications. Providing this is realised, and the whole process managed correctly, volunteers can permit greater flexibility, increase diversity, widen the scope of the organisation's work and be a delight to work with.

This is taken from Bedford Volunteer Centre who published the short guide for voluntary
organisations 'Volunteer Recruitment and Retention'. Download it here.