Slides from the first ever online National Volunteering Forum hosted jointly by NCVO and AVM on 18 June 2020.

1. Please keep yourself muted,
unless you are speaking.
Pro tip - hold space bar
to speak whilst muted.
Please don’t feel you
have to keep your
video on all the time
You can also ask
questions via the chat
and tell us here if you are
having any IT issues
We will use breakout
rooms!
If you click “participants" you will see an pop up window
on the right with an option to ‘raise your hand’.
This will help us know you want to speak or ask a question.

2. NATIONAL VOLUNTEERING FORUM:
VOLUNTEERING AND THE
CORONAVIRUS – WHAT NOW?
18 June
9.30am-3.30pm
@NCVOvolunteers
@AVMtweets
#VolForum

3. WELCOME!
@NCVOvolunteers
@AVMtweets
#VolForum

4. Time Item
10.15 • Welcome
• How the pandemic has impacted volunteering and communities, followed by
Q&A
11.00 • Break (15 mins)
11.15 • Policy update
• Implications of social distancing and practical steps towards recovery,
followed by breakout discussions
• Natasha Broomfield-Reid – Diverse Matters
13.00 • Lunch (1 hour)
14.00 • Exploring the long-term outlook for volunteering, followed by breakout
discussions
• Reflections on the future
15.30 • Close

6. Please keep yourself muted,
unless you are speaking.
Pro tip - hold space bar
to speak whilst muted.
Please don’t feel you
have to keep your
video on all the time
You can also ask
questions via the chat
and PM Mel if you are
having any IT issues
We will use breakout
rooms!
If you click “participants" you will see an pop up window
on the right with an option to ‘raise your hand’.
This will help us know you want to speak or ask a question.

7. SHAUN DELANEY
NCVO
@NCVOvolunteers
@AVMtweets
#VolForum

8. NATIONAL VOLUNTEERING FORUM
How the pandemic has impacted volunteering and communities
• Emma Easton – NHS England and NHS Improvement/NHS
Responders
• Chris Reed – British Red Cross/VCS Emergency Partnership
• Karen Chillman – Croydon Voluntary Action
• Rahim Hassanali – Merton Mutual Aid
SESSION 1

9. EMMA EASTON
NHS ENGLAND AND NHS IMPROVEMENT/NHS
VOLUNTEER RESPONDERS
@NCVOvolunteers
@AVMtweets
#VolForum

10. CHRIS REED
BRITISH RED CROSS/VCS EMERGENCY
PARTNERSHIP
@NCVOvolunteers
@AVMtweets
#VolForum

11. KAREN CHILLMAN
CROYDON VOLUNTARY ACTION
@NCVOvolunteers
@AVMtweets
#VolForum

12. RAHIM HASSANALI
MERTON MUTUAL AID
@NCVOvolunteers
@AVMtweets
#VolForum

13. Merton Mutual Aid
Responding to the needs of the local
community
Speaker:
Rahim Hassanali
Coordinator of Merton Mutual Aid
www.linkedin.com/in/rahimhassanali/

14. Who we are
• We are an informal non-political community volunteer network consisting of people that live and work in the
London Borough of Merton.
• Our Facebook Group was set up on the 15th March 2020, we have 2,900 members with 1,300 members signed up
to volunteer.
• We established our mutual aid group with the aim of bring the community together to support a neighbour to
neighbour effort due to Covid-19.
• We have been in the unique position to act on the ground and respond to community need in real time.
• We have actively been identifying and supporting members of the community that have been missed by statutory
services and the voluntary sector.
• We have been supporting and working with existing services and provision by working with the London Borough of
Merton and Merton Voluntary Service Council.

15. Merton Council
(for all council related
services)
Merton Volunteer
Service Centre
(link to voluntary sector in
Merton)
Merton Mutual Aid
Group
(Facebook Group and 20
Community Ward Volunteer
Groups)
Community Members
(Those that want to volunteer and those that need support)
Referrals to
established voluntary
services where
possible
Referrals to
established council
services where
possible
Requests for immediate volunteer support
Merton Covid-19 Mutual Aid
Coordinated Approach Process
Support, advice and guidance

16. Immediate needs of the community
• Basic supplies:
• Food
• Household
• Sanitary
• Prescriptions
• General Information, Advice and Support

17. Volunteering Activity
Connecting the community and sharing
information

18. Challenges
• Personal safety, health, safeguarding, data
protection and vetting
• Bureaucracy of formal structures
• Digital inequality
• Members using the group for personal gain
• Rise in food insecurity
• Rise of misinformation, isolation and
wellbeing issues
Impact
• Barrier to mobilising volunteer effort
• Gap in services to meet immediate needs
• Access to support and services
• Distracting political and personal commentary
• Unable to meet demands
• Spike in adverse community wellbeing

19. Learning
• Soft volunteering approach – non-regulated volunteer activities
• Easy to understand and minimal but vital and relevant guidance for volunteers
• Personal safety advice for community members receiving support
• Dialogue and partnership working with local council and voluntary sector organisations
• General community engagement to boost moral
• Focused action to support food poverty and digital inequality
• The power of the informal volunteer to respond to immediate needs to address gaps in formal services

20. Find out more
or get in
touch
Rahim Hassanali, Coordinator of Merton
Mutual Aid
www.linkedin.com/in/rahimhassanali/
https://mertonmutualaid.net/

21. Q&A
@NCVOvolunteers
@AVMtweets
#VolForum

22. BREAK
@NCVOvolunteers
@AVMtweets
#VolForum

23. NATIONAL VOLUNTEERING FORUM
Implications of social distancing and practical steps towards
recovery
• Mark Restall – Citizens Advice
• Emma Wimpress – Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust
• Matthew Cobble – Motor Neurone Disease Association
• Lara Rivans – Guide Dogs for the Blind Association
SESSION 2

24. CHARLIE GILLIES
NCVO
@NCVOvolunteers
@AVMtweets
#VolForum

25. POLICY UPDATE
@NCVOvolunteers
@AVMtweets
#VolForum

26. NEW GOVERNMENT GUIDANCE ON VOLUNTEERING
 The new guidance is clear that anyone can volunteer.
 If you’re volunteering outside, you should always follow government’s guidance
on social distancing. You should also check if an organisation thinks it is safe for
you to volunteer for them and that you meet all eligibility criteria they set out,
including any age restrictions.
 Those who are self-isolating because they, or someone they live with, have
coronavirus symptoms should not leave the home for any reason for the period
they are self-isolating. They can volunteer from home, as long as they feel well
enough.
 If you are deemed ‘clinically extremely vulnerable’ you should continue to follow
the shielding guidance. You should only volunteer from home. Volunteers who live
with clinically extremely vulnerable individuals should consider their needs before
volunteering outside.
 Those who are deemed ’clinically vulnerable’ (aged over 70, pregnant or with an
underlying health condition) should take particular care when choosing to leave
the home however there are no specific restrictions on them volunteering
outside.

27. ACEVO AND VOICE FOR CHANGE REPORT: ‘HOME TRUTHS: UNDOING RACISM
AND DELIVERING REAL DIVERSITY IN THE CHARITY SECTOR’
Yesterday, ACEVO launched a report on racism in the charity sector. The report centres the lived
experience and expertise of BAME staff, volunteers, associates and freelancers.
Key findings:
 Racism is a significant issue that exists across the sector as it does in the rest of society.
 Failings on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the ‘mainstream’ charity sector can only be
meaningfully addressed by engaging in questions of racism.
 Rhetoric on DEI is often ahead of action and this can cause frustration and even despair about the
prospects for meaningful change and progress.
 Some white charity leaders have much further to go to understand racism and how they can work
towards eradicating it.
 Positively, there appears to be an appetite for meaningful change, particularly among BAME people
in the sector and among a growing, possibly critical, mass of influential white people in the sector.
The report also sets out some steps to open up the charity sector to BAME people and to reorientate
charity and voluntary work towards building a racially just society.
Please note, the report contains discussions about people’s experiences of racism which could be
distressing or triggering. If you feel distressed reading the report or would like support for your
emotional or mental health you can find resources at this link.

28. LOCALITY REPORT: ‘WE WERE BUILT FOR THIS’
Locality have released a report ‘We were built for this’ which highlighted the vital role that
community organisations have played in meeting community need and supporting people during
the coronavirus crisis.
Key findings:
 Community organisations, many of which rely on the support of volunteers, were often the
quickest to mobilise and played a critical role in coordinating and delivering emergency
support.
 Community organisations played a crucial role in linking volunteer-led mutual aid groups
with public and private sector responses.
 Community organisations have harnessed the upsurge in community spirit, working with and
coordinating grassroots volunteer groups.
Key recommendations:
 Provide £500m revenue funding to protect, strengthen and grow existing community
organisations and provide a pathway for new mutual aid groups to become established.
 Call on government to: support a community-powered economic recovery; create
collaborative public services; and, provide support to turn community spirit into community
power.

29. EMMA WIMPRESS
NORTHAMPTON GENERAL HOSPITAL NHS TRUST
@NCVOvolunteers
@AVMtweets
#VolForum

30. Implications of Social Distancing and
Practical Steps Toward Recovery
Emma Wimpress
Head of Volunteer Services

31. 3 R’s for Recovery
Review
Replenish
Revitalise

32. MATTHEW COBBLE
MOTOR NEURONE DISEASE ASSOCIATION
@NCVOvolunteers
@AVMtweets
#VolForum

33. Doing Things Differently…
Matthew Cobble
Head of Volunteering

34. We Have A Responsibility To
Do Things Differently

35. Recruitment and Induction
– Pre Covid-19
• Reliance on face to face selection and interviews
• Robust, but in places inefficient processes
• Blended approach to training that relied on a two day residential
training course

36. Positive Impatience

37. Recruitment and Induction
– Our Response
• Face to face carried out online using digital tools such as
Microsoft teams and Zoom
• Streamlining of our recruitment process for some roles –
removing the need to interview
• Training to be delivered in short online sessions coordinated
centrally

38. Be Bold About What We Do Now And In The Future

39. Role Design – Pre Covid-19
• Reliant on high commitment, high capability, well
established roles. Mostly face to face interaction.
• Long term project evaluating our support roles - but not yet
implemented
• Success with some micro-volunteering activity but a need to
expand this further

40. License To
Experiment

41. Role Design – Our Response
• Flexible task based opportunities
• New tasks created an opportunity to try something new
• Accelerated the implementation of our existing projects –
environment ripe for change

42. Carers Champion Volunteer
Task 1: Provide Telephone
Support
Telephone Support
Volunteer
Task 2: Facilitate Support
Groups
Carer’s Community Facilitator
Task 3: Organise Support
Groups
Carer’s Community Technical
Supporter
Task 4: Research Local
Services
Carer Services Researcher

43. This Is An Opportunity

44. LARA RIVANS
GUIDE DOGS FOR THE BLIND ASSOCIATION
@NCVOvolunteers
@AVMtweets
#VolForum

45. Volunteering in a new
frontier
How COVID-19 is transforming volunteering at Guide
Dogs

46. About us
46
Volunteering profile
We have over 17,000 volunteers in over 26,000 roles.
They’re supported by over 600 key contacts or
volunteer managers.

47. Our approach
during
lockdown

48. For staff:
● Senior leadership team provide
regular video conferencing
updates to all staff on the impact
of COVID-19 and tactical
responses
● Hosted regular briefing sessions
to equip volunteer facing staff
with information and key
messages
● Volunteer managers carried out
17,000 ‘keeping in touch’ calls
with volunteers
● Also provided written templates
for volunteer managers to
contact volunteers and
communicate consistently
48
Our approach during lockdown
<Footer>

49. Our approach during lockdown
For volunteers:
● Created online COVID-19
destination for our
audiences
● Regular COVID-19 mailing,
including emails and
alternative formats
● Dedicated newsletter for
volunteer applicants
● Provided opportunities for
engagement, development,
reassurance and ways to
support us
● Reviewed volunteer
communications channels
and test new platforms to
connect

50. Virtual is the
new reality

51. How we’re increasing our use of digital
platforms and channels across our
volunteer function and offer:
● Greater focus on digital
communications for timely and cost
effective updates
● Developing virtual home checks for
prospective volunteers
● Expanding our online learning and
development for existing volunteers
● Testing role specific group training
sessions via Zoom
● Engaging with our Volunteer Voices
groups via Zoom
51
Virtual is the new reality
<Footer>

52. 52
Virtual is the new reality
<Footer>
Volunteers’ Week 2020
● Used social media to say “thank
you” to our volunteers and to
recognise their contribution
○ Posts on our Volunteers at
Guide Dogs (UK) Facebook
page were viewed nearly
30,000 times by volunteers.
Local Volunteers Awards
● Exploring how we create virtual
events as part of our annual
recognition programme

53. 53
Virtual is the new reality
<Footer>
Adapting our fundraising activities
In May, we adapted Walk Your Socks
Off to an ‘at home’ step challenge.
● Over 11,000 people signed up and
took part
● Over £170,000 raised so far (a 50%
increase on 2019’s inaugural year)
● Supporters loved setting their own
step target and being active,
especially during lockdown

54. Supermarkets petition
● With our partners, we called on the government to work with supermarkets to
ensure people with sight loss were able to access priority slots.
● 23,753 signatures
● 13,000 new supporters
54
We made it easier to support us through
online micro actions
<Footer>

55. The Great Guide Dogs Tea Party
● On Tuesday 21 April – National Tea
Day, we hosted The Great Guide
Dogs Virtual Tea Party to celebrate
our Guide Dogs Family
● Our Facebook Event page reached
948,100 people with 17,030
responses.
● We had 4,021 unique photos of
people enjoying a cuppa.
● £44,000 for our life-changing
services
● We now hold the Guinness World
Record title for the World’s Biggest
Virtual Tea Party!
55
We made it easier to support us through
online micro actions
<Footer>

56. Returning to
the ‘new
normal’

57. There will be a phased return to volunteering with
some roles starting sooner than others. But no
matter the role, the restart process remains the
same:
● Person-centred conversations with volunteer
manager
● Logistics for fulfilling their volunteer role
● Refer to Government guidelines
● Introduce Guide Dogs health and safety measures
for restarting their volunteering, including role
specific information
● Signpost to volunteer intranet for post-lockdown
resources
57
Restarting volunteering
<Footer>

58. Thank you!
Lara Rivans, Head of Volunteering
Email: lara.rivans@guidedogs.org.uk

59. BREAKOUT DISCUSSIONS
What steps have you been taking to adjust to
rules around social distancing and how has this
affected who volunteers and how?
What difficulties have you encountered when
making these decisions and how are you
overcoming them?
What are you doing for volunteers who are
unable or unwilling to return?

60. GROUPS FEEDBACK
@NCVOvolunteers
@AVMtweets
#VolForum

61. NATASHA BROMFIELD-REID
DIVERSE MATTERS
@NCVOvolunteers
@AVMtweets
#VolForum

62. Inclusive practice
How are organisations
demonstrating that they value
diversity and inclusion with regard to
volunteering:
Volunteers wellbeing:
• Impact of Covid-19
• Impact of George
Floyd/#Blacklivesmatter#
• Ongoing support
www.diversematters.co.uk 62

63. Making volunteering accessible
to all
• How can we maintain our
current volunteers?
• How can we develop our
volunteer opportunities to
recruit new volunteers or
provide an opportunity for
current volunteer to change
roles?
• How can we seize the moment?
www.diversematters.co.uk 63

64. Making volunteering accessible
to all
Issues to consider:
IT – are you equipped to provide online support? If not can this be included
in future plans? – ‘virtual volunteering’ – however, ensure this is as
accessible as possible eg to disabled people, those on low incomes.
Equality impact assessments/equality analysis – have they been carried
when assessing new ways of working in recruiting volunteers and developing
new roles. This will help to ensure that a wide range of opportunities and
options can be made available.
Feedback – are you regularly seeking feedback from volunteers re: their
views on enhancing practice?
.
www.diversematters.co.uk 64

65. Making volunteering accessible
to all
Issues to consider:
Targeted recruitment -is this an opportunity to carry out some targeted
recruitment to those communities that may be underrepresented? This
may be a time when more people due to the current climate want to
‘give back’?
Crisis management – have you developed a crisis plan or updated
organisation’s risk registers so we have greater capabilities in managing
and recruiting diverse teams
www.diversematters.co.uk 65

66. Get in touch…..
@NBroomfieldReid
@DiverseMatters1
Natasha@diversematters.co.uk
hello@diversematters.co.uk
Tel: O7957 264226
www.diversematters.co.uk 66

67. LUNCH
@NCVOvolunteers
@AVMtweets
#VolForum

68. WELCOME BACK!
RECAP OF THE MORNING
@NCVOvolunteers
@AVMtweets
#VolForum

69. NATIONAL VOLUNTEERING FORUM
Exploring the long-term outlook for volunteering
• Jarina Choudhury - NCVO
• Veronique Jochum – NCVO
• Rob Jackson – Rob Jackson Consulting
SESSION 3

70. JARINA CHOUDHURY
NCVO
@NCVOvolunteers
@AVMtweets
#VolForum

71. SARAH VIBERT
NCVO
@NCVOvolunteers
@AVMtweets
#VolForum

72. VÉRONIQUE JOCHUM
NCVO
@NCVOvolunteers
@AVMtweets
#VolForum

73. COVID-19 VOLUNTEERING
EVIDENCE GROUP
• NCVO
• Institute for Volunteering Research (IVR)
• Third Sector Research Centre (TSRC)
• Voluntary Sector Studies Network (VSSN)

74. COVID-19 VOLUNTEERING
EVIDENCE GROUP
Need for evidence
• Recruitment
• Motivations
• Experience
• Outcomes and Impact

75. COVID-19 VOLUNTEERING
EVIDENCE GROUP
Objectives
• Review the existing evidence
• Collect new evidence (being part of efforts to
coordinate and undertake research on the
current crisis, to provide learning for the future)
• Share learning from both areas of work

76. COVID-19 VOLUNTEERING EVIDENCE GROUP
A few examples
Review of the evidence completed by NCVO on
spontaneous volunteering
https://blogs.ncvo.org.uk/2020/04/09/five-
lessons-from-the-past-about-spontaneous-
volunteering-in-emergencies/
Research repository on Covid and voluntary action
created by VSSN
https://www.vssn.org.uk/covid-19-and-voluntary-
action-research-repository/

77. A DATE FOR YOUR DIARY
7 September 2020
1000-1100 Day one opening plenary
1130-1300 Philanthropy and COVID-19
1400-1530 Mutual Aid and COVID-19
8 September 2020
1000-1100 Day two opening plenary
1130-1300 Volunteering and COVID-19
1400-1530 Voluntary and Community Organisations and COVID-19
Find out more: www.vssn.org.uk
Times like these: Researching civil society responses to
and recovery from Covid-19

78. COVID-19 VOLUNTEERING
EVIDENCE GROUP
Thank you!
info@ivr.org.uk

79. ROB JACKSON
ROB JACKSON CONSULTING
@NCVOvolunteers
@AVMtweets
#VolForum

80. New perspectives on risk
Risk used to be
something to be avoided
at all costs
The ‘new normal’ is
going to be full of risk
Lots of potential issues
Opportunity to cast risk
and volunteering in a
new light

81. Re-thinking the role of
volunteers
Not everyone who volunteered for us in the
past will do so again
Paid staff are, sadly, going to be laid off
Money may be in short supply as
unemployment and financial hardship
reduce charitable donations
Mission driven organisations will have to
rethink how they fulfil their goals with a
different mix of human talent and skill
than they did before
https://bit.ly/2AoZ7x4

82. Accelerated change
The changes we face
aren’t new, they are just
happening faster than we
expected
We need to be educating
others about these
changes and how they
impact across our
organisations
How does this happen
where Volunteer Managers
are furloughed?

83. Getting in touch
rob@robjacksonconsulting.
com
+44 (0)7557 419 074
www.robjacksonconsulting.
com
@robjconsulting and
facebook.com/robjacksonc
onsulting
robjacksonconsulting.word
press.com
medium.com/@RobJConsu
lting

84. BREAKOUT DISCUSSIONS
From what you’ve heard throughout today
what are the implications for volunteering in
your organisations for the future?
Given that the coronavirus is likely to stay with
us for some time, what support do you think
you’ll need going forward?

85. GROUPS FEEDBACK
@NCVOvolunteers
@AVMtweets
#VolForum

86. RUTH LEONARD
AVM
@NCVOvolunteers
@AVMtweets
#VolForum

87. Information from NCVO:
• For volunteer managers
• For people who want to volunteer
• For organisations and groups
National programmes to note:
• NHS Volunteer Responders
Key government information:
• GOV.UK: COVID-19 latest information and
advice
• Public Health England: Coronavirus
guidance
• NHS coronavirus advice
Involving Volunteers
• How volunteers can make a difference
• Redirecting volunteers if you cannot
take on any more
• How volunteers are affected by the
lockdown
• Volunteers in key worker roles
• Volunteer expenses
• Paying for goods or services
• Data protection
• Recognising and reporting scams
LINKS TO CORONAVIRUS VOLUNTEERING GUIDANCE

88. NCVO champions the voluntary sector and volunteer
movement to create a better society.
We connect, represent and support over 15,000
voluntary sector member organisations, from the
smallest community groups to the largest charities.
This helps our members and their millions of volunteers
make the biggest difference to the causes they believe
in.
• Search for NCVO membership
• Visit www.ncvo.org.uk/join
• Email membership@ncvo.org.uk
88

89. 10.15-10.20 Welcome – Shaun Delaney - NCVO
10.20-10.40 How the pandemic has impacted volunteering and communities
Emma Easton – NHS England and NHS Improvement/NHS Responders
Chris Reed – British Red Cross/VCS Emergency Partnership
Karen Chillman – Croydon Voluntary Action
Rahim Hassanali – Merton Mutual Aid
10.40-11.00 Q&A
11.00-11.15 Break
11.15-11.20 Policy update – Charlie Gillies - NCVO
11.20-11.50 Implications of social distancing and practical steps towards recovery
Emma Wimpress – Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust
Matthew Cobble – Motor Neurone Disease Association
Lara Rivans – Guide Dogs for the Blind Association
11.50-12.20 Breakout discussions
12.20-12.45 Groups feedback
12.45-13.00 Natasha Broomfield-Reid – Diverse Matters
13.00-14.00 Lunch
14.00-14.20 Exploring the long-term outlook for volunteering
Jarina Choudhury - NCVO
Rob Jackson – Rob Jackson Consulting
Veronique Jochum – NCVO
14.20-14.45 Breakout discussions
14.45-15.15 Groups feedback
15.15-15.25 Reflections on the future - Ruth Leonard – AVM
15.25-15.30 Next steps and close – Shaun Delaney - NCVO