Volunteer Centre Newcastle

Getting the most out of Volunteer Centre Newcastle

Volunteer Centre Newcastle is a busy, city based Volunteer Centre. We promote and develop volunteering within the city and specifically we aim to deliver six core functions.

Although Volunteer Centres throughout England, throughout the region, and throughout Tyne and Wear all have the same core functions, we all have slightly different ways of working. This is because we have different demands on our services and different resources (staffing) to provide them.

Here our our top tips for getting the most out of Volunteer Centre Newcastle.

1) Register with us

We do not charge for any of the services we offer to organisations but we do ask every group or organisation to register with us if you want to engage with us. Our online registration form is quick and simple to fill in. All we ask is that by registering with us you agree to work towards the principles outlined in the local Volunteering Compact.

2) Promote your roles on 'Do It'

The national database of volunteering - 'Do It' - is a database run by Youthnet. Volunteer Centres upload the majority of roles to this database on behalf of organisations and groups they work with. To upload roles to this database we use software called vbase. This volunteer management software is available to all volunteer involving organisations, but on top of the initial purchase price you are required to pay an annual fee to cover telephone and email support.

You can advertise all your roles FREE OF CHARGE by asking us to upload your roles on your behalf.

3) Keep talking to us

We are not mindreaders. We will not know if you are no longer recruiting volunteers, or if you are desperately short of volunteers, unless you tell us. We understand that volunteer recruitment may present different challenges depending on the role you are recruiting for and the type of organisation you are.

Nor will we know if you have a particular challenge facing your organisation unless you tell us. We can provide a listening ear, advice and information which may help you, and this will be provided in the strictest confidence. We can also raise issues affecting your organisation more generally, through campaigning and policy response, our through the Newcastle Volunteering Forum which we facilitate.

4) Give us your application forms

Many organisations recruit volunteers by sending out a volunteering application form in the first instance. As a Volunteer Centre we see many people who ask to apply directly for a role they have seen on our database or on Do It. If you supply us with an application form and any additional information that you give volunteers we can give these out to interested volunteers on your behalf.

5) Use our newsletters effectively.

Volunteer Centre Newcastle publishes two different newsletters which we send out by email. These newsletters are your chance to catch up on what's happening in the City's volunteering community and to get your message out to thousands of prospective volunteers who have signed up with us. If you need something doing there maybe someone out there willing to help you with a particular task, and our newsletters can help you find this person.

6) Give us feedback

In order to improve and develop the services we offer we encourage organisations to let us know what we do well, and what we could improve on. We have a feedback page on this website, and we also send out a yearly evaluation form to all organisations and groups registered with us.