Benefits of Investing in Volunteers

Why might organisations be interested in assessing their volunteer programme against the Investing in Volunteers Standard? Each organisation will have their very own specific reasons for participating, and below is a range of benefits cited by organisations who achieved the Standard during the pilot phase from 1998 - 2002.

Reasons for Getting Involved

• To improve the effectiveness of their work with volunteers in a structured way (and hence maintain or improve the service to their users and/or supporters).
• To compare their volunteer practices against a recognised standard.
• To increase support from people within the organisation for the volunteer programme.
• To encourage more people to volunteer - people will feel more encouraged to volunteer for an organisation that strives towards managing volunteers well.
• To sustain their existing volunteers’ motivation and enhance their experience of volunteering.
• To enhance their organisation’s reputation in the local community.
• To reassure funders that the organisation is professional and that their money is being well spent.
• To draw to the attention of the organisation’s decision makers the need for more effective volunteer management.
• To minimise any potential risks arising from the involvement of volunteers - either to volunteers themselves, and/or to the organisation and its users/supporters.
• To achieve the Investing in Volunteers Standard which allows an organisation to publicly demonstrate its commitment to volunteering.