Read On – Write Away!

Name of Organisation

Read On – Write Away!

Why did you decide to go for Investing in Volunteers?

We wanted to raise the profile of the volunteer projects in ROWA! and also to have an impartial view on the way our projects were being run and the way our volunteers were recruited, trained and supported.

What benefits have you found from working towards Investing in Volunteers?

It gave us the time and motivation to review our policies and procedures and to think about the way we work with our volunteers.

How did the assessment work in your organisation?

A small steering group was formed to help the two volunteer co-ordinators prepare for the assessment. The initial self assessment was a particularly valuable exercise.

Our volunteers were kept informed by newsletter and at support meetings, the ROWA! staff were informed at team meetings and by e-mail.

The preparation work was done over a five month period ready for the assessment day

5 Practical tips you would give another organisation working towards Investing in Volunteers

• Give yourself a realistic timescale to prepare everything

• Be totally honest about your organisation during the self assessment process, it is a very valuable exercise

• Use a steering group of volunteers, managers and volunteer co-ordinators to share the workload

• Involve your volunteers in the process from start to finish

• Keep everyone in the organisation informed about IiV from the start to the finish of the process.