Lighthouse Project

Name of Organisation

Lighthouse Project

Why did you decide to go for Investing in Volunteers?

Although Lighthouse Project have involved volunteers in their service provision since the organisations inception in 1967, funding gained through the Big Lottery in 2002 allowed us to develop a more coherent and consistent approach to whole process. We wanted therefore to assess the impact of this development and at the same time gain recognition for the standard attained.

The organisation had recently achieved the Investors in People award, but the systems and practices developed for volunteers were not scrutinised during this process. It was felt therefore that IiV provided the ideal framework to measure and evaluate our performance in this crucial aspect of our work.

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

It gave us the opportunity to review all our procedures against best practice and provided the resources and support needed to make any necessary improvements. The process we used was particularly helpful in ensuring that the Volunteer Development Unit was fully integrated into every aspect of the organisation as a whole.

How did the assessment work in your organisation?

The assessment process was received positively by the whole organisation, and everyone was kept fully informed and involved as much as possible. This included the Board of Trustees, Senior Managers, Staff and Volunteers on all our sites.

We found the assessor to be extremely encouraging and supportive and had regular contact with him throughout.

We were delighted (and somewhat relieved) to find that much of what we were doing already met the standards expected. IiV however enabled us to plug any gaps identified and make the necessary improvements to ensure that our volunteers have the best experience possible whilst with our organisation.

Everyone is very pleased to attain the award, feels a great sense of achievement and is looking forward to the celebrations!

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

• Be realistic about the time and effort involved

• Involve people at every level of the organisation

• Don’t try to do everything yourself; delegate – it helps to enhance a sense of ownership

• Bring people together regularly to review progress and share ideas

• Make the process as positive and enjoyable as possible