Funding

Seeking funding for Investing in Volunteers (IiV)?

We appreciate the cost for completing your IiV journey might present a challenge. IiV is self-financing delivered by expert assessors and independent consultants, and so it is necessary to cover the costs of delivery.

Several organisations that have completed their IiV journey have done so by succesfully securing funding. We do recommend that you consider this an an option. 

Here are some potential funding options:

  1. Lloyds Bank Foundation - Enable Programme provides smaller, shorter term grants to strengthen the service delivery of charities so they can deliver their missions more effectively. Funding towards IiV is recognised as IiV helps develop and improve a charity's capabilities
  2. Your local Volunteer Centre might be able to help you with funding
  3. Funding Central is a website for charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises, listing thousands of funding and finance opportunities. Subscription to Funding Central is free for organisations with turnover under £100,000
  4. Funding sources page from KnowHow NonProfit
  5. Funding websites of the Directory of Social Change (DSC)
  6. National Lottery Awards for All England - from the Big Lottery Fund. We have included the Big Lottery Fund's three funding priorities below as they often relate to organisations looking to support and develop volunteering programmes:
    • Bringing people together and building strong relationships in and across communities
    • Improving the places and spaces that matter to communities
    • Enabling more people to fulfill their potential by working to address issues at the earliest possible stage

Make the case for IiV

When making an application for funding, build the cost of IiV into the bid. There should be a section on the application for costs associated with service delivery, building capacity or management costs. 

Remember that you need to explain why funders would want to fund this. You need to explain what benefits they will see. See Benefits of Investing in Volunteers for more information. Our Case Studies can provide valuable testimony of the value IiV can bring. 

Talk to an existing funder. There may be under spend on your project or some other monies available. Explain that this additional money will enable you to build your organisation's capacity to involve and retain volunteers and therefore continue to improve service delivery.  

Are you a funder?

If you are a funder interested in finding out more about what holding the IiV standard means, please contact the IiV team by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..