Glasgow’s Volunteering Charter; calling all Third Sector Organisations in Glasgow!

Volunteer Glasgow had originally put out a call for Registrations of Interest for Glasgow’s Volunteering Charter (GVC) in May this year. With hindsight we understand that many Glasgow Third Sector Organisations may not have been in a position to make initial Registrations of Interest for Glasgow’s Volunteering Charter at the time due to Covid-19 protocols. So, we’re seeking again, initial Registrations of Interest from Glasgow’s Third Sector Organisations who wish to take the initial steps to Charter Signatory stage now that Covid-19 protocols are lessening.

Volunteer Glasgow, under the proviso of Glasgow’s Volunteering Strategy (GVS) 2019-24 (a Glasgow Community Planning initiative) is re-launching Glasgow’s Volunteering Charter to Glasgow based Third Sector Volunteering Involving Organisations (V.I.Os) who wish to initially become Signatories to the following Charter Pledges:

• Create and expand appropriate opportunities for volunteering within their organisation and/or
• Ensure your opportunities are accessible to all sections of the community, and that your volunteering workforce reflects the demographics of the city and/or
• Facilitate and enable your staff, members and/or service users to undertake volunteering activity which improves their wellbeing and benefits Glasgow

Glasgow’s Volunteering Charter is the vehicle to addressing the increasing gap between the number of people interested in volunteering and the number of inclusive volunteering opportunities within Glasgow.

Glasgow has the potential to tap into the City resource of people willing to offer their skills and time for free in a diverse range of activities across the city.

Glasgow needs to develop more volunteering opportunities to ensure the overall rate of adult volunteering increases. Also, the need to ensure these opportunities are accessible to all and to monitor this in terms of rates of volunteers in equalities groups as well as disadvantaged geographical areas.

Volunteer Glasgow is committed to Glasgow as a city that values and supports volunteering by recognising its contribution to personal, community and economic development. Realising this vision means working to develop the high quality, inclusive and varied opportunities which will allow all Glaswegians to share in the wellbeing benefits of volunteering.

What are the benefits to organisations of signing the Charter?

Providing more volunteering opportunities and making them more inclusive can benefit your organisation in several ways:

• People who are volunteering for your organisation are donating their time, skills, experience, and energy: you can do much more for your service users, members, and wider beneficiaries by harnessing this support.
• By signing the Charter, you are making a public commitment to our shared objectives.
• Once you have achieved the Charter Mark, you can boost your organisation’s profile, receiving recognition from key partners for your contribution to the city’s shared objectives.
• In signing up to the charter you are joining a host of likeminded organisations in Glasgow that recognise the value in both offering volunteering opportunities and allowing staff to volunteer.

If your organisation wishes to initially progress a little in the Glasgow’s Volunteering Charter process, it is important that the information on our Charter web pages have been fully considered prior to registering interest (in link below). You can view the pages in this link. https://www.volunteerglasgow.org/charter/

Please also consider the Section Pages links in the right hand pane of the web page.

NB: The Charter Pledges, FAQs, Charter Commitment and Phase 1 (for previous organisations who have become signatories and achieved the Charter Mark- *asterisk) sections are of particular importance.

As part of Volunteer Glasgow’s initial engagement with Partners who wish to make (click on link) initial signatories commitment towards achieving The Charter Mark, we are initiating a mapping exercise to establish which Glasgow based Third Sector Partners can promote a formal commitment to achieving The Volunteering Charter Mark.

This initial engagement with your organisation will include an outline Organisational Needs scoping exercise to identify potential knowledge, skills, motivations, processes & resource gaps that may be highlighted in your organisation towards achieving The Charter Mark.

Your Glasgow based Third Sector Organisation can initially register interest in becoming a signatory by completing the pro-forma in this link. https://www.volunteerglasgow.org/charter/register/ 

In completing the Registration of Interest our Charter Support and Training Coordinator (Derek Craig) will proceed to make further contact with the named person who completed the Pro-forma to assist the mapping exercise in providing guidance on what potential organisational issues and aspects should be considered prior to becoming initial signatories.

For a wider impact picture of how Glasgow’s Volunteering Charter in its first round in 2016, has impacted Third Sector Organisations please view the independent Glasgow Centre for Population Health’s Evaluation of Glasgow’s Volunteering Charter.

Volunteer Glasgow looks forward to working in partnership with your organisation in assisting it towards achieving the Glasgow’s Volunteering Charter Mark.