London,
13
April
2008
|
23:00
Europe/London

Hackney Invests in Volunteers

Hackney Voluntary Action, the Volunteer Centre for Hackney, is offering small grants and practical support to help organisations achieve the Investing in Volunteers Quality Standard.

Funded by Team Hackney, the Local Strategic Partnership, the grant fund of £60,000 will award small voluntary and community groups with up to £2,000 each to enable them to register for the quality standard and achieve IiV (Investors in Volunteers) status.

To achieve IiV, groups have to develop a range of practices based on the four areas of volunteer management: planning for volunteer involvement; recruiting volunteers; selecting and matching volunteers; and supporting and retaining volunteers. HVA will provide some support to all Hackney based organisations engaging in IiV, whether they qualify for the bursary or not.

For organisations, working through the IiV process can increase the effectiveness of their volunteer programmes, helping them to compare their practice with a nationally-recognised qualification, minimise risk in their organisation, sustain the motivation of volunteers and reassure potential and existing funders that their organisation is run professionally.

The Director of Hackney Voluntary Action, Bisi Ojuri, said: "Volunteers provide a huge amount of support to hundreds of organisations in Hackney and it’s really essential that we help them to have the best volunteering experience possible. HVA is pleased to have this opportunity to support organisations to improve the way they involve volunteers and to get their existing good practice recognised.”

The grant programme is open to voluntary and community organisations based in London Borough of Hackney who have an annual turnover of £250 000 or less. Closing date for applications is Monday 30 June 2008 at 12.00.
For full eligibility criteria and for information on the other support on offer, please contact Tracy Williams, Best Practice Officer at HVA - gp@hackneyvoluntaryaction.org.uk Telephone: 020 7241 4443 Ext: 23