Diversity

Organisations that are successful in attracting volunteers usually under-represented in formal volunteering (younger people, older people, unemployed people, disabled people and people from black and ethnic minority communities) adopt a range of approaches, including:

• Paying out-of-pocket expenses.
• Offering a variety of different types of volunteering opportunities requiring various levels of skill and commitment.
• Organising transport where necessary.
• Ensuring that buildings have full disabled access.
• Making it clear in recruitment literature that volunteering is open to all.
• Targeting recruitment campaigns at the specific group they want to recruit.
• Adopting non-rejection policies for people who want to volunteer.
• Employing a diverse paid staff group, thereby illustrating to potential volunteers that the organisation is committed to equal opportunities.
• Providing appropriate training and support.

Source: The National Centre for Volunteering, A Route to Opportunity.

See also http://www.voluntarymatters3.org/
diversity/introduction/index.html and www.diversitychallenge.org for more inspiration and case studies about increasing diversity.

Find out more about other volunteer issues and examples in the In more depth section.