Volunteers may be the backbone of your organisation, or you may have a small volunteer team which brings skills and resources to your activities. However you are structured it is essential to establish a volunteer-friendly environment.

The role of volunteers can be different in each organisation, it is therefore vital that you formally outline your expectations for a volunteer’s role from the start.

Volunteer Agreement

Volunteer agreements can be used to set out both an organisation's commitment to its volunteers, and what it hopes for from its volunteers. Such agreements act as a reference point for the volunteers, and a reminder to the organisation that it should meet the standards of good practice that it has set itself.

Find out more and get sample agreements here

About Volunteering England

Volunteering England is an independent charity and membership organisation, committed to supporting, enabling and celebrating volunteering in all its diversity. Our work links policy, research, innovation, good practice and programme management in the involvement of volunteers.

Why join Volunteering England?

If you involve volunteers in your work and care about the future of volunteering then find your voice and be part of Volunteering Englands national movement.

In addition to this; their annual membership package entitles you to the following exclusive benefits:

• Members' only information service
• Interactive member's area and content on their website
• Member events
• Fortnightly enewsletter
• Discounts on events and management tools
• Discount on educational resources through Tribal
• Discount on Volunteer2 management software

Join Volunteering England

From July 2010 Volunteering England have introduced some changes to their membership package, including:

• FREE membership category threshold increased to £30,000 *
• New membership category Eight for non UK individuals

* Exclusively available to smaller community based organisations with an annual income of less than £30,000.

To Find out more about Membership Plus click here. Membership Plus is a new service from Volunteering England dedicated to helping large organisations understand, develop and promote the social impact and skills of volunteering employees.

How do I join Volunteering England?

If you qualify for a free membership or can pay by card you can join online here  and get immediate access to their members only area and online magazine.

Alternatively you can download, print and complete an application form and post it to their office.

Further details can be found in their 2010 membership brochure