Are there any charity roles that should be the sole preserve of paid
employees, not volunteers?
Justin Davis Smith, executive director for volunteering and development, NCVO
There’s nothing that volunteers can’t – and indeed don’t – do. Many organisations are run entirely by volunteers. That’s as it should be, but there are some things to bear in mind. Volunteers need the right support. Whether that’s provided by paid staff or other volunteers doesn’t matter, as long as it’s there.
Volunteers do everything from counselling to construction, but to avoid risks and maximise their contribution, they must have appropriate training and support. If you need to provide continuity of service, for example in a contract situation, that may be harder to do with volunteers alone. Volunteers routinely show amazing dedication, but organisations must avoid making unreasonable demands of them. The trick in successful large charities is to ensure volunteers don’t get squeezed out and that their unique contribution continues to shine through.
Jane Tully, head of policy and public affairs, Charity Finance Group (CFG)
At the core of this question are more fundamental points about the business model of the charity and the skills or qualification levels required for different roles.
A charity exists to serve its mission, and the trustees will need to decide how to best meet the objectives within their resource constraints. When affordable this may be through paid employment which might, for example, provide better continuity of service, more secure service provision, and efficient use of resources.
While volunteers can be hugely effective in certain roles, this is dependent on people’s time and energy; for example, it would usually be difficult for most to carry out a professional role on a voluntary basis for a long period of time without undertaking paid work elsewhere.
In a larger organisation, it is important that infrastructure is in place to ensure that voluntary action is managed to deliver effectively, is afforded the right safeguards, and adds value to the work of employed staff. It’s not really possible to isolate individual roles that are the sole preserve of paid staff, as this will largely be down to individual circumstances and the size of the organisation, but it would be unlikely that a finance or fundraising director of a multimillion-pound charity would be carrying out that role in a voluntary capacity, and it’s important that we nurture professionals with skills in these areas.
Alex Massey, senior policy officer, ACEVO
Charities benefit enormously from the commitment and generosity of their volunteers, who will always have a key role to play in the third sector. However, professional staff also have a role to play where they can support a charity to pursue its public benefit mission. For example, a skilled and experienced fundraiser can bring in revenue far exceeding the cost of their salary, allowing more resources to be devoted to beneficiaries. An experienced CEO can provide the leadership required to navigate the challenges and risks that many charities face, and enable them to continue supporting the people or causes they serve.
As the sector is so diverse, different organisations take very different approaches – a small, local community organisation may rely entirely on volunteer staff, but this would not be suitable for a national charity managing million pound budgets.
Ultimately, the key question is whether the use of professional staff will advance a charity’s public benefit aims.
Daniel Fluskey, head of policy and research, Institute of Fundraising
Absolutely not! Volunteer fundraising is one of the most prevalent forms of fundraising and is the most frequent way in which the majority of the public engage with and encounter fundraising practice. The amount of money for good causes that is raised by volunteers is hugely important and any charity who is able to work with volunteers will know their value.
However, there is one big caveat to this, which is to ensure that any notion that volunteer fundraising can happen completely on its own, without any support or resources from professional employed fundraisers is avoided. Whether it’s providing advice and guidance on the right way to put on an event, or knowing the legal issues about how to handle donations, fundraising will be most successful when the enthusiasm and passion of volunteers is joined up with the expertise and knowledge of employed fundraisers.
Check out the Institute of Fundraising’s Code of Practice for all the legal issues that you need to know about fundraising with volunteers. Go to www.institute-of-fundraising.org.uk/guidance/code-of-fundraising-practice
This article first appeared in The Fundraiser magazine, Issue 35, November 2013
