Improving the way we communicate, and the language we use to enhance volunteering experiences for the global majority.

Takeaways from the NCVO Time Well Spent 2023: Volunteering Among the Global Community launch event.  

By Lorna Gough. Communications Officer at CCVS. 

Time Well Spentⁱ is NCVO’s research programme focusing on volunteers and their experience. The 2019 reportⁱⁱ showed that the experiences of global majority volunteers needed to be explored more deeply. Time Well Spent 2023ⁱⁱⁱ is the first in a new series of reports.  

I attended the event in a comms capacity, with an interest in how we can all improve communication, and the language we use in our comms, to ensure we are being fully inclusive. Although this webinar focused on volunteering experiences, the improvements we can make apply to all areas of our work. 

The report found that global majority volunteers are less positive about their volunteering experience than volunteers overall.  

What can we do to improve that?  

The first thing I learned is to consider adopting and using the term ‘global majority.’ This term describes all ethnic groups, except white British or other white backgrounds, including white minorities. Global majority is a shortened version of ‘people of the global majority.’ NCVO have been reviewing their language and the words they use around race^iv, replacing terms previously used, such as BAME, which are outdated. You may feel global majority as a term is not yet used widely enough to be recognised, but this should not be an excuse to do nothing.  

At the very least have conversations as an organisation and decide what you can do to improve the words and terms you do use, and take action. You could talk to local organisations who work with global majority people to find out what terms they use in their work.  

We spoke to Ila Chandavarkar from Cambridge Ethnic Community Forum (CECF) who are a charity working in the field of Race Equality. They are a leading organisation within the voluntary sector in Cambridge, in working with Black and Minoritised Ethnic individuals and groups. They bring expertise in anti-discrimination work and specialisation in asylum and refugee welfare matters. They also give special social, cultural, moral, and practical support to groups and develop projects where needed.  

Ila told us that: 

“Language constantly changes and recently there has been a great deal of discussion about the right term to use for communities other than white British. At CECF, we recognise that the reason for an umbrella term is to acknowledge that certain communities are more exposed to race discrimination and race hate crime, rather than treating these communities as homogenous. We choose to use the term BME for Black and Minoritised Ethnic Communities, in agreement with the Law Society description “Minoritised ethnic’ (or the similar term ‘racially minoritised’).. recognises that individuals have been minoritised through social processes of power and domination rather than just existing in distinct statistical minorities.” The term has been accepted by some organisations within the sector such as Voice4Change England.” 

As the NCVO event used the term global majority, we will continue to use that term throughout this article to avoid confusion.  

People who identify as global majority population make up 85% of the world’s population and it’s really important that we get the language around this right.  

There are many barriers faced by people wanting to volunteer, particularly from the global majority population, and if we don’t get the language right in the first place, we are potentially losing out on dedicated and skilled volunteers.  

Points to consider to reduce barriers to volunteering: 

• Recruitment – when promoting volunteer opportunities, be clear with your language about the role. Clearly state that you welcome anyone who meets your basic criteria, but also consider explicitly stating that global majority volunteers are welcome. This will ensure everyone feels confident that there are no barriers to them joining you as a volunteer. If you’re not clear, you risk putting people off.  
• Be clear and transparent about the role so people know what is expected of them.  
• The term ‘voluntary work’ is incorrect when advertising voluntary roles and can be off putting. A volunteer provides services voluntarily, and a voluntary worker usually works under a contract.  

• Consider how you can encourage and welcome refugees or asylum seekers, and others who may be new to the country. Paul Harvey, Head of Volunteering at Voluntary Action Sheffield, (an organisation who have worked with refugees and asylum seekers for over 20 years) urged us to change our perspective and stop thinking of these groups as ‘People in Need’ but as people with assets. We need to remember that refugees and asylum seekers had full lives before they had to leave their countries. They are often highly skilled and experienced and can be a huge benefit to organisations. It’s good to show people they are needed. 
• Recruitment process – references – life circumstances mean these are not available to many – consider whether they are actually needed. What do they actually prove?   
• Volunteer structure – think how to word volunteer role descriptions to demonstrate that you recognise volunteers may only be temporary. There can be a high turnover of volunteers, and rather than that trying to encourage longer term volunteers only, think how you can benefit from all help you are offered. 
• Expenses – how you communicate that you actively encourage volunteers to claim expenses is vital, as it’s one of the biggest barriers to volunteering. High numbers of volunteers don’t know that they can claim and feel embarrassed about doing so.                                               

Make sure that all volunteers know that claiming expenses is usual, expected and encouraged and make it a straightforward process. Remove the stigma. At every opportunity, be proactive and ask your volunteers if they have received their expenses, make it a normal friendly conversation. If they wish to decline claiming, that is their choice, but it should not be seen as a badge of honour not to claim. If everyone is encouraged to claim, people can choose to donate back discreetly, and can even gift aid if appropriate.  Baris Varli from the Muslim Charities Forum reminded us that it can actually help an organisation demonstrate their true operational costs if they factor in volunteer expenses.                                                       

Many volunteers simply cannot afford the financial burden of volunteering if expenses are not reimbursed. Work out if there is a way to pay travel costs up front, so that volunteers do not have the stress of working out how to fund getting to your venue. Make sure your volunteers know they are worth more than their bus fare. Communicate clearly so that everyone knows where they stand and so that awkward conversations are avoided. 

• Avoid assumptions – assumptions made by organisations are another big barrier to volunteering. Karris Morris-Brown from Black Cultural Archives suggested improving the way you use data to make volunteering a better experience. If you’re going to run volunteer surveys, or exit interviews, act on the information you collect. People should feel comfortable voicing concerns or sharing ideas and feel confident that they will be taken seriously. Don’t just collect data for the sake of it. Make it meaningful. Use it to improve volunteer experiences. As Karris says – Live the values you proclaim to hold. 
• Representation – do your best to ensure your Trustee board and your management team are representative of the communities that people live in. Ensure you communicate that you welcome Trustee applications from global majority people. If a person from the global majority is interested in volunteering and they discover that everyone else in the organisation is from a white background, they’re not going to feel comfortable going back. Not fitting in is a bigger barrier to global majority volunteers than concerns about a lack of skills and experience.  

We can all do our bit to continue to improve the experience of volunteers generally, and we all need to work a little bit harder to make volunteering for the global majority population an enjoyable and worthwhile experience. Thinking about the language we use, and how we communicate, is a good place to start. 

Martyn’s Law Public Consultation

by CCVS Development Officer, Jigna Vyas Gosal. 12 March 2024.

If you operate a venue or an event with a capacity of 100+, this will impact you. 
 

The Government is currently consulting on The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill also known as ‘Martyn’s Law’ in tribute to Martyn Hett, who was tragically killed alongside 21 others in the Manchester Arena terrorist attack in 2017. 

Martyn’s Law will aim to improve the safety and security of public venues and keep the British public safe from terrorism. Those responsible for public venues will have to consider the threat of terrorism and implement appropriate and proportionate mitigation measures.   

 
Please take a few minutes to complete this consultation. This is your chance to have your voice heard. They particularly welcome views from those responsible for the smaller premises which would fall within the Standard Tier, (with a capacity of 100) especially those in the community and voluntary sector.  

The consultation can be completed online or in an alternative format upon request. The closing date is Monday 18 March 2024. The response will be published in due course. Complete the consultation here. 

Will my centre be affected? 

If your venue capacity is under 100 Martyn’s Law will not affect you.  

If you run a public centre (see list below) or event with a capacity of over 100 you will be eligible under Martyn’s law  

1. Capacity: The maximum occupancy of the premises meets a specified threshold – either 100+ (Standard Tier) or 800+ (Enhanced Tier) 

2. If your public venue provides (qualifying activity): 

• Entertainment and leisure. 
• Retail. 
• Food and drink. 
• Museums and galleries. 
• Sports grounds. 
• Public areas of local and central government buildings (such as town halls). 
• Visitor attractions. 
• Places of worship, health, and education.

3. Eligible premises will be those which are either: 

• a Building (including collections of buildings used for the same purposes, e.g. a campus). 
• a Location/Event (including a temporary event) that has a defined boundary and capacity. 

If you run a venue or event capacity of 100+ you will need to: (Standard Tier Requirements.) 

1. Notify the Regulator that you or have become, responsible for premises.  

2. Have in place reasonably practical measures that could be expected to reduce the risk of physical harm to individuals at the premises in the event of an attack. It is not expected or required that physical changes will be made, or additional equipment will need to be purchased for Standard Tier premises. Measures could include:  

• locking doors to reduce attackers access whilst guiding staff and customers to alternative exits.  
• completion of appropriate training such as first aid and preparedness from Protect UK

If you run a venue or event with a capacity of 800+ you will need to (Enhanced tier requirements) ensure that you undertake a thorough and reasonably practicable risk assessment and have a clear security plan.  

Places of worship will receive individual treatment. All places of worship will be placed within the standard tier regardless of their capacity. There will be a small number of exceptions across all faiths, for those that charge tourists for entry or hire out the site for large commercial events. 

How will this affect accessibility? Most changes will involve security systems, procedures and how staff are trained. If you do make any changes to your venues as a result of Martyn’s law you must ensure that the changes do not limit accessibility. 

Enforcing the law 

Who is the Regulator? The regulator will be identified when the bill is enacted.  

Guidance and support from ProtectUK is available to ensure that those in scope have the required information on what to do and how best to do it.  

Martyn’s Law will extend to and apply across the whole of the United Kingdom. 

Further information and resources:  

Martyns Law Factsheet from the Home Office  

Protect UK overview on Martyns Law 

Onlinefistaid.com blog on Martyns Law 

Volunteering brings people together

As we launch www.volunteercambs.org.uk to try and match volunteers and organisations, and to try and draw more people into volunteering this is a timely reminder from Rob Jackson about how volunteering can bring people together and build connections and understanding.

Across the divide

Work, skills and health

By CCVS CEO, Mark Freeman, February 2024

A short blog to update those organisations that have an interest in skills, learning and employment support. This is based on CCVS attendance at various meetings and the publication of a new Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Work Health and Wellbeing Strategy.

Support Cambs were invited to be a part of the Work Health and Wellbeing Strategy Group and CCVS took up the opportunity as it relates to the work of the GET (Guidance, Employment and Training) network. This invite came at the end of the work to develop the strategy so we had less input than we would have liked. It was also at the same time that a bid was being developed for government funding that would help those with long term health conditions maintain or get into work. Again, we came to this late and it would have been better if we had been involved from the start. The fact that we are engaged is a positive, if the bid is successful then I can see the VCS being able to find some funding. I also believe that there is a real desire from the authors and principal partners to include the VCS moving forward.

Why is a strategy needed?

There is a growing evidence base that more people are not working because of health reasons since the pandemic ended. Unsurprisingly government wants to see these people getting back into work, paying taxes and not being on benefits. That said there are also lots of reasons why it is good for individuals to be able to take on appropriate work, not least the fact it can benefit their overall wellbeing as well as most likely making them better off.

The strategy states:

“The majority of people spend the greatest proportion of their lives as part of the working age population. There is solid evidence that jobs and the workplace environment are key influencers on health and wellbeing outcomes.

There is also a strong economic case for Work and Health action, nationally combined costs from worklessness and sickness absence amount to around £100 billion annually.  In the UK, 131 million working days are lost to sickness absence every year.  34.3 million days are lost to minor illness, 28.2 million days lost to Musculoskeletal problems and 14.2 million days lost to stress, depression, and anxiety.

Enabling people with health issues to obtain or retain work, and be productive within the workplace, is therefore a crucial part of the economic success and wellbeing of every community and industry.”

It is worth looking at the executive summary of the strategy and we have uploaded this onto the GET network website. (this will download a pdf).

 This states that:

“The Work, Health and Wellbeing strategy has a vision that aims to ensure that the system through working together will enable:

“A healthy workforce that supports a local healthy economy, that there is good work for everyone, and that disability or poor health is not a barrier to being in work.”

The Strategy has two core and one cross cutting strategic ambition.

●             To ensure that there is robust support in place for people with a disability or health condition who are not working to help them back into employment. This will include addressing their health, social care and skills needs as part of increasing the overall support for getting them back to work.

●             To ensure that people have “good” work. That there is secure employment, with good wages, fair terms and conditions and working environments that support good health and enable those with a long-term health condition or disability to remain in work.

●             To ensure that the multiple needs of working age people who have a disability or long-term health condition to enter and remain in work are met though increased engagement and integration of services across the system and a commitment to employers and employees being engaged in shaping the Strategy and its delivery.”

In their words

“The Strategy will support delivery of a range of outcomes that will contribute to the overall health of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough population. The ambition is for more people across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough remain fit and healthy throughout their working lives, a reduction in health inequalities and a vibrant growing economy.”

What about the funding bid?

The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough area had been a pilot to start to look at this and it had been proposed to set up ‘Healthy Work Hubs’ (my name) in three parts of the county, Peterborough, Wisbech and Cambridge City and surrounding area. This work is progressing. On the back of the strategy and this work an application has been made to government for funding to build on this work. This will see significant amounts of funding over a number of years that will support getting people back into work. We are waiting information as to the success, but it is likely the pot will be oversubscribed.

So, what about the VCS?

As I said we have come to the discussions late. We commented on both the strategy and on the bid and whist our comments were noted and did make for minor changes we did not get involvement early enough for this to look anything like a co-produced way forward may have looked.

We have had confirmation that the work that the VCS does around support for those looking to get employed, and the importance that volunteering can play in the journey back to work is understood. I think that there will be a genuine desire to work with and possibly fund the sector moving forward, I also believe that now we have a seat at the table we will be able to influence future plans and possible funding bids.

The strategy authors have already attended a GET network meeting to let people know what was happening and where their thinking was. You can see the slides here (this will download a pdf) and watch the video of the presentation here.

Want to stay informed?

If you wish to stay informed on this topic (or any aspect of work, funding and policy around skills and employment) then you should join the GET network. The current form of the network is evolving following the transfer to CCVS but to find out more then check out the GET network website.

We will invite statutory partners to come back to the GET meetings with updates on funding or the strategy and the GET contact list will be informed of any opportunities that arise. We will also look at how this work fits in with other strategies, funding pots and initiatives coming from all local and national partners.

How to nominate a voluntary champion for an honour or award

by CCVS Communications and Development Worker, Karen Cann. February 2024.

The UK honours system recognises people in the voluntary sector who have gone above and beyond to shape and improve their communities, and who have made a significant impact, making life better for others. 

For those actively involved in charity or community work, the most relevant honours include the Order of the British Empire (OBE), the Member of the British Empire (MBE), and the British Empire Medal (BEM). 

Do you know someone who has been exceptional and made a positive impact in the charity or community sector? Perhaps a community leader, volunteer or philanthropist who has made a real difference? 

The great news is, to nominate – it’s easier than you think! 

Anyone can be nominated – it isn’t to do with age, class or how long they have been working or volunteering. 

When nominating, you don’t specify what honour you would like your nominee to receive – that will be decided by the honours committee. 

How do I nominate someone? 

You could start today! There isn’t a specific deadline: you can submit your nomination at any time of the year and the process takes one to two years to verify. Try to nominate when your individual is still active. 

Nomination forms are available online, and require detailed information about the individual’s accomplishments. 

You’ll need to begin with why you are nominating your person, and this will include their: 

• Name 
• Address 
• Contact details 
• Relevant work or volunteering 
• Recognition they have received, such as awards 
• Two supporting letters 

Please use descriptive sentences to describe the transformative nature of their efforts. Highlight specific projects, initiatives, or programmes they have contributed to, along with details of the benefits to the community and the lives they’ve touched.  

In simple terms: why is their work important? 

A few tips! 

• Please use all the characters you are given and try not to leave any part of the form blank. 
• Provide some background to the organisation they are working or volunteering for. 
• Link facts, such as roles, dates, and actions, to the impact your nominee has made. 
• Provide evidence to back everything up. 

Please do not list all their work roles, qualifications, and achievements in a ‘CV’ style. 

The focus should be on their IMPACT and the selfless way they have provided service and changed lives for the better. Tell their story! 

To do this, the committee recommend that you think about: 

• What were things like before their efforts began? 
• How are things now?  
• What makes the nominee different from other people doing similar work? 

You will need to gather and provide evidence for your individual’s achievements, such as news articles, weblinks, photos and other relevant files. 

Supporting letters  

Anyone who has worked with or has experienced the work of the individual can write a letter of recommendation to be submitted along with the nomination. It should be from people who know the nominee, such as: 

• Someone from the nominee’s organisation or community. 
• A high-profile individual such as a local councillor or MP. 
• Someone who works alongside them. 

Confidentiality 

Please keep everything confidential – it is very important that the individual doesn’t find out that they are being nominated, as they will feel disappointed if they don’t receive an award. Moreover, there will be personal data collected so be careful where this is stored. 

Please don’t worry about nominating, the honours committee doesn’t expect the submission to be perfect or overly formal – so give it a go! 

The Honours are announced at New Year and on the King’s birthday. You shouldn’t contact the committee about your nomination – if you are successful, the honour will be made public. If you haven’t heard after two years, then you may submit again. 

The UK Honours system is a powerful way to celebrate and elevate those who make a significant difference in the charity and community sector. By nominating individuals for these awards, not only do we recognise their efforts, but it could also inspire others to contribute to the well-being of their communities and highlight some fantastic organisations along the way!  

So, why not celebrate one of your staff or volunteers, an unsung hero who works hard to create positive change, they may really appreciate the award! 

For more information please visit: Nominate someone for an honour or award: Overview – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) 

This nomination process is for individuals only, to nominate a voluntary group for The King’s Award for Voluntary Service: The King’s Award for Voluntary Service: Overview – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)