Recruiting, Managing and Supporting Volunteers

Recruiting, Managing and Supporting Volunteers

We provide support and advice on recruiting, managing and supporting volunteers through a range of activities including network meetings and training, and sharing good practice with Volunteer managers (and/or those responsible for managing volunteers).

Recruiting Volunteers

We can help you to advertise your volunteering opportunities and to recruit volunteers by registering on the new Cumbria Volunteering Opportunities database here:

https://volunteering.cumbriacvs.org.uk/

Organisations can self-register their organisation and add different volunteering opportunities onto the database. Organisations can also keep their volunteering opportunities up to date by simply logging into the system. This enables potential volunteers who also register through the database to search for local volunteering opportunities and apply directly to your organisation.

Through the Database we can also email and communicate with volunteers instantly regarding Volunteering Opportunities and events as well as reward and motivate volunteers with instant feedback, achievement badges, and personalised thank you messages. Organisations can self manage their own volunteers through the system through volunteer rotas should you wish to. Furthermore, volunteer hours can be logged.

Check out our Volunteering Portal How To Video Guide for organisations: Volunteering In Cumbria Portal Training (youtube.com)

For more information please email: judiths@cumbriacvs.org.uk

Next Volunteer Recruitment Fairs

If your organisation is looking to recruit volunteers book onto our next Volunteering Fairs where we encourage members of the public to come along and meet local organisations to find out about local volunteering opportunities:

Spreading Good Practice in Volunteer Management

If you are part of a voluntary, community, statutory or private organisation that involves or would like to involve volunteers, we can help you to recruit, manage and support them through a range of activities including network meetings and training, sharing good practice and one to one support for Volunteer Managers.

Here are some useful templates for Volunteer Managers for good practice in Volunteer Management:

How to Develop a Volunteer Policy

Template-Volunteer-Handbook-2025

Template Volunteer Role Description

Template Volunteer Application form

Template Volunteer Interview Checklist

Template Volunteer Agreement

Template Volunteer Risk Assessment

Template Volunteer Supervision Form

Template Volunteer Exit Form

DBS Checks for Volunteers

Does your organisation need to do Disclosure and Barring Service Checks for Volunteers?

Suffolk Community Action can provide this DBS Service. For more information see : DBS Checks – Community Action Suffolk

County Volunteering Network

We support a County Volunteering Network for Volunteer Managers to promote good practice in volunteer management. Through the network you will receive regular updates on sector developments, volunteer and trustee recruitment events, training and much more.

The Network is open to all volunteer-involving organisations and provides an excellent opportunity to meet and network with other Volunteer Managers, share skills and experiences and to receive valuable training and updates. To join our mailing click here

Volunteering Support

This Is Us – Westmorland and Furness

This is Us is a project for Cumbria CVS, funded by Westmorland and Furness Council, through National Government and the levelling up agenda, aiming to develop new volunteering opportunities and to support organisations to recruit volunteers.

If you would like support locally in Westmorland and Furnes, please email Caroline.Burden@cumbriacvs.org.uk or Rachel.Miller@cumbriacvs.org.uk

South Copeland Volunteering Support

If you would like support locally in South Copeland, please email Beresford.moylerosser@cumbria.cvs.org.uk who is based in Millom.

Mid Copeland Volunteering Support

If you would like to find out about local volunteering opportunities in Mid Copeland, please email : gareth.cavanagh@cumbriacvs.org.uk

Helping to transform West Cumbria – Bedrock

Cumbria CVS is a delivery partner in the Transforming West Cumbria programme. This programme is funded by Sellafield Ltd and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) and managed by Cumbria Community Foundation.

Cumbria CVS can help with volunteer recruitment – including reviewing policies and procedures in recruiting and supporting volunteers; developing and promoting volunteer positions.

For support in  West Cumbria please email: judiths@cumbriacvs.org.uk

Carlisle Volunteering Support

If you would like to find out about local volunteering opportunities in Carlisle, please email : judiths@cumbriacvs.org.uk

Volunteering for Health in South Cumbria

Cumbria CVS is involved in the Volunteering for Health Partnership for Lancashire and South Cumbria as of April 2025. The three-year Volunteering for Health programme, is part of NHS England’s response to the NHS Volunteering Taskforce.  Cumbria CVS is currently in the process of recruiting for a Volunteering for Health Strategic Lead for the programme whose role will involve developing a strategic approach to enable and embed health and social care volunteering for all volunteer-involving health and care organisations at a place-based level. This will include establishing a new South Cumbria health and social care volunteering partnership, with coordination at the ICB level and connected to VCFSE networks, as well as developing a volunteering strategy.  Volunteering for Health aims to develop volunteering infrastructure to realise the potential of volunteering in improving the experience and outcomes of people using our health and care systems.

For more information please contact Caroline Burden, Volunteering Manager (Westmorland and Furness) on caroline.burden@cumbriacvs.org.uk

 Contact Cumbria CVS:

We are open five days/week: Monday to Thursday 9am – 5pm; Friday 9am – 3pm.

If you have any comments, feedback, compliments or complaints regarding the CVS Volunteering Service please email Judith Smale, Volunteering Manager for Cumbria CVS at judiths@cumbriacvs.org.uk