The British Heart Foundation (BHF) has made several recommendations to boost volunteering, including a call to make it easier for people to move between charities.
In a new report, BHF urges the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to support charities to develop systems “to enable volunteers to move more easily between organisations working in similar areas, such as charity retail”.
The report also suggests that volunteering should be socially prescribed by health professionals and that the government should improve its data on the charity sector and volunteering.
A recent BHF survey showed the number of volunteer hours were down by a fifth at the charity in June 2022 compared to pre-pandemic levels.
Social prescribing
BHF’s volunteer survey found 92% of its 2,724 respondents felt volunteering had improved their mental health and 80% saying it had improved their physical health.
Socially prescribing volunteering could “significantly reduce the pressures on GPs and volunteering is a key yet underused component of this”, the report says.
The charity recommended that NHS England works in partnership with the voluntary sector to ensure better coordination of volunteer-led interventions, with accompanying guidance to make practice consistent across the country.
It also argued that social prescribers should suggest volunteering as a health and wellbeing intervention.
Strengthen data around the value of volunteering
The report also recommends that the government should improve its data on the charity sector and volunteering.
It says DCMS should ensure its data on volunteering is “clear and rigorous” and that the sector is fully consulted on plans for a “satellite account”, which holds the economic data concerning the sector.
Charities and infrastructure bodies should engage with the development of this account so their members’ voices and concerns are heard, the report reads.
It also suggests that when the government supports volunteers it should provide data on what happens to them after they leave a charity so organisations can work to improve outcomes.
Volunteering at BHF down a fifth
This comes after a 2022 BHF volunteer survey showed volunteer hours were down a fifth in June 2022 compared to when the survey was completed pre-pandemic.
BHF volunteers are primarily from a young demographic, with 53% of new BHF recruits between January and March being 16-24 years old. This was 42% pre-pandemic.
At the same time, the number of new BHF volunteer recruits aged 45-64 fell from 22% to 13%.
DCMS: ‘Volunteering has a profound benefit on individuals’
Linda Fenn, head of volunteering at the BHF, said: “We know there are still things outside of our direct control that could make the volunteer experience better.
“But we hope this report, and the recommendations we have made, contribute towards making sure our volunteers both today and of the future have an incredible experience while helping a fantastic cause.”
A DCMS spokesperson said: “The latest figures show an estimated 25 million people volunteer in some way at least once a year and we have recently launched the Know Your Neighbourhood Fund designed to widen participation in volunteering and tackle loneliness in 27 disadvantaged areas across England.
“Volunteering has a profound benefit on individuals and communities and, as an active member of the Vision for Volunteering partnership, we continue to support its development.”
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