Inspiring young volunteers to engage with your cause - Lorna Forbes, head of marketing projects, vInspired

1. Inspiring young volunteers to
engage with your cause
Charity Comms Seminar
Lorna Forbes
19 March 2014

2. vInspired
Helping young people improve their
skills, confidence and employability by
giving them the opportunity to do good
things through volunteering
•Quality experience
•Young people at the heart of everything we
do

3. vInspired
• Since 2006, we have engaged over 1.25m young
people in volunteering opportunities
• Our work is about changing the face of
volunteering by transforming the ways that young
people can do good things
• We inspire young people to discover the value of
volunteering both for themselves and others

5. What we’ve
learned
• Choice and
customisation are key
characteristics of their
world
• They expect to be
involved in decisions
that affect them
• They are internet,
mobile and social
media savvy

6. What we’ve
learned cont.
• They want to
contribute to the
world around them
• They care about what
their mates think,
fashion, socialising
• Some young people
need a little extra
support to shine

7. What their
world looks like
• Currently almost 1
million 16-24 year olds
are unemployed &
graduate recruitment
rates are falling rapidly
• Trust is not a given –
political scandals, phone
hacking, sports cheats,
corrupt police, banking
scandals, terrorism, and it
goes on…..

8. Beta Gen
• Education not guaranteed
– failing schools and for
many, unachievable
tuition fees (£9k)
• The results of this has
played a part in creating
the BETA
GENERATION…..

9. Who are the Beta
Gen?
• The Beta Generation are
self-motivated
• They are aware that they
need to take control of
their own destiny and not
wait for good things to
happen to them
• This positive attitude
extends to making
mistakes

10. Happy to test
• Young people feel that
making mistakes is a part
of life and should be
viewed as an opportunity
for learning rather than a
problem
• This attitude extends to
the way they view and
seek employment

11. Different Experience
• They have grown up in
uncertain economic times
• First major career
decisions during a time of
economic slowdown and
recession
• Interested in careers that
differ to the traditional,
valuing their impact on
others and choosing their
own working styles over
values such as salary and
benefits.

12. What does this mean for us?

13. Our Challenge
• Matching offering to the
lifestyles and motivations
of young people
• We need to better
understand their needs
not vice-versa
• Taking our offering to
them, where they are,
focusing on the things that
they want to do

14. How does this affect charities?
• Opportunity to engage
• Meet the need of
satisfaction over salary
• Flexible opportunities
outside of the 9 - 5
• As employers, contribute
to the development of
young talent
• Foster long-term
relationships that establish
potential supporters for
the future

15. What we do at vInspired
• We make it our business
to develop and
understand the changing
needs of young people
• We create innovative
programmes to address
the needs of young people
• We work to match our
offering to young people’s
lifestyles

16. Practicalities
• Time
• Place
• Commitment
• Relevance
• Packaging
• Fringe benefits
• Who else is volunteering

17. How do vInspired
programmes address this?

18. Do Something
• Brought to UK from US
• Digitally led campaigning
programme
• Light touch actions - big
impact
• Never require any money,
an adult or a car

19. Team v
• Leadership
programme
• Year-long
commitment
• Leading 3 campaigns
over the year
• Recruitment of their
own volunteer team

20. vInspired Talent
• 16-25 year olds
• Not in work education
or training
• 24 weeks 24 hours per
week
• Volunteering local
authorities and FE
colleges
• Social action project

21. vInspired Schools
• 11 – 18 year olds
• Curriculum linked
resources
• Support for schools
• Getting in there early

22. vInspired
Cashpoint
• For 14-25 year olds
• Funding for
community projects
• Grants of up to
£500

23. Igniter
• Crowd funding platform
• Appeal for public
donations
• Generate support for
own projects for social
good
• Connect with other
volunteers

24. Task Squad
• Flexible Micro work
platform
• Using volunteering
experience
• Companies recruit
to cover spikes in
staffing needs

25. Recognition
• Ongoing as part of
programmes
• vInspired awards
scheme
• vInspired national
Awards

26. Questions

27. To find out more visit