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Last updated: 23 November 2008
Volunteering England, one of the OTS's strategic partners, has launched a campaign asking small and medium sized businesses to give more help to charities through employer supported volunteering (ESV) schemes.
With just 14% of small businesses currently taking advantage of ESV schemes, Volunteering England is urging small to medium sized businesses to set up ESV schemes in a campaign, supported by The British Chambers of Commerce, the Federation of Small Businesses, the Forum for Private Business and a range of other industry bodies. The campaign is the culmination of a three year project aimed at developing Employer Supported Volunteering. It aims to encourage smaller companies - which account for 59% of private sector employment , – to join the ranks of bigger firms that enable employees to volunteer their time to good causes through a work context.
Phil Hope, Minister for the Third Sector said:
“I fully support this campaign because volunteering is a very effective way for employees to gain new skills while at the same time helping build strong relations with the local community. It's particularly important that small and medium size businesses take advantage of the range of support that Volunteering England offers so that they don't miss out on the benefits.
"The Government wants to give more people the chance to try something different and give a bit back to the community which is why we are investing more than ever before in organisations like Volunteering England. I urge all employers to make the most of the benefits that volunteering can bring to their businesses, employees and communities."
Justin Davis-Smith, Chief Executive of Volunteering England, said:
“Our research has shown that having an employer supported volunteering programme is good for business.In spite of the pressure on resources which many small and medium sized businesses face, an employer supported volunteering programme can bring considerable benefits; often companies with ESV programmes find that employees are proud to work for them and potential employees want to join them. It often makes a difference with customers too, who feel good about buying from them and can lead to added investment.
"But many smaller businesses are unsure of how to go about setting up a scheme and have signalled that they would like more information. Hence VE is launching this campaign, to raise awareness of the fact that it will now be much easier to set up a scheme with the new tools and information on our dedicated web pages."
David Frost, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce added:
“We back employer supported volunteering and recognise the benefit it can bring business. It can help raise profiles, reach new markets, recruit the best employees and influence government. Volunteering England has provided an excellent web portal to help SMEs achieve these tangible business benefits through employer supported volunteering."
The campaign will help SMEs with three key points:
Businesses are encouraged to log on to the website www.volunteering.org.uk/smes [external website] where they can find useful and inspiring information and tips on how to get started, as well as a short film about the ‘Give a few bob’ campaign by way of example.