Welcome to our Organisation Resource Hub

We’ll be developing this space over the coming months but if there are specific topics you’d like to see covered, please let us know!

Image of map with text that reads: "Our Organisation Resource Hub: A guide and roadmap for involving volunteers in your organisation."

Planning for Volunteer Involvement

Considering involving volunteers in your organisation or community group? These resources will help you understand the best ways to engage volunteers, learn what volunteers expect from a volunteer programme and start on a path to make volunteers become an integral part of your organisation.

Why Involve Volunteers?
The most successful organisations remember that volunteering is a two-way relationship, one that should benefit both the volunteer and the organisation. This resource helps you to reflect on some of the benefits of involving volunteers in your organistion.
Steps for Setting up a Volunteer Programme
This resource outlines some of the key steps and considerations when you’re setting up a volunteer programme.
Charter for Effective Volunteering
Organisations and volunteers will have expectations of each other – being aware of these can lead to a more successful partnership. This resource digs into some of expectations and asks!
Developing a Volunteer Policy for your Organisation
Your Volunteer Policy is the main foundation that all the other building blocks for volunteering sit on. This helpful webpage from Volunteer Ireland guides you through what it is, where to start with creating your own and provides some headers.

Recruitment and Screening

These resources will help you recruit, screen and select the right volunteers for the right role in your organisation.

Screening and Selection
Screening and selection is the process of ensuring your organisation chooses the appropriate applicant for the appropriate role. This resource highlights a variety of screening procedures that organisations may use and may help you to determine which are most appropriate for your organisation.
How to Develop a Volunteer Role Description
A volunteer role description defines what the volunteer’s purpose is and how they will fit into your organisation. It clarifies expectations and makes the process of recruitment and selection easier because the description can be used to determine a person’s suitability for the activity. This resource provides a template for some of the common content and headers.
Designing a Successful Volunteer Recruitment Advertisement
Once you have your role description in place, you can begin to focus on writing a recruitment advertisement. These may contain similar information!
Guide to Interviewing Volunteers
Guide to Reference Checks
SAMPLE: Reference Check Template

Induction and Training

An induction and training programme ensures volunteers receive all relevant information. It introduces them to the organisation and helps them feel part of the team.

Involving Displaced People (THRIVE)

Displaced volunteers can face additional barriers when accessing volunteering. THRIVE is a joint project of the four Dublin Volunteer Centres which aims to support both organisations and displaced people to facilitate successful volunteer placements. If you want to know more about the project, or have questions about how your organisation can do more for displaced people, contact sandra@volunteersouthdublin.ie.

In the meantime, here are some guides and supports that might be helpful:

Involving Volunteers During the Covid-19 Pandemic

We built some dedicated resources for managing volunteers during Covid-19. While some of these resources relate specifically to that time, many others are relevant to managing volunteers during specific times of crisis. You can access some of our dedicated resource pages via the links below:

Supporting Organisations during Covid 19
Our dedicated website page contains sample role descriptions, guides and templates on managing volunteers during an emergency, volunteer wellbeing and more.
Involving volunteers in new ways during Covid-19
During the pandemic, involving volunteers in person become more complicated. We developed some ideas for how you can involve volunteers in different ways, potentially from home.