Update 4th January 2022: we are now at capacity for mentees, but still open to applications from mentors.

AVM is pleased to let members know that we are now in a position to open our mentoring scheme to those looking for a mentor.

Why have a mentor?

There are huge number of benefits of having a mentor. These include:

Guidance

Mentors are people who have experienced the highs and lows, and much in between, of leading volunteers and working in the voluntary sector. Mentors should not intervene in the policy and approach of the organisation that you work for, but can guide you in how you can manage the everyday challenges. Speaking with someone else experienced with working with volunteers can also be a great reminder of the reasons why we all love doing this work. It’s all about sharing lived experience.

Support

Our mentees find that a one-to-one chat with someone who has lived the experience goes a long way to supporting them along their own journey into volunteer leadership. Your conversation with a mentor should be a safe place in which you can express ideas beyond workplace constraints. Mentors will be non-judgemental and impartial allowing you to put your own building blocks in place.

Sharing

Our mentors find their role very rewarding, as it creates an opportunity to share experiences, and their mentees often find this a motivating and uplifting experience. Mentoring is a great opportunity to share positive insights, based on life and work experiences. As a mentee you can build on this to develop your own plans.

Other benefits of having a mentor include:

  • Career development
  • Team building skills
  • Developing leadership skills
  • Gaining recognition
  • Development of problem solving skills

How to apply for a mentor

Please sign in to to submit an application form for a mentor. Once we’ve received your application, we will review it and match you with a suitable mentor from those on our books. We’ll get in touch with them, to see if they think they can meet your expectations, and if they can, we’ll introduce you both over email.

Mentees must be an AVM mentor to apply and be matched with another AVM member who is volunteering their time to be a mentor.

Find out more about AVM’s mentoring scheme

Please note: applications for a mentor are open until 4th January 2022, or earlier if we reach capacity.

Could you help another volunteer manager? Sign up to be a mentor

We’re always happy to receive enquiries from people who’d like to be a mentor. The more mentors we have, the more people we can match this time.

It’s all about sharing your lived experience of volunteer engagement…..

Our mentors find their role very rewarding, as it creates an opportunity to share experiences, and their mentees often find this a motivating and uplifting experience. Mentoring is a great opportunity to share positive insights, based on life and work experiences. Many of our mentors tell us that they wish that they had this kind of support when first embarking in volunteer management.

How much experience do I need to become a mentor?

Mentors don’t need to have amassed years of experience in a volunteer manager role. As long as you have lived the experience of engaging volunteers and have knowledge that you can pass on – and would have liked to have had passed on to you when you first started – then you are mentor material.

Mentors are people who have experienced the highs and lows, and much in between, of leading volunteers and working in the voluntary sector. Mentors should not intervene in the policy and approach of the organisation that you work for but can guide you in how you can manage the everyday stresses and challenges. Speaking with someone else experienced with working with volunteers can also be a great reminder of the reasons why we all love doing this work.

Read Marie McNeil’s blog on the value of being a mentor.

AVM’s mentoring scheme is only open to AVM members, so why not become a member and sign up today?