Ruth Leonard, Chair of AVM, explains AVM’s new vision and strategy.

Empowering people to make a difference in their local communities and bring about change using their skills and assets – this is why I have always been passionate about volunteer management. To effectively facilitate and support initiatives and enable people to contribute effectively we must develop and provide the right structure. This includes well-trained and well-supported volunteer managers .

We are all familiar with the well-deserved accolade of volunteers to our organisation and the wider sector. We know that volunteers can only offer the greatest value and to ensure equity is offered to everyone who wants to give time to us when volunteer managers are working most effectively. Volunteer Managers matter as well. This sums up the ultimate aim of AVM.

Your board has prioritised developing AVM’s new strategy. I was immensely proud to launch it at our recent Annual General Meeting.

Our work began in October 2017 with an away day facilitated by Martin Farrell. Together we explored AVM’s beginnings, the experience of board members and the history of volunteer management as a profession. This demonstrated both the breadth of experience in the room and the powerful recognition that as a board we needed to do more for our members.

We identified three key themes requiring our concentration and focus:

1. Offer
  • Holding events outside London. This echoed our International Volunteer Managers Day 2017 survey. We achieved this in 2018, holding events in Bristol, Manchester and Stirling
  • Mentoring – this scheme is due to be launched early 2019, and will fulfil a very longstanding ambition of AVM
  • Extending our online outreach. Our L&D events are filmed and available to members on our website. We want to further extend our online presence
2. Members:
  • Our members must feel that AVM is their association. We are therefore developing opportunities to allow members to shape AVM
  • We need to better understand what our members require from us. The International Volunteer Managers Day 2017 was just the start of this feedback exercise. The 2018 survey will build on this.
  • We also need to know why some volunteer managers have not become members and address any gaps or barriers.
3. External
  • We will develop partnerships and networks across the sectors so that members are better supported and we can ensure the voice of volunteering is heard.

Our next step was introspective. We examined the context we were operating in. We reviewed our business model, our governance and organisational structure. We considered our achievements and the products and services we offer.

We recognised the need to create sub committees to support the operational elements of AVM. We already had successful conference and events committees but needed more. We’ve created a Business Development Committee and task and finish groups for specific projects including the mentoring scheme.

Our thoughts then turned to the future. We needed to articulate AVM’s core elements and ensure we continued to be relevant for our members over the coming years.

We spent time describing our vision of where AVM should be in 5 and 10 years. This was deliberately aspirational. Responses were both concrete and tangible, and also anarchic and controversial. The picture illustrates one board member’s wish that volunteer management had been something offered as a career when she was at school – and our desire that one day it will be.

We created several options describing our desired future which we then asked our membership to comment on and shape. The 120 responses received clearly demonstrated the interest people had in this conversation – and showed us gaps in the general understanding of AVM’s purpose.

A further and crucial project was to agree the activities necessary for AVM to achieve its vision. We created a MOSCoW grid – activities we Must, Should, Could and Wouldn’t be doing. This has proven invaluable in prioritising our work plan and provided a focus for our energy. I have been laughed at for whipping it out at every opportunity– but am incredibly proud of what we have created together!

The vision launched at our 2018 conference is: Connecting leaders of volunteering to make change happen together

And our accompanying mission statement:
Our mission is to inspire and empower leaders of volunteering.
We are a recognised community of leaders of volunteers, sharing expertise and support. 
We build this through the provision of engagement, resources and advocacy.

The key goals to achieve AVM’s vision and mission are:

  • Developing and growing our offer
  • Building participation and increased relevance to members
  • Developing as a profession
  • Representation and advocacy

It was also important to us that we identified the strategic enablers to complement our goals,

Communicating – We shall develop an effective 2 way communication mechanism for our members including updating our website and digital platforms

Partnerships – We recognise that AVM doesn’t exist in a vacuum and are keen to develop collaborative partnerships and networks across the sectors

Supporting decision making – Developing influencing up tools as advocacy support for volunteer managers advancing their cause in their workplaces

Collaborating with our members – Ensure increased opportunities to become further involved and also volunteer

Evidence based – Develop measurement tools and key performance indicators including for management information purposes

Future-focussed – Develop thought leadership around the future of volunteer management in order to future proof the profession

AVM is developing into a dynamic organisation with its members at its heart. I’d like to take this opportunity to encourage you to become more involved.

Volunteer managers, which for us means anyone who works with volunteers, need to develop their skills and confidence; and AVM exists to support this . We owe it to our volunteers – giving their time, energy and experience – to make this gift as effective as possible. Volunteer management is the platform that enables people giving their time to be engaged, supported and motivated. Ensuring that volunteer management is recognised as a skill and a valued profession is essential for volunteers to continue to flourish and indeed volunteering.

Ruth Leonard is Chair of AVM, and Head of Volunteering Development at Macmillan Cancer Support.