Tuesday 13 August 2013

New volunteering website launched by ICAEW and CABA

A new volunteer recruitment website has launched, enabling charities and volunteers to share role postings and profiles for free. The ICAEW and CABA collaboration: icaewvolunteers.com follows Lord Hodgson’s review of the Charities Act 2006. 

The review concluded charities “struggle to find trustees with specialist skills” and “many also need the managerial skills business can provide.” The website comes in direct response to the challenges which charities face in finding volunteers with business and finance skills. It allows unlimited, free role postings for all not-for-profit organisations, including charities, schools and social enterprises. Any role can be added and the website is free to use by anyone, not just Chartered Accountants and finance professionals. 

 Nick Brooks, Chair of ICAEW’s Charity and Voluntary Sector Group said: “The driving force behind the website came from a desire to help charities find volunteers with the expertise needed to fill specialist roles. This will support the thousands of Chartered Accountants who are eager to volunteer their skills.” On learning about the new website, Lord Hodgson said: “I warmly welcome the new website www.icaewvolunteers.com – which I am sure will help many charities access the specialist skills and expertise that chartered accountants have to offer.” 

The Charity Commission found that “word of mouth” was used by 81% of charities to recruit trustees. Lord Hodgson also said “charities who advertise more widely and have clear and transparent processes for recruitment seem to recruit more easily.” Adding that some “struggle to find trustees with specialist skills (such as legal or financial skills), and others reported difficulties with recruiting a diverse board.” Brooks, who is also Head of Not for Profit at Kingston Smith LLP, a top 20 chartered accountancy firm with particular expertise in the voluntary sector, added: “We repeatedly encounter charitable organisations that are struggling to find the right people, particularly those with relevant specialist skills in areas such as business and finance. I was convinced that a way needed to be found to marry up the two groups.” 

Benefits to volunteers 
Volunteering provides a great opportunity for people at any stage of their career development to gain experience and put their business skills to the test. www.icaewvolunteers.com provides a no-obligation opportunity to browse roles to see what’s out there and is completely free to use. The site has been specifically created with ease of use in mind to help those who want to volunteer find the right project or role for them. 

Benefits to charities 
The website has been designed to be very intuitive and easy to use. Charities can upload their roles and proactively search for the people they’re looking for quickly and easily. Users can set filters for sectors, qualifications, location, availability, time commitment, skills and preferred roles to find their ideal candidate. 

ICAEW Chartered Accountants have experience across a wide range of different sectors and roles. Charities can be confident that Chartered Accountants are trained to the highest technical and ethical standards. ICAEW ensures these skills are constantly developed, recognised and valued. 

Benefits to employers 
Lord Hodgson said: “I have been impressed by the evidence from several organisations that working in the charitable sector has improved the employee’s commitment and performance at their commercial place of work.” 
This facility is a free resource for organisations who would like to encourage their employees to volunteer and can link directly to Corporate Social Responsibility policies. The site is completely free to use for anyone posting or looking for volunteering opportunities and can be found at www.icaewvolunteers.com

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