Creating Connections That Unlock the Power of Volunteering

“Volunteers are taking our jobs.” A chastening remark, I’m sure you’ll agree. It was one we found in the below-the-line comments of a blog on a major sector body website and one that would spark a movement.

Okay, so maybe ‘movement’ is a strong word, but it certainly sparked action. Action which would ignite a chain of events that would lead the Heritage Volunteering Group (HVG) to where it is today: a global network of 800 members that is committed to enabling the heritage sector to realise the potential of volunteering to transform organisations, lives and communities. But I’m getting ahead of myself…

In 2014 the heritage sector in the UK was facing significant financial problems. Years of austerity, following the financial crash, were taking their toll. People were losing their jobs, museums were closing, and services were being cut. Volunteers were seen by some as contributing to the problem, by undermining people’s professional identity and threatening job security. Against this background HVG was formed because we believed that not only could volunteers enable the sector to survive but that they could help it thrive.

But how were we going to achieve this? As a small group of committed volunteers we certainly weren’t going to do it on our own. Our initial work focused on creating connections between people, networks and research in order to empower colleagues like you to drive change in their organisation.

Today, through our talent-support workstream we provide our members with access to:

• A free programme of monthly events
• A dedicated EDI Forum, which acts as a safe space for sharing successes and challenges
• Monthly newsletters, bringing leadership, EDI and volunteering direct to their inbox
• Our YouTube channel, with over 180 videos on all aspects of volunteer engagement

Alongside this, we also run the Better Impact Heritage User Group and heritage sector’s leading volunteer management conference. Taking place online, over two days each November, it offers attendees the chance to hear cutting-edge speakers and attend thought-provoking workshops. All designed to help unlock the transformative power of volunteering.

Heritage Volunteering Group in action: Matthew Hick at the National Museum Conference.

Outside of our work with individuals, we also engage partner organisations in projects that serve our mission. Most recently we completed work on the Association of Independent Museum’s groundbreaking Connected Communities project. Funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the project aimed at tackling loneliness and social isolation through volunteering in some of the UK’s most deprived communities.

Supporting our members and their organisations through training and support is at the heart of what we do. But we know it isn’t always enough. Sometimes our members just want us to shout. Shout about the power of volunteering. Shout about the important work they do. Shout about the need for organisations to invest more in volunteering. So we do that too. Led by our advocacy working group, we use our research to speak directly to leaders and sector bodies about the important role of volunteers and volunteer engagement professionals in our sector. And, guess what, we’ll keep shouting about it until every heritage organisation understands the important role that volunteering can play at their organisations and across society

Today, by working with members and organisations across the sector we have turned the dial on discussions around volunteering in heritage. Comments like “volunteers are taking our jobs” might still be uttered in musty archives or in quiet galleries, but something is happening. Volunteering in heritage organisations is slowly but surely beginning to transform organisation, lives and communities.

Become a part of this change by joining the Heritage Volunteering Group today.

Matthew Hick is Chair of the Heritage Volunteering Group and Head of Volunteering at Science Museum Group.

Attendees at the National Museum Conference gathered for a keynote presentation.