|
Volunteering Jargon Buster
Jargon, busted
ACTIVE CITIZENSHIP
Citizens taking opportunities to become actively involved in defining and tackling the problems of their communities and improving their quality of life. Volunteering may be viewed as one expression of active citizenship.
ALL-VOLUNTEER GROUP
A group or organisation that employs no paid staff and in which all work is undertaken by volunteers.
ASSOCIATION FOR VOLUNTEER ADMINISTRATION
The international professional organisation for volunteer coordinators, based in the USA.
COMMUNITY AND VOLUNTARY FORA
Established as part of the County / City Development Board process by each of Ireland’s 34 local authorities, the fora are consultative bodies representative of the wider local community.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
The process of providing help and advice to communities to bring about social change and justice by working with them to identify their needs, plan their next steps, take action and evaluate the results, all in ways which challenge oppression and tackle inequalities.
COMMUNITY GROUPS
Voluntary organisations that arise out of communities of locality or interest and that are mainly controlled by their own users, members or residents.
COMMUNITY TIME BANK
A local system in which people can do voluntary work to assist others, thereby ‘banking’ hours which they may later cash in to be helped themselves or which they may donate so that some other person or organisation receives the benefit.
DUTY OF CARE
This duty means that we are all legally bound to do everything reasonable to protect those around us from coming to harm. Organisations have a duty of care (proper training, supervision, insurance, etc) towards anybody who comes in contact with them, including clients, paid staff and volunteers.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES
The elimination of discrimination in our society, involving the breakdown and removal of discriminatory structures, biased policies and prejudicial practices in organisations and the provision of equal access for all in services, employment and volunteering.
EMPLOYER-SUPPORTED VOLUNTEERING
A way in which employers can show their sense of social responsibility, by positively encouraging their staff to volunteer; for example, by allowing them to undertake a certain amount of voluntary work during office hours and in some cases match-funding staff fundraising initiatives.
EPISODIC VOLUNTEERING
Voluntary work that is not undertaken on a regular basis, but in short, irregular spells. An example is Volunteering Ireland’s TLC© (Time Limited Commitment©) programme.
EUROPEAN VOLUNTEER CENTRE
An umbrella body of national and regional volunteer centres in the European Union; Volunteering Ireland is national representative for Ireland.
FAMILY-FRIENDLY VOLUNTEERING
Voluntary work which has been structured in such a way that it facilitates the participation of those with dependants (for example, through the provision of childcare) and/or voluntary work which has been designed to be suitable for families, including people of all ages, to volunteer together.
FORMAL VOLUNTEERING
Voluntary work undertaken through and on behalf of an organisation; for example, raising funds for a charity.
GARDA CLEARANCE
A procedure operating within strict Department of Health and Attorney General guidelines that investigates an individual’s criminal record if their work involves substantial access to children and other vulnerable persons. Most voluntary and community groups have until now been excluded from this process, although a new vetting system is due to be set up.
INFORMAL VOLUNTEERING
Voluntary work undertaken outside an organisational setting; for example, regularly helping out an infirm neighbour.
INTERN
An internship consists of a medium-term visit to another organisation for training and/or the exchange of information and expertise; interns may or may not be volunteers.
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR VOLUNTEER EFFORT
An international non-governmental organisation that promotes, celebrates, and strengthens volunteerism worldwide; Volunteering Ireland is national representative for Ireland.
INTERNATIONAL VOLUNTEER DAY
A United Nations designated day of celebration held each 5 December.
IYV 2001
The year 2001 was designated by the United Nations as International Year of Volunteers.
LETS
Local Exchange Trading Schemes are alternative trading systems that allow members to exchange goods and services using a local, non-monetary currency.
MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE VOLUNTEERS
Sometimes known as company directors or trustees, these volunteers have legal responsibility for an organisation’s mission and management.
NATIONAL COMMITTEE ON VOLUNTEERING
A multi-agency committee established by government for the period December 2000 – October 2002 to devise strategies and actions for supporting and developing volunteering during IYV 2001 and beyond.
PAVMI ©
The Professional Association of Volunteer Managers Ireland, formerly VOLT, is a Volunteering Ireland network of managers, both voluntary and paid, who spend the majority of their time coordinating the work of volunteers, set up in 2000. By communicating regularly and pooling resources, the network aims to provide mutual support, share knowledge and experience about good practice in volunteer management and provide a voice for the volunteer coordinator in Ireland.
PRO BONO
The provision of products or services at low or no cost, frequently applied to legal experts who volunteer their time.
RESIDENTIAL VOLUNTEERING
Volunteering with an organisation, usually full-time on a medium- to long-term basis, that provides board and lodging at the place of volunteering. The term is usually applied to community living.
SOCIAL CAPITAL
Networks together with shared norms, values and understandings that facilitate cooperation within or among groups. Volunteering can be viewed as one dimension of social capital, others being community engagement and efficacy, political participation, informal social support networks and sociability, norms of trust and reciprocity, and trust in institutions.
SOCIAL MENTOR
The social mentor programme was set up by the statutory body Comhairle in 1994. A panel of volunteer mentors (typically retired or semi-retired or with flexible working lives) provides expertise to voluntary and community groups in areas such as strategic planning, financial management and public relations.
SUPPORTED VOLUNTEERING
The process of assisting volunteers with additional support needs (for example, disability, ill health, offending history, etc) in obtaining and maintaining genuine and meaningful volunteering placements through the provision of relevant supports. See the Volunteering Ireland publication Opportunity Knocks © for further details.
TIPPING THE BALANCE
The name both of an important all-Ireland conference held during IYV 2001 and of the National Committee on Volunteering 2002 Report and Recommendations to Government on Supporting and Developing Volunteering in Ireland.
VIRTUAL VOLUNTEERING
Voluntary work which is not dependent on a volunteer coming to a particular place of work and which instead exploits the opportunities provided by information and communications technology. In this way, housebound or isolated people, or those working unusual hours, can still volunteer using their computers to communicate with the organisations they are involved with. See www.volunteeringireland.ie for examples.
VOLUNTARY GROUPS/ORGANISATIONS
Independent, not-for-profit bodies involved in a range of activities with a social purpose and usually dependent on voluntary contributions of time and resources.
VOLUNTARY SECTOR
Also known as the voluntary and community sector and the third sector it refers all organisations not part of the private (business) or public (government) sectors.
VOLUNTARY WORK
The work undertaken by a volunteer.
VOLUNTARY WORK OUTLINE
A simple document setting out the brief for the work that the volunteer will be doing; it can be compared to the job description of a paid member of staff.
VOLUNTEER
A person that undertakes volunteering. (Please note that ‘volunteer’ is not the opposite of ‘professional’; ‘amateur’ is.)
VOLUNTEER AGREEMENT
Sometimes known as a volunteer contract, this is a written document signed by both the organisation and volunteer and laying out the terms of volunteering with the organisation.
VOLUNTEER BUREAUX
Also known as volunteer centres, these local centres provide an invaluable resource to the community by, amongst other things, matching local people wishing to volunteer with local voluntary and community organisations looking for volunteers. Examples include Tallaght Volunteer Bureau and Tralee Volunteer Bureau.
VOLUNTEER BUREAUX NORTHERN IRELAND
A network of c. 12 local volunteer bureaux in Northern Ireland, supported by the Volunteer Development Agency.
VOLUNTEER CENTRES IRELAND
The network of volunteer centres in the Republic of Ireland, cooperating and networking on any issues which relate to best practice in the operation of volunteer centres and which cannot be tackled by these centres in isolation. Volunteering Ireland was a founder member of the network.
VOLUNTEER CENTRES NETWORK
Membership of the Volunteer Centres Network comprises Volunteer Centres Ireland and Volunteer Bureaux Northern Ireland. Volunteering Ireland was a founder member of the network.
VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR
Also known as volunteer manager or similar, this is the person who has prime responsibility for coordinating the work of volunteers within an organisation. It may be a paid or voluntary position.
VOLUNTEER DEVELOPMENT AGENCY
The centre for volunteering in Northern Ireland whose mission is the strengthening of communities through the promotion and development of volunteering.
VOLUNTEER EXPENSES
Out-of-pocket expenses for travel, subsistence, etc, which are incurred during voluntary work and which are reimbursed by the organisation to the volunteer.
VOLUNTEERING
The commitment of time and energy, for the benefit of society, local communities, individuals outside the immediate family, the environment or other causes. Voluntary activities are undertaken of a person’s own free will, without payment, except for the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses.
VOLUNTEER INVOLVING ORGANISATION
The preferred term used for voluntary and community sector organisations that work with volunteers.
VOLUNTEERING IRELAND
Originally set up by Carmichael Centre for Voluntary Groups as the Volunteer Resource Centre in 1997, Volunteering Ireland is a resource which promotes, supports and facilitates volunteering throughout the Republic of Ireland.
VOLUNTEERING LEAVE
Temporary leave granted by an employer to enable staff to undertake voluntary work.
VOLUNTEERING MATTERS ©
The name of the Volunteering Ireland occasional newsletter and e-newsletter, published since 2001.
VOLUNTEER MANAGEMENT CYCLE
The cyclical nature of managing volunteers, involving: developing policies and procedures; recruitment; screening/selection; training; support and supervision; motivation and recognition; monitoring and evaluation.
VOLUNTEER POLICY
A statement, usually written, that lays out an organisation’s commitment to volunteering and the rights and responsibilities of volunteers in that organisation. Volunteer policies vary widely; some are simple charters with general principles, whereas others are detailed procedural manuals.
VOLUNTEER RECOGNITION
The process of acknowledging and showing thanks of the work that volunteers do.
VOLUNTEER RECRUITMENT
The process of attracting new volunteers to an organisation.
VOLUNTEER RETENTION
The process of ensuring that volunteers remain with an organisation for as long as possible.
VOLUNTEER SCREENING
The process of filtering the most appropriate volunteers for an organisation using a range of checks.
VOLUNTEER SELECTION
The process of informing successful and unsuccessful applicants about the outcome of the organisation’s volunteer screening decisions.
VOLUNTEER SUPPORT
The process of ensuring that volunteers receive the assistance and encouragement that they need to undertake their voluntary work well.
VOLUNTEER TRAINING
The process of ensuring that volunteers receive an appropriate induction to an organisation and ongoing training to enable them to carry out their work effectively.
Sources
- Active Citizenship Centre, A glossary of common terms, www.active-citizen.org.uk
- National Economic and Social Forum, 2003, The policy implications of social capital (Annex 3 of Report 28), http://www.nesf.ie
- The Wheel, 2003, Glossary of community and voluntary sector terms, http://www.wheel.ie
- Voluntary Arts Network, Glossary, http://www.voluntaryarts.org
- Volunteering Ireland, 1997 – 2005, (various publications)
|
