Volunteering survey - help us to help you

Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council is looking at ways to encourage more people to volunteer in the borough. If you’re already a volunteer we’d like to hear from you. By completing this survey and telling us about your experiences of volunteering, you will help to inform our understanding of this activity so we can identify solutions which may support other people to volunteer in the future.

If you don’t already volunteer, we would encourage you to still complete this survey and tell us what can be done to help you do this in the future.

Please note all responses to this survey will be treated in confidence and whilst we will publish a report detailing key findings, it will not be possible to identify individual respondents from this.

The survey closes 31 May 2024. If you would like more information about this survey, please contact volunteer@redcar-cleveland.gov.uk

Question Title

* 1. On average, how often do you volunteer?

Every day

Most days

At least once a week

At least once a month

Less frequently

Never

If response is Never, can you give reason why do you not currently volunteer?

Question Title

* 2. What is the focus of the volunteering you do? Please note examples are to help selection only - they are not an exhaustive list.

Animals (e.g. helping at a dog charity)

Care work (e.g. providing unpaid care or mentoring for neighbours)

Culture (e.g. helping a local arts group)

Education (e.g. unpaid classroom assistant, school governor, Parent teacher association)

Employment and training (e.g. working with unemployed people)

Environmental (e.g. community litter pick, friends’ groups in parks, cemeteries, countryside)

Grant making (e.g. administering grant applications for a charity or community group)

Health (e.g. collecting medication for elderly neighbours, transporting to medical appointments)

Housing (e.g. helping a charity that works with homeless people)

Law and advocacy (e.g. a magistrate, volunteering for citizens advice bureau)

Playgroups and nurseries

Religion (e.g. weekly church notice/newsletters, coffee mornings, fundraising/raffles)

Research (e.g. participating in a university study, gathering information for a charity)

Scouts, Brownies, Cubs, Rainbow groups

Youth clubs

Sports and recreation (e.g. coaching young people to play football, netball, rugby)

Transport (e.g. volunteer driver)

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 3. How did you find out about your volunteering role?

Social media – Facebook, Instagram

Newsletter

Organisation/ group’s website

Personal invite – friends or family

Word of mouth

Workplace volunteering scheme

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 4. In a few words, can you tell us the main reason why you volunteer.

Question Title

* 5. And how important are the following aspects of volunteering to you?

	Not important	Slightly important	Moderately important	Very important	Extremely important
Helping others (giving back, serving the community, reaching out to those in need, sharing and contributing skills, supporting, and encouraging others)	Helping others (giving back, serving the community, reaching out to those in need, sharing and contributing skills, supporting, and encouraging others) Not important	Helping others (giving back, serving the community, reaching out to those in need, sharing and contributing skills, supporting, and encouraging others) Slightly important	Helping others (giving back, serving the community, reaching out to those in need, sharing and contributing skills, supporting, and encouraging others) Moderately important	Helping others (giving back, serving the community, reaching out to those in need, sharing and contributing skills, supporting, and encouraging others) Very important	Helping others (giving back, serving the community, reaching out to those in need, sharing and contributing skills, supporting, and encouraging others) Extremely important
Developing relationships (making friends, meeting people, sharing experiences, building communities, connecting with the local community)	Developing relationships (making friends, meeting people, sharing experiences, building communities, connecting with the local community) Not important	Developing relationships (making friends, meeting people, sharing experiences, building communities, connecting with the local community) Slightly important	Developing relationships (making friends, meeting people, sharing experiences, building communities, connecting with the local community) Moderately important	Developing relationships (making friends, meeting people, sharing experiences, building communities, connecting with the local community) Very important	Developing relationships (making friends, meeting people, sharing experiences, building communities, connecting with the local community) Extremely important
Exercising values and ethics (supporting each other to achieve something, giving people a chance, making a difference, having a voice in the local area)	Exercising values and ethics (supporting each other to achieve something, giving people a chance, making a difference, having a voice in the local area) Not important	Exercising values and ethics (supporting each other to achieve something, giving people a chance, making a difference, having a voice in the local area) Slightly important	Exercising values and ethics (supporting each other to achieve something, giving people a chance, making a difference, having a voice in the local area) Moderately important	Exercising values and ethics (supporting each other to achieve something, giving people a chance, making a difference, having a voice in the local area) Very important	Exercising values and ethics (supporting each other to achieve something, giving people a chance, making a difference, having a voice in the local area) Extremely important
Personal benefits (feeling good, health and wellbeing, sense of achievement and satisfaction, improved quality of life, learning and gaining skills, building CV)	Personal benefits (feeling good, health and wellbeing, sense of achievement and satisfaction, improved quality of life, learning and gaining skills, building CV) Not important	Personal benefits (feeling good, health and wellbeing, sense of achievement and satisfaction, improved quality of life, learning and gaining skills, building CV) Slightly important	Personal benefits (feeling good, health and wellbeing, sense of achievement and satisfaction, improved quality of life, learning and gaining skills, building CV) Moderately important	Personal benefits (feeling good, health and wellbeing, sense of achievement and satisfaction, improved quality of life, learning and gaining skills, building CV) Very important	Personal benefits (feeling good, health and wellbeing, sense of achievement and satisfaction, improved quality of life, learning and gaining skills, building CV) Extremely important
Involvement (making things happen, taking part, joining in, feeling part of something)	Involvement (making things happen, taking part, joining in, feeling part of something) Not important	Involvement (making things happen, taking part, joining in, feeling part of something) Slightly important	Involvement (making things happen, taking part, joining in, feeling part of something) Moderately important	Involvement (making things happen, taking part, joining in, feeling part of something) Very important	Involvement (making things happen, taking part, joining in, feeling part of something) Extremely important

Question Title

* 6. Which of these, if any, are the reasons why you don’t volunteer your time?

I feel I am too young

I feel too old to start volunteering

Not aware of opportunities/lack knowledge of local groups and organisations

New to the local area

Work commitments

School, college, or study commitments

I have to look after someone who is elderly/unwell

Family commitments

I do not want to volunteer

I do not have enough spare time

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 7. What can the Council do to encourage and make it easier for people to volunteer in the future?

Question Title

* 8. Please rank the following ideas for increasing volunteering locally in terms of the impact you think they can have. (10 being very important, ranking down to 1 as least important]

	Rating
Work with young people to encourage them to volunteer	Work with young people to encourage them to volunteer Rating menu
Promoting workplace volunteering schemes	Promoting workplace volunteering schemes Rating menu
Help with the costs of becoming a volunteer (e.g. training)	Help with the costs of becoming a volunteer (e.g. training) Rating menu
Funding to support groups or projects utilising the efforts of volunteers	Funding to support groups or projects utilising the efforts of volunteers Rating menu
Events showcasing volunteering opportunities	Events showcasing volunteering opportunities Rating menu
Award schemes or thank you events for volunteers that have achieved great things	Award schemes or thank you events for volunteers that have achieved great things Rating menu
A website promoting volunteering opportunities the Council offer	A website promoting volunteering opportunities the Council offer Rating menu