Skip over main navigation
  • Log in
  • Basket: (0 items)
  • Engage for Good Forum
  • Pages
Birmingham Voluntary Service Council
Jobs Join Donate
  • Twitter
Menu
  • About us
    • What we do
    • Projects and programmes
    • Staff and Trustees
    • BVSC Anti-racist Statement
    • Compliments, Comments and Complaints Process
    • Working for BVSC
    • Getting to BVSC
  • Support for your organisation
    • Accelerator Programme
    • Birmingham City Council - Section 114 Notice
    • BVSC Grants
    • Community Development Hub
    • Funding
    • Office space at Latham House
    • Promote your organisation
    • Shaping Birmingham’s Future Together: Birmingham City Vision
    • Training and development resources
    • Quality Standards (Exempt Accommodation)
    • PEERS in Practice: Self-Assessment Toolkit
  • Volunteering
    • Become a volunteer
    • Birmingham's Vision for Volunteering
    • Manage volunteers
    • Volunteering news
    • Volunteering for Health Birmingham and Solihull
  • BVSC Research
    • About Us
    • Research, Evaluation and Learning
    • Community Research
    • Work With Us
    • Insights, News and Events
    • Meet the Team
    • Contact Us
  • What’s on
    • Events
    • Training
    • News
    • Newsletter (weekly e-bulletin)
    • Community Noticeboard
    • Update Blog
  • Get involved
    • Become a Member
    • Help for Ukraine
    • Engage for Good Forum
    • Engage for Business
    • Surveys, Consultations & Campaigns
  • Admin
    • Log in
    • Engage for Good Forum
    • Pages
  • Basket: (0 items)
  • Birmingham's Vision for Volunteering

Birmingham's Vision for Volunteering

Birmingham has a thriving community of amazing volunteers who give up their time to support others.  

The Vision for Volunteering sets out an aspirational view of how we want volunteering in Birmingham to look by 2027. It has been co-produced with citizens, voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise (VCFSE) organisations, as well as the public sector and academic partners in Birmingham. 

The Key Principles 

There are three principles that underpin Birmingham’s Vision for Volunteering: 

  • Celebrating difference

    Volunteering in Birmingham is accessible and welcoming to everyone, everywhere, so that the benefits are felt by all individuals and communities. Communities are able to identify needs and are given power to tackle them.  

  • Collaboration

    Partners across communities, and the VCFSE, public and private sectors all work together to support a thriving volunteer environment. 

  • Awareness and appreciation

    Birmingham is a city that recognises and values volunteering in all its forms – from occasional to regular, highly organised to informal and from individual volunteers to volunteer-including organisations. It's always easy for citizens to find ways to make a difference and get involved in the city. Any contribution, big or small, is celebrated and valued and every volunteer has a positive experience. 

Read the Vision for Volunteering

Get Involved 

Be part of creating a diverse, rewarding and innovative volunteering future in Birmingham.  

There are lots of ways to get involved with Birmingham’s Vision for Volunteering, from sharing stories of volunteering or best practice to using resources to implement the vision in your work.  

We want you to help us achieve Birmingham’s Vision for Volunteering and be part of building a city in which volunteering is recognised, celebrated, fits with people’s identities, backgrounds and life experiences and where learning is shared. 

Share a story 

If you’re a volunteer supporting a great project or involved with social action, or an organisation involving volunteers, leading on best practice or innovating using volunteers, we would love to hear from you! Contact [email protected] to share your story of excellent volunteering in Birmingham.  

Manage Volunteers 

We have put together a variety of resources to help you enact Birmingham’s Vision for Volunteering and find guidance on attracting, recruiting, involving and supporting volunteers in ways that celebrate difference, enable collaboration and show appreciation.  

Resources for supporting Volunteers

Meet the team 

Becky is the Vision for Volunteering Implementation Manager. She loves to meet those involving volunteers in Birmingham, share the vision and provide support. Learn more about Becky and her role: 

Read more

Want to stay in touch? Sign up to the BVSC weekly e-bulletin to receive updates about the vision and ways to get involved:

Sign up to e-bulletin

Got questions about Birmingham’s Vision for Volunteering and how to get involved? Contact Becky: [email protected]  

Published: 1st November, 2023

Updated: 20th February, 2025

Author: Helen Cobain

Share this page
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Latest

  • Communities Urge Bold Leadership and Investment to Tackle Racism and Exclusion

    Communities Urge Bold Leadership and Investment to Tackle Racism and Exclusion

    A new report outlines growing concerns about the rise in racism, hate incidents and a declining sense of safety across Birmingham’s communities - and sets out a series of recommendations to city leaders for tackling these issues. The report gathers the findings of a Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise (VCFSE) Community Cohesion Summit held in February 2026 convened by BVSC and BRIG with support from Birmingham City Council.

  • Green Village at European Athletics Championships

    Green Village at European Athletics Championships

    The European Athletics Championships Birmingham 2026 is more than a world-class athletics event- it is an opportunity to demonstrate how major sporting championships can create meaningful environmental and social impact. We are aiming to offer a dedicated “Green Village”—a high-footfall space within the event designed to engage and inspire spectators around environmental sustainability. We are looking for organisations who can showcase what they are doing while engaging visitors to the event.

  • Call for proposals: independent evaluation of the Inclusion Health Living Library

    Call for proposals: independent evaluation of the Inclusion Health Living Library

    The Inclusion Health Living Library initiative is a new programme designed to bring together system leaders, practitioners and voluntary sector partners with people who have direct lived experience of exclusion and inequality. The Living Library is being delivered on behalf of Birmingham City Council’s Public Health division by BVSC, and together we’re seeking proposals from suitably qualified academic or evaluation organisations to independently evaluate it.

  • Together St Paul’s Wins Prestigious Weston Charity Award

    Together St Paul’s Wins Prestigious Weston Charity Award

    Together St Paul’s named a winner of the Weston Charity Awards 2026 – a national programme that recognises ambitious charities making a difference in their communities. Selected from more than 180 applicants, Together St Paul's is one of just 22 charities across the Midlands, Wales and the North of England to receive this award. For over 50 years, Together St Paul’s has worked alongside the people of Balsall Heath and Birmingham, supporting young people, families and communities to thrive.

Most read

  • Crisis and Resilience Fund

    Crisis and Resilience Fund

    Help for Birmingham households experiencing financial hardship is being developed as part of Birmingham’s Crisis and Resilience Fund (previously known as Household Support Fund/ Hardship Grant Community Fund) programme.

  • Become a volunteer

    Become a volunteer

    Volunteering involves spending time, unpaid, doing something that is of benefit to others or the environment. Find out how you can get involved in volunteering in Birmingham.

  • The Weather Model

    This model uses the weather as a metaphor for different elements of reflective practice.

  • What we do

    What we do

    BVSC aims to support a vibrant and resilient sector which in turn ensures that people from across the city feel included and engaged and have access to appropriate support from people who understand the issues and challenges they face.

  • Join BVSC

    Join BVSC

    There are several ways that you can engage with BVSC to stay informed, grow your organisation and connect with others.

  • Neighbourhood Network Schemes in Birmingham

    Neighbourhood Network Schemes in Birmingham

    The aim of Neighbourhood Network Schemes (known as NNS) in Birmingham is to help older adults in Birmingham to lead healthy, happy and independent lives in their own homes and communities.

  • Funding

    Find out how BVSC can help you with fundraising

  • Compliments, Comments and Complaints Process

    Compliments, Comments and Complaints Process

    At BVSC we strive to provide our customers with the best service possible. We know that some of the best ideas come from people outside of our organisation and we therefore welcome feedback at every level to help us continuously improve what we do. This means that we want to hear from you when things go well, and when things could have gone better.

  • Quality Standards

  • Promote your organisation

Registered office

Birmingham Voluntary Service Council

Latham House

33-34 Paradise Street

Birmingham

B1 2AJ

Subscribe

* indicates required

Sign up
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • Linkedin
  • Bluesky

BVSC is a registered charity No 218795 and BVSC Enterprises is a social enterprise business run by the charity BVSC

  • Advertise with BVSC
  • Contact us
  • Getting to BVSC
  • Sitemap
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy policy
  • Anti-racist statement
  • Staff Log in
Manage Cookie Preferences