Cartoon image of two women sitting on opposite sides of a desk with their laptops. They are high fiving.Volunteering web pages: good practice examples

Overall, your volunteering web pages should:

  • Explain how volunteers support your museum and convey the character of your organisation through the contribution of volunteers
  • Highlight wherever you can the welcoming environment you provide for volunteering
  • Be positive – show your commitment to volunteer involvement at your museum, for mutual benefit
  • Demonstrate that you value volunteers, providing flexibility wherever possible, as well as opportunities to play a part in shaping the organisation in line with its mission, vision and goals.
  • Highlight your commitment to fairness in your volunteer involvement –to accessibility, equity, diversity and inclusion
  • Describe the roles you’re looking to fill and your capacity to consider prospective volunteers’ suggestions for helping in other areas too
  • Accurately describe what people need to do next if they’re interested – this could include one, or a combination, of:
    • Name, role and email for the right person to contact (make sure this is up to date)
    • a form to fill in (with GDPR information)
    • an invitation to come in for a chat (if you do welcome this in practice)
    • a welcome to your next volunteer open day – date, times, location, booking information.

Here are some examples of museum volunteering web pages that may be helpful to look at as you review and develop your own:

Stroudwater Textile Trust’s web pages feature a film that brings volunteering and the visitor experience volunteers provide vividly to life: https://youtu.be/heUfbS1PaPc

Holst Victorian House’s web pages feature volunteers who have joined the team, describing the experience in their own words.  Personal stories provide powerful advocacy for the experience of volunteering. The information about volunteering is well organized and comprehensive and there’s a range of options for what to do next to find out more:  https://holstvictorianhouse.org.uk/volunteer/

Dean Heritage Centre’s web pages describe a good range of volunteering opportunities, including options for people who can’t commit to regular volunteering.  The information makes it clear how volunteering supports the museum: https://www.deanheritagecentre.com/support-us/volunteer

REME’s web pages describe a range of volunteer roles and highlights the museum’s commitment to being a supportive place to volunteer, backing this up with the option to discuss access needs: https://www.rememuseum.org.uk/volunteer