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Introducing the voluntary sector

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More about this course

If you feel that you want to learn more about the voluntary sector then this short 8-week course is for you. The course will guide you through some of the distinctive features and values of the voluntary sector, how organisations are funded and involve volunteers and other ‘stakeholders’ in their work. It will also provide you with knowledge and skills you can apply to your own work or volunteering as well as your everyday life. You can progress at your own pace over the 8 weeks; each week will take a minimum of 3 hours of your time.

The course features interviews with Martha Lane Fox, the Chancellor of The Open University and a significant figure in the voluntary sector. You will hear Martha talking about her own charity, Go ON UK, as well as her involvement in numerous other voluntary organisations.

Enrolling on the course will give you the opportunity to earn an Open University digital badge. Badges are not accredited by The Open University but they’re a great way to demonstrate your interest in the subject and commitment to your career, and to provide evidence of continuing professional development.

Once you’re signed in, you can manage your digital badges online from My OpenLearn. In addition you can download and print your OpenLearn Statement of Participation – which also displays your Open University badge.

This course is endorsed by the CPD Standards Office ³⁴⁰. It can be used to provide evidence of continuing professional development but is not accredited learning. We are unable to provide formal learner verification services for participation in our open online courses, which are provided freely by The Open University as self-directed CPD.

Anyone wishing to provide evidence of their enrolment on this course is able to do so by sharing their Activity Record on their OpenLearn Profile, which is available before completion of the course and earning of the Statement of Participation.

The Open University would really appreciate a few minutes of your time to tell us about yourself and your expectations for the course before you begin, in our optional start-of-course survey. Once you complete the course we would also value your feedback and suggestions for future improvement, in our optional end-of-course survey. Participation will be completely confidential and we will not pass on your details to others.

Learning outcomes

After completing this course you will be able to:

demonstrate a basic understanding of what is meant by the voluntary sector, its values, contribution and distinctive features
recognise and use some of the terms and concepts associated with understanding the voluntary sector
use and apply your knowledge about the voluntary sector to your own work or volunteering experience
link your learning with your own personal or career goals.

Earn this free Open University digital badge if you complete this course! The badge can be displayed, shared and downloaded as a marker of your achievement. The badge is awarded for completing the course and passing the quizzes.

First Published: 26/05/2015

Updated: 05/11/2019

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You can start this course right now without signing-up. Click on any of the course content sections below to start at any point in this course.
If you want to be able to track your progress, earn a free Statement of Participation, and access all course quizzes and activities, sign-up.

Course content

- Introduction and guidance
- Current section:
  Introduction and guidance
  Introducing the voluntary sector is a free badged course which lasts 8 weeks, with approximately 3 hours’ study time each week. You can work through the course at your own pace, so if you have more time one week there is no problem with pushing on to complete another week’s study.There may be several reasons for you studying this course – perhaps you’ve been thinking about volunteering or working in the voluntary sector and wanted to find out more about it; or you alr...
  - What is a badged course?
  - How to get a badge
- Acknowledgements
- week1Week 1: What is the voluntary sector?
- Current section:
  Introduction
  The term ‘voluntary sector’ covers a wide variety of organisations, ranging from very small self-help groups with no paid staff to large national or international charities managing millions of pounds. Surprisingly, these very different organisations do share some elements in common.Why have you chosen to study this course and find out more about the voluntary sector? Perhaps you’ve been thinking about volunteering or working in the voluntary sector and wanted to find out m...
- 1 What is voluntary about the voluntary sector?
  - 1.1 Defining the voluntary sector
  - 1.2 Social enterprise
- 2 Where did the voluntary sector come from?
  - 2.1 Timeline
- 3 What is the voluntary sector’s distinctive value?
  - 3.1 Is the voluntary sector distinctive?
- 4 This week’s quiz
- 5 Summary
- References
- Acknowledgements
- Week 1 practice quiz
- week2Week 2: Values and beliefs
- Current section:
  Introduction
  On a day-to-day basis, you are undoubtedly affected by the values of other people. You probably find that there are both differences and similarities among your values and those of your friends, colleagues and your organisation (if you work or volunteer).Last week you explored the nature and history of the voluntary sector and how it differs from the public and private sectors. You were also introduced to the idea that the voluntary sector is considered to have ‘distinctive’ valu...
- 1 What are values?
  - 1.1 Defining values
  - 1.2 Different levels of values
- 2 Personal values
  - 2.1 Values and behaviour
  - 2.2 Challenges
- 3 Organisational values and vision
  - 3.1 Communicating values
  - 3.2 Conflicting values
- 4 Values in the voluntary sector
- 5 This week’s quiz
- 6 Summary
- References
- Acknowledgements
- Week 2 practice quiz
- week3Week 3: Structure and functions of the voluntary sector
- Current section:
  Introduction
  The voluntary sector has a specific place within the UK: it conducts many diverse activities and makes a vital contribution to society. It is important to consider the shape of the sector and how to understand its impact.This week you delve more into the nature and make-up of the voluntary sector: first by looking at overall information about the sector and its contribution to the economy; second, by focusing on the differences within the voluntary sector (rather than between the sectors) an...
- 1 Data about the voluntary sector
- 2 Size of the voluntary sector
  - 2.1 Different sizes
  - 2.2 The workforce
- 3 Contribution of the voluntary sector to the UK economy
- 4 Types of voluntary activity
- 5 Understanding differences within the voluntary sector
  - 5.1 Different data: ‘micro-mapping’
- 6 This week’s quiz
- 7 Summary
- References
- Acknowledgements
- Week 3 practice quiz
- week4Week 4: Who funds voluntary and community organisations?
- Current section:
  Introduction
  Organisations need resources to grow and develop, as well as to provide services and conduct different activities. For many voluntary organisations, securing funding and other resources is a constant challenge. Last week you explored the monetary value and contribution of the voluntary sector. This week you will learn where funding for voluntary organisations comes from.Every voluntary organisation needs resources in order to fulfil its mission. ‘Resourcing’ organisations refers...
- 1 What is funding?
- 2 Looking at funding through annual reports
  - 2.1 Further sources of funding information
- 3 Income from individuals
- 4 Income from government
  - 4.1 Social value
- 5 Income from other sources
- 6 Funding challenges
- 7 This week’s quiz
- 8 Summary
- References
- Acknowledgements
- Week 4 compulsory badge quiz
- week5Week 5: Introducing stakeholders
- Current section:
  Introduction
  In your work or volunteering – or other areas of your life – you may have noticed that some individuals and groups have quite a lot of power in how your organisation is run or how services are provided. Power means the potential to influence but whether people use this power will depend on what interest they have in influencing the organisation. Some people have little power but a lot of interest in how the organisation is run and what it does. These individuals or groups could b...
- 1 Who are stakeholders?
  - 1.1 Stakeholders in voluntary organisations
- 2 Stakeholder power and interest
  - 2.1 Understanding power
- 3 Working with stakeholders
  - 3.1 Managing stakeholders in the voluntary sector
- 4 Communicating with stakeholders
- 5 This week’s quiz
- 6 Summary
- References
- Acknowledgements
- Week 5 practice quiz
- week6Week 6: Power, engagement and empowerment
- Current section:
  Introduction
  Charities and voluntary organisations are established to benefit the public in some way. Yet many of those who benefit do not hold much power and are less able to participate in voluntary organisations. In Week 5, you were introduced to the role of stakeholders and how groups hold different amounts of power and influence in organisations. You also considered different methods of communication with stakeholders. This week you will build on this work by examining the sources of power in organi...
- 1 What is power?
  - 1.1 Defining power
  - 1.2 Your own sources of power
- 2 Who are beneficiaries?
- 3 Engaging and empowering
- 4 Empowering service users
  - 4.1 Arnstein’s ladder of participation
  - 4.2 Real-world examples
- 5 This week’s quiz
- 6 Summary
- References
- Acknowledgements
- Week 6 practice quiz
- week7Week 7: The role of volunteering
- Current section:
  Introduction
  Throughout this course, the crucial role of volunteers has been emphasised. You saw in Week 1 how the involvement of volunteers is one of the defining features of a voluntary or community organisation and each week of the course, their role and contribution has been mentioned in different contexts. This week they are centre stage. Volunteers might be trustees, board or management committee members or front-line workers fulfilling numerous roles. The importance of volunteering has long been r...
- 1 What is volunteering?
  - 1.1 How many people volunteer?
- 2 What do volunteers do?
  - 2.1 Volunteers in specific organisations
  - 2.2 Volunteering case studies
- 3 Who volunteers?
- 4 Why volunteer?
  - 4.1 Making sense of reasons for volunteering
  - 4.2 Further motivations for volunteering
- 5 This week’s quiz
- 6 Summary
- References
- Acknowledgements
- Week 7 practice quiz
- week8Week 8: Next steps for working and learning in the voluntary sector
- Current section:
  Introduction
  Congratulations on reaching the final week of the course! Hopefully you will have developed an understanding of the voluntary sector and gained useful insight into how your own experience fits with the issues covered. This week you will have an opportunity to consolidate your learning and think about your next steps in working or volunteering in, or other engagement with, voluntary organisations. You will reflect on what you have learned and think about what your next steps might be in terms...
- 1 Reviewing your learning
  - 1.1 Review and reflection
- 2 Your next steps
- 3 Do you want to volunteer?
- 4 Finding paid work in the voluntary sector
  - 4.1 Tips on how to get your first job in the voluntary sector
- 5 Reflective learning
  - 5.1 Kolb’s cycle of learning
  - 5.2 Get into the habit
- 6 This week’s quiz
- 7 Summary
- Tell us what you think
- References
- Further reading
- Acknowledgements
- Week 8 compulsory badge quiz

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Week 7 Activity 3 Table 1 File
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Week 8 Activity 1 Table 1 File
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Week 8 Activity 2 Table 2 File
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Introducing the voluntary sector

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