The National Council of Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) defines ‘Micro Volunteering’ as “bite-size volunteering with no commitment to repeat and with minimum formality, involving short and specific actions that are quick to start and complete”
Therefore ‘Micro Volunteering’ isn’t necessarily anything new it’s just a term that doesn’t get used often.
What is new is how the bite-size volunteering could be undertaken. With advances in technology, there are more opportunities for people to volunteer remotely rather than at a set venue.
The NCVO have identified that Micro Volunteering has the following features:
- Duration – it involves small increments of time
- Access – it is easy to get started and do
- Immediacy – it is quick to start and complete, and requires minimal planning
- Convenience – you decide when and where
- Level of formality – no formal agreement between the organisation and the volunteer is needed
- Frequency – it can be a one-off or repeated
- Activity – it involves discrete actions
- Location – it can be online or offline
So how can you make ‘micro volunteering’ work in your club?
Firstly, ask yourself what’s the volunteering culture within your club? Have the people that currently volunteer been involved with for many years? Does their volunteering follow a set pattern of day, time and location? These are the stalwarts of your club and they will continue to play a vital role in your club.
Micro volunteering could be viewed as the complete opposite, as there is no expectation for individuals to commit on a regular basis and accepting this is vital if ‘micro volunteering’ is to work for you.
Once this acceptance exists, a good starting point is to identify what needs to be done in your club and whether what you’ve identified is suitable for micro volunteering.
Some examples are provided below:
| Volunteering task | Is it suitable for Micro Volunteering & why? | Where does the volunteering take place? |
| Auditing Club Accounts | Yes – task and finish, no ongoing commitment | Off-Site (At home, limited interaction with Club Treasurer) |
| Creating a Club Website | Yes – task and finish, no ongoing commitment | Off-Site (At home, no interaction required) |
| Managing Club Website | No – will need ongoing commitment | Off-Site (At home or other venue) |
| Painting the Changing Rooms | Yes – task and finish, no ongoing commitment | On-Site (Face to face interaction with other volunteers) |
| U13s Team Manager | No - will need ongoing commitment | On-Site (Significant face to face interaction with others) |
| Baking a cake for a club function | Yes – task and finish, no ongoing commitment | Off-Site (At home no interaction required) |
| Writing a grant application | Yes – task and finish, no ongoing commitment | Off-Site (At home no interaction required) |
