At the moment, there aren’t nearly enough younger people going into charity trusteeship in this country. I’m going to try to convince you that it is something that you should consider.

Firstly, anyone can be a Trustee. You don’t ever have to have worked for a charity in any capacity, in fact in some ways you might be even more in demand if you haven’t because it is likely that you will bring a different set of skills for the role. Trustees are needed who have skills in such areas as finance, fundraising, PR, law and much more.

Secondly, you will be making a real difference. Trustees help to make sure that charities fulfil their charitable objectives- ie. what they were founded for. They keep charities fresh and full of new ideas and help them to reach out to the people who most need them.

Thirdly, it will teach you so much. Via my own experiences as a Trustee I have been involved with things as diverse as poring over architectural plans, representing the charity at the live screening of Children in Need and helping to set the pay levels of senior staff. You will have the opportunity to understand an organisation from top to bottom. Being a Trustee will be a great addition to your CV and will show employers that you are prepared to show real commitment to a cause that you believe in.

It shouldn’t be too hard to find a cause you do care about as there are thousands upon thousands of charities covering every area of interest imaginable. The chance of you finding something that you are attracted to is high and even if you have to travel a little the charity should be able to help you with expenses. It’s worth bearing in mind that some charities are very small and don’t have the time or resources to be very proactive in their recruitment. If there is a charity that you would like to be a Trustee for, just ask them. If they don’t have any positions they will at least have you in mind for the future.

Have a look around on the web and please think about applying to be a Trustee. Good Luck!

This guest post was written by Alex Swallow, founder of Young Charity Trustees. You can connect with them on Twitter @YoungTrustees or via their LinkedIn group where they post news, discussions and interesting trustee opportunities. If you think trusteeship could be something for you and would like to give it a try, we’ve got some roles going here at Bright One.

It has been a busy two weeks since the last update blog post on Bright Works, with new projects from both new and returning charities. Bright Works is Bright One’s microvolunteering platform that connects causes with skilled volunteers in a simple, effective and easy way. Volunteers work on projects that are broken down in to tasks that can easily be done remotely, and with a time commitment of as little as 15 minutes up to 4 hours.

Some amazing volunteers are busy snapping up tasks, offering their specialised comms skills to worthy causes. There are a few open tasks if you have a moment and fancy volunteering.

Esther Community Enterprise aims to meet needs of those in the community by redistributing food, clothing and other consumables that we receive from retailers. ECE feeds in excess of 8,000 people per month with food that would have been landfilled. They are looking for help with newsletter articles, and getting control of their databases.

THOMAS is a registered charity that provides drug and alcohol recovery, rehabilitation, residential and support services. They are looking for help both with writing grant applicatications, thank you letters and increasing their awareness on social media. Find out more here.

Inside ‘n’ Out is a national magazine for offenders, ex-offenders, criminal justice staff and anyone who is interested in the criminal justice system. They are looking for help of a media buyer. If this could be you, get in touch.

Team v are a group of young people who aim to change the world one campaign at a time. Currently, they are raising awareness of and combating old age loneliness. They are looking for a poster design. Do you have design skills and a few hours spare?

These, and a dozen other projects, are currently active on Bright Works. If you haven’t already, sign up and see if there are any tasks you can help out with.

Bloggers represent a powerful and influential online community, and the British parent blogging community is one of the most active around.

This blogging community has a history of amazing support for good causes, with high-profile campaigns to raise awareness by the likes of Unicef, Save the Children and, most recently, CLIC Sargent, which ask bloggers to share information, words, pictures and links.

That’s why Bright One are delighted to team up with Tots100 – the UK’s largest network of active parent bloggers with over 2,500 members – on Time To Share, where British parent bloggers are being invited to share an hour or more of their time with good causes.

What is Time to Share? 

The Time to Share programme will match bloggers with charities in need of volunteers. During March and April 2012, Tots100 will be providing their members with opportunities to share their time with local charities, lending a hand with everything from planting trees to handing out drinks to marathon runners and talking to school children about depression.

Why get involved? 

If you’re a blogger, Time to Share will give you a fantastic opportunity to support a charity that’s close to your heart, and close to home. Bright One has got a community of amazing charities already, but together with Tots100 we’ll be offering you the chance to meet new people and make a real difference in your community. Above all, we want you to be inspired to share your experience with your readers, friends and family.

 The Time to Share project aims to:

• Give bloggers, and their readers, a real insight into the work being done by charities across the UK, and the vital role played by volunteers. We hope that the programme will inspire more people to get involved in volunteering in their communities!
• Provide an insight into the wide range of volunteering opportunities available in the UK, by promoting blog posts about Time to Share volunteers on the Bright One and Tots100 website, and across other websites and networks
• Give charities (especially smaller groups with limited resources for media relations – the reason Bright One exists) the opportunity to raise awareness of their work by connecting with the hugely popular and influential parent blogging community

I’m a blogger – how do I get involved? 

If you’re a blogger and would like to be involved in Time to Share, all you have to do is fill in a short registration form telling us about where you live, what causes you support, and when you have some time to spare.

Register Your Blog Here 

I’m a charity – how can we get involved?

We have some amazing charities on board with Bright One already, but we’d love to add more charities to the Time to Share programme. If you work with, or represent a charity interested in working with bloggers, then you can register for more information by completing a short registration form.

Add a Charity

I’ve registered – what now?

Over the coming weeks, the Tots100 team will be working hard to match charities with suitable bloggers who have Time to Share, and we would be so grateful for your support.

What can you do?

• Sign up for Time to Share if you haven’t already, and share an hour or more of your time with a good cause
• Write a blog post about a good cause that’s close to your heart, that could benefit from our support
• Spread the word about Time To Share on Facebook, Twitter (#TimeToShare) and your social networks

We look forward to working with the Tots100 team on what should be a fantastic project to give small charitable organisations the chance to reach new audiences and get the word out about their great work!

This guest post was written by Neelam Shah, a Kingston University student studying Journalism with Media and Cultural Studies. Neelam shares her top tips on volunteering and where to find those opportunities that will give students and young people a chance to help out in the community and meet new people whilst gaining experience to put on that all important CV.

With youth unemployment hitting a record of around 1.6 million, queues outside job centres are increasing and university graduates are leaving with fewer prospects of finding their ultimate dream jobs. The prime minister’s new initiative to get approximately 500,000 work experience/internship or apprenticeship placements for the unemployed 18-24s in 2015 is in debate with some feeling skeptical about the government’s initiative and whether companies would hire.

Well the question is what shall young people do in the meantime, sit at home and be bored or consider other ways to gain experience, skills without a salary to start with. Volunteering is considered the best aid for job hunters with employers looking for people who have gained new skills, experiences in working for charities, organisations and social enterprises because it shows real initiative and entrepreneurial flair.

Volunteering isn’t just for the retired, people of any age can contribute little or as much as they like to their local communities, boroughs, or internationally by taking on a suitable voluntary role. If you are 18 and have decided to take a gap year, then travelling abroad and working for a charity is great experience, even volunteering in the UK is fantastic as there are many organisations just waiting for new hands to help out.

Here are my top five tips for finding volunteering work that suits your needs:

• Research organisations in your area that you would like to volunteer for and that you think would help you with your specialised career choice

• If you are in full time education and looking for some general practical customer related experience over the weekend, contact local charity/fundraising shops, which are sure to increase your employment prospects. For more info on how to locate charity shops, apply etc. check with Charity Retail Association

• If you are a traveller, why not look for opportunities or projects that you find meets your needs/interests in that country? Check out Do-it for details on volunteering opportunities abroad and in the UK

• If you are a sporty person, ask your favourite charity whether they’ve got any fundraising events coming up and you could take part in a marathon, hiking challenge, bike ride, canoe trip, triathlon etc. Or you could volunteer at adventure holidays with charities like The Newman Holiday Trust

• There are many flexible voluntary roles within the public sector available such as fundraising, marketing, advertising, admin, web design, finance, accounting, drama, dance, music, filming, writing, painting, mentoring, assistant teacher, youth worker etc. Check out Vinspired, a UK based voluntary organisation open for 14-25 yr olds, to get involved with any projects/opportunities on any interests, anywhere in the UK.

If you want to try something new, want to put your hobby or interest into practice, meet new people, gain practical working experience, something great to add to your CV then why not give volunteering a go.

February 20-26 is Student Volunteering Week which is a great initiative with loads of events taking place all over the UK – have a look and see what goes on in your town and how you can get involved. You can also search for volunteering opportunities via the links we’ve listed here, or you could microvolunteer in your own time on some of the new projects over on Bright Works. Happy volunteering – and do let us know about your own volunteering experiences, we love a good inspiring story!

If you’ve been looking for an interesting and rewarding trustee role in a friendly small-sized organisation, look no further! We are thrilled to announce that we will be offering the opportunity to become a Bright One trustee. This is a very exciting time for us and we are looking to get trustees onboard in order to develop and expand. Details below:

Trustee role description

• To actively contribute at board meetings and help to monitor the implementation of decisions taken at meetings
• Contribute to the setting of policy, objectives and adherence to, thereafter
• Help facilitate change and manage conflict
• Ensure the financial stability of the organisation and ensure sound risk management
• Contribute to the development of the organisation’s mission and vision
• Raise the public profile of the organisation
• To represent the organisation as necessary
• To regularly assess the environment and develop the organisation’s business strategy
• To review and agree any major changes to the organisation
• To ensure the organisation uses its resources exclusively in pursuance of its charitable objects

Person specification

• Experience of holding a strategic vision over a 2-3 year period
• Ability to exercise independent judgement and challenge constructively
• Good communication skills across all levels
• Excellent planning and organisational abilities
• Understanding of the voluntary sector (desirable)
• An understanding and acceptance of the legal duties, responsibilities and liabilities of trusteeship
• Commitment to the organisation and willingness to devote the required time and effort
• A problem-solving ‘can-do’ approach
• Significant experience in at least one of the following areas:

Terms of appointment

Trustee appointments will be reviewed annually.

Trustees will be required to attend quarterly board meetings and there is also an annual AGM which trustees should attend if possible.

Communication between meetings takes place via email and phone calls.

The role requires dedication of between 8-10 hours a month (dependent on activity).

Interview process

Shortlisted candidates will initially have a phone conversation with a member of the current management team, followed by an in-person interview.

Application deadline is 10 February 2012, phone interviews will take place w/c 17 February, in person meetings will take place before the end of February, and a decision will then be made early March.

Notice: Bright One is currently not a registered charity, but forming this trustree group is one of the first steps and this group will be named trustees upon application to the Charity Commission.

If you are interested in being a trustee for Bright One please email your CV and cover letter to Tove Nordstrom at tove.nordstrom@brightone.org.uk

The High Tea Cast is an irreverent, savvy, monthly podcast combines music and popular culture chat, and great interviews with cool young leaders in fashion, food and third sector projects.

This month, Co-creators Sam Sparrow and Leanne Rice take a look at some worthy community ventures in 2012, finding ways their skills can help others and do some good.

We’re delighted that they picked out Bright Works and had some lovely things to say about the platform. Listen for yourself:

Thanks for the great feedback, ladies!

You can listen to the podcast at The High Tea Cast here or  subscribe via iTunes.

Oh, and you can find out more about Bright Works here.

Our microvolunteering platform Bright Works has recently had some great new projects uploaded that we are very excited about and they keep on coming in so there are plenty of tasks to get involved with if you’re interested in volunteering!

With new charities and other organisations contacting us about adding tasks to Bright Works we’re getting an increased amount of good questions in regards to what types of tasks are suitable for Bright Works. So we thought we’d answer some of them in order to help anyone who might want to know a bit more about how best to use Bright Works and how to get the most out of microvolunteering.

Ready to submit your project? Just fill out this simple form

Want to help these great charities with your PR and Marketing skills? Sign up now!

What makes a good microvolunteering task?

• All Bright Works projects and tasks should consist of work to be done entirely online
• The task description should contain all information needed for volunteers to complete the task.
• Your contact details are provided in case the volunteer should need to contact you to get started.
• Consider including links to useful sites with any background information.
• Giving a deadline adds some time pressure for volunteers to work to, so your task has a better chance of being completed.
• Define the key experience/skills the volunteer will need to have. This will help us find the best person for the job.
• Include a clear description of the task, and explain any specific actions you want the volunteer to take.
• Tasks should be a minimum of 15 minutes or maximum of 4 hours to complete
• Be clear about the duration of the task. If you expect it to exceed 4 hours, you should split the work between two smaller tasks. Divide your project into as many small tasks as you can. This makes each one easier to manage, and allows more volunteers to get involved.

Have you got any examples of good microvolunteering tasks?

• Find and list 20 newspapers/magazines/blogs in the charity’s related area, including contact details
• Write and distribute a press release for an upcoming fundraising event
• Produce a how to for uploading videos to YouTube or other video-sharing platforms, such as Vimeo
• Produce a how to for using social media to recruit volunteers, attract donors and promote success stories
• Set up a Twitter feed for the charity
• Set up a Facebook page for the charity
• Write copy for a certain page on your website
• Write up case studies or success stories for the charity
• Design a new logo for our charity

Any other tips?

• Make the task interesting – there are lots of tasks on Bright Works, so you’ll need to capture the interest of volunteers!
• Make the task specific – define exactly what you need done and what deliverables you expect, so the volunteer has a clear idea of what they need to do
• Make the task achievable – Our volunteers are fantastic, but they’re volunteering in their spare time. Don’t expect or ask for the world!

We hope this helps! Feel free to add more tips and comments – how could we improve these tips? What kind of tasks would you like to find on Bright Works? Let us know!

This is why ChairtyComms, the membership body for charity communicators, yesterday began a campaign to exempt charities from copyright licensing fees. This campaign is backed by NSPCC, Cancer Research UK, British Heart Foundation and us here at Bright One.

We’re supporting this campaign because times are tight for all charities and. I know of at least one large charity press office which was having to cut back on weekend newspapers and some of the more expensive broadsheets at the same time as having to pay their NLA fees.

This makes little sense for the NLA which is owned by eight publishers of national newspapers, including News International and the Guardian Media Group. In the example above the charity’s NLA license was not huge so by cutting back on the broadsheets published by the NLA’s owners they were seeing the amount of money from this customer fall.

The NLA pricing structure for charities, which was agreed in 2003 with the NCVO, does give charities a discount and personally when I’ve dealt with the NLA they’ve been very helpful and understanding. The problem is what was mentioned above: 90% of the coverage charities monitor is of themselves, they’re not using it for commercial gain and have often played a big part in writing any piece. The current system misunderstands the way charity communicators work and treats them like their commercial (and profit-making) colleagues.

For those interested in the campaign see charitycomms.org.uk/charity_media_licensing and Vicky Browning, CharityComms Director, explains their position very well in this Guardian Voluntary Sector blog guardian.co.uk/media-licensing-charities-exempt. For anyone worried about your own licensing CharityComms has put together a great guide charitycomms.org.uk/guidelines/charity_media_licensing.

We started the year off with a slew of updates to Bright Works, our microvolunteering platform that lets causes connect with skilled volunteers in a now even simpler, effective and easy way. Now that the site is working better than ever, new projects have been added. If your New Year’s resolution was to give more back, here’s some great opportunities to start:

Small Charities Coalition and Charities Trustee Network’s ambition is to provide practical and applicable help to both the operations and governance of small charities. On Bright Works, they are looking for help revamping their website by adding photos, case studies and quotes from attendees. Do you have experience with CMS Typo3 and a few hours spare? Get in touch.

A1 Positive Recycling is an Exeter-based not-for-profit social enterprise that aims to establish an alternative technology education centre for the South West to train adults with learning difficulties. They are looking to build up a positive management team to help lead the organisation through the next stage in its development. Find out if you have what it takes.

Young Professionals in Human Rights is a network to share resources and experiences and promote innovation within the field of human rights. The group is looking for talented and innovative volunteer communications and web managers to help take their online presence to the next level. Could this be you?

The Lord’s Taverners is one of the UK’s leading youth cricket and disability sports charities. They are looking for help with several facets of a direct mail campaign. Do you have expertise you can share in this area?

These, and a dozen other projects, are currently active on Bright Works. If you haven’t already, sign up and see if there are any tasks you can help out with.

It is January, it is 2012, and we would like to wish all our volunteers, charities, supporters and friends a Happy New Year. Bright One has had a great year in 2011 but we are very excited about 2012 as it’s looking to be even better!

Some of our highlights from last year would be working with over 20 great clients, involving more than 60 fantastic volunteers, launching our microvolunteering platform Bright Works and picking up the Discover E-Volunteering competition prize. And we’ve got lots to look forward to in 2012.

The financial and political climate in the UK has resulted in difficult times for the third sector with the number of people employed in the voluntary sector falling by almost nine percent according to new figures published yesterday. This is a worrying report but the World Giving Index 2011 by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) shows that there is an increase in charitable acts globally – people are more likely to give time and ‘help a stranger’ but the giving of money has fallen. The decrease in monetary donations can probably be blamed on the global economic crisis but the data from CAF presents a positive attitude in regards to the giving of time. According to the report, 28% of Brits volunteered in 2011 and this commitment to giving time rather than money may well be an indication of where we are heading.

With spending cuts and a decreasing work force charities are in need of support and volunteers are a great help. A proposed new tax relief scheme could possibly increase donations and volunteering by businesses and individuals interested in volunteering can find opportunities through several channels – here are a few we’ve listed.

Here at Bright One we will try to help out whenever possible and we will also continue to develop Bright Works – the new version is now live and we’re accepting new projects. So if you’re a charity looking for help or a volunteer looking to help out, get involved!

And if you’d like to attend an exciting new event where you’ll be able to mingle with some great people from the UK communications industry you should come along to the PR Prom taking place on Thursday 23 February in Shoreditch Town Hall in London.

We’re also very much looking forward to new projects in 2012 and we’re hoping to provide training sessions, work with new great clients and have new enthusiastic volunteers joining us.

What are your wishes for 2012? Let us know in the comment section below or drop us a line if you’d like to chat about our plans for the new year – we look forward to hearing from you!

- Tove and the Bright One team