BEING A COMMUNITY SPEAKER VOLUNTEER YOUR ESSENTIAL GUIDE

Transcription

1 BEING A COMMUNITY SPEAKER VOLUNTEER YOUR ESSENTIAL GUIDE 1

2 Your support powers our research. Every pound raised and every minute of your time will help make a massive difference to peoples lives. This guide belongs to: Your Fundraising Manager is: Phone: 2

3 Contents 04 Welcome from the Head of Fundraising 06 This is who we are 08 Ways a Community Speaker Volunteer can help 11 Here for you 15 Get in on the action! 18 Keeping you safe and legal 23 Gift Aid 25 Frequently asked questions 3

4 WELCOME TO THE BHF 4 4

5 A big welcome and thank you for joining us as a BHF Fundraising Group. We re delighted to have you with us! A big welcome and thank you for joining us as a Community Speaker Volunteer. We re delighted to have you with us! Your activities will be essential to life saving research. The money you raise will help the British Heart Foundation (BHF) researchers keep working to find the causes of heart disease, and better treatments, in labs up and down the UK. Volunteers are vital to our work. You will be supporting the BHF and your community in a way that will change lives. You ll increase As you fundraise, awareness you ll of how also heart be supporting disease affects the people, BHF and how your BHF community services can in a help, way that and encourage will change more even people more lives. to get You ll behind increase our awareness work. of how heart disease affects people, how BHF services can help, and encourage more people to get behind our work. You will be essential to life saving research and help the BHF researchers Whatever ideas, keep working plans and to aspirations find the causes you of have heart for disease, fundraising, and and developing better treatments, your group, in labs we re up in and this down together the UK. with you. Do call on your Fundraising Manager for support they re here to help you Whatever thrive, succeed ideas, plans and shine. and aspirations you have, we re in this together with you. Do call on your Fundraising Manager for support I hope this they re guide here will to be help useful you as thrive, you begin succeed fundraising and shine. and building I your hope group. this guide Thank will you be useful so much as you again begin for your in your commitment. role as a I wish Community you every success. Speaker Volunteer. Thank you so much for your commitment. I wish you every success. Amanda Bringans Head of Fundraising 5 555

6 THIS IS WHO WE ARE Our Vision is a world where people do not die prematurely or suffer from cardiovascular disease Our Mission is to win the fight against cardiovascular disease Our Values are at the heart of everything we do: Brave We speak out. We re decisive. We re innovative. Compassionate We re open and honest. We respect others. We promote our cause. Informed We work together. We re clear. We re curious. Driven We re focussed. We re determined. We keep learning. 6 6

7 Our life saving work Research Thanks to research, the lives of millions of people with cardiovascular disease have been transformed. Many people are alive today thanks to BHF-funded research and even more have a better quality of life because of it. Most babies born today with heart defects now survive. Pacemakers help people control their heart conditions. Statins are lowering cholesterol levels for millions, reducing risk of heart attack and stroke. Heart attack treatment has been revolutionised. And many inherited conditions can now be diagnosed and successfully treated, preventing sudden death. We have come a long way. But with coronary heart disease the UK s single biggest killer, and seven million people living with the burden of cardiovascular disease, we still have a lot further to go. Surgery techniques can still be improved. And there are exciting, ground-breaking advances to be made in genetics, stem cell technology, and the treatment of many heart conditions. Your fundraising will help research continue that will hopefully make the difference for millions of people in the UK and many more around the world. Prevention We fund vital research to understand heart disease. Armed with this knowledge we ll find new ways to prevent it. Survival Heart attacks kill tens of thousands of people every year in the UK. But through our campaign to train the nation in CPR, we re determined to change that. Support We re here for everyone living with heart and circulatory disease. We fight for their access to high quality health and social care, and empower them to take control of their conditions. And we won t stop until our research has found all the answers. Find out more Visit the BHF website to find out more about our life saving work bhf.org.uk Find out more Visit the BHF website to find out more about our life saving work bhf.org.uk 7

8 WAYS A COMMUNITY SPEAKER VOLUNTEER CAN HELP BHF Community Speaker Volunteers are at the heart of our work to save lives. 8

9 There are many ways you can help. You are the voice of the BHF in local communities and you help us reach more people than we ever could alone. Raise awareness in your local community As a community speaker volunteer you will represent the BHF by delivering talks to raise awareness in your local community of the importance of the work of the BHF and inspire others to get involved through fundraising, campaigning or volunteering. You will be acting as the face of the BHF in your local community. Look for opportunities in your local community We would like our speakers to promote and generate talks in their local community. By working with your Fundraising Manager to identify local people, groups and associations, schools or businesses you can help us reach more people in your community than we ever could alone. Engage with local supporters As a community speaker volunteer you may be asked by your Fundraising Manager to provide a talk for a school before they start to fundraise for us or you may attend to thank them afterwards whatever the support, it makes a difference. Represent the BHF As a speaker you may receive a donation for a talk you do or be asked to represent the BHF and collect a cheque at a post-fundraising event. You will help us to thank people for their support. This guide contains guidance you need about thanking, banking and handling cash. Find out more For more information contact your Fundraising Manager. 9

10 If it hadn t been for the work of the BHF we wouldn t have seen our son grow up into the healthy man he is now. We are so grateful for that we do all we can to give something back. Angela Green Speaker volunteer 10

11 HERE FOR YOU As a Community Speaker Volunteer you have lots of resources and a team of experienced and friendly people you can always call on for support your fellow members of the BHF fundraising team. 11

12 BHF are here to support you as a Community Speaker Volunteer. Your Fundraising Manager Your Fundraising Manager should be your first port of call for any specific queries. They can give you all the friendly help and guidance you need as a Community Speaker Volunteer so you can perform this truly important role to the best of your abilities. Fundraising Support Team The Fundraising Support team is there to make sure you have all the materials you need, such as printed posters. Get in touch by ing heretohelp@bhf.org.uk or calling Volunteer Fundraising Zone This is your go-to-place for all things BHF fundraising. It has a range of downloadable resources, from templates for posters and letters to guides and forms. Visit bhf.org.uk/vfzone Training We will provide you with a training session to prepare you for your role as a Community Speaker Volunteer. The training aims to: help you learn about your role and increase your knowledge and awareness of the BHF learn about your role as a speaker with the BHF highlight the guidance and support we will provide you to enable you to do your role confidently guide you to prepare and deliver a presentation that will make an impact and inspire others to get involved too. Materials and Resources We provide a range of resources and information to enable you to do your role effectively and deliver your talk with the correct BHF messaging and facts and figures. These include: Template presentations - BHF branded and with notes that you can use for your talks A range of leaflets which you can order to take along with you to support your talk A selection of merchandise available to order that you can use on the day BHF letterheaded paper - particularly useful when writing to offer talks or when thanking someone after a talk Posters and letter templates to help you generate opportunities for talks. 12

13 Keeping you connected to the BHF We will ensure you are kept well informed of news and updates from the BHF and we will update you on the impact of your support locally. As a volunteer speaker you will: Receive updates on the work of the BHF, the services we provide and progress in the field of heart research Have the opportunity to attend supporter conferences and meet other speakers from across the country. Find out more For more information contact your Fundraising Manager. To find out more visit bhf.org.uk/vfzone Valuing you We will provide appropriate support and resources relevant to your role as a community speaker volunteer and reimburse agreed out of pocket expenses incurred whilst carrying out activities on behalf of the BHF. We value your feedback and will ensure you are listened to and appropriate changes made where possible. 13

14 My name is Laura. I have a congenital heart defect and I have gone through major open-heart surgeries. I have had it since I was a baby.the BHF has been so helpful to me and a lot of other kids, because of the research they do. They do lots of research to help children and adults live longer and better lives. It means a lot to me. Laura Honeyman Heart Patient 14

15 GET IN ON THE ACTION! We want you to enjoy volunteering with us and we take our responsibilities towards you seriously. 15

16 As a volunteer you will be a representative of the BHF and we ask that you support the BHF in its work and carry out your volunteering role to the best of your ability. We ask you to: Attend training relevant to your role Keep your Fundraising Manager updated before and after a talk so we can support you and know how it s gone and identify if there are any opportunities to follow up. Share any problems immediately with your Fundraising Manager so we can make every reasonable effort to resolve them. Identify any opportunities to deliver talks locally and share these with your Fundraising Manager Keep up-to-date with BHF messaging by regularly checking our website and reading our monthly volunteer newsletter Enjoy yourself in your role. Delivering talks for BHF Your Fundraising Manager may receive a request for a speaker and will contact you to see if you can represent the BHF and deliver a talk locally. Along with delivering talks your Fundraising Manager will ask you to do, you would be helping us reach more people and open new doors for the BHF if you can network and generate new opportunities to deliver talks in your local community. The networking and awareness raising that you do could help foster many new opportunities and partnerships for many years to come. Here are a few tips for how to generate opportunities. Introduce yourself locally A direct approach about the work of the BHF from someone who lives in the area will often be much more successful. As a Community Speaker volunteer we encourage you to go into your local community and recommend yourself as someone who can speak about the work of the BHF. You can write to introduce yourself as a BHF volunteer and explain the speaker role and what you can offer. You could then follow up with a phone call a week later. Template letter and available 16

17 Get noticed Promotional posters are a great way to advertise opportunities to speak in your local community. You can display your posters at various places, including: Schools and colleges Community noticeboards in supermarkets, community centres or sports clubs Libraries Local council and voluntary organisations Template posters available Promotional opportunities Online promotion can be a very effective way of reaching people and raising awareness. You can utilise local council sites, community pages and local what s on pages to promote and generate talks too. Social media such as Twitter and Facebook is also a great way to engage and promote yourself as a BHF speaker and build up your contacts to approach for opportunities to do a talk. In the local media Using your local media is a cheap and easy way to promote the BHF and offer talks. Try to build up a good working relationship with your local papers to secure free ads. There may also be local newsletters where you could place a free ad too. Sharing success of a talk and photographs after a talk can be a great way to both thank people and also generate more talks too. Please ensure that you always get the consent of the school or youth group that will be featured before sending the story to the local media. Please discuss any media opportunities with your Fundraising Manager. Template thank you available Find out more To find out more visit bhf.org.uk/vfzone 17

18 KEEPING YOU SAFE AND LEGAL As a BHF Community Speaker Volunteeryou re representing the BHF in everything you do. your 18

19 As a Community Speaker Volunteer we ask you to be aware of some considerations and follow our guidelines to help keep the activity you do safe and legal. Keeping personal information safe You may handle information about other people whilst fundraising, most likely volunteers, donors and event participants. BHF is legally obliged to ensure care is taken where our supporters data is used, so it s important you take the same care when acting on our behalf. Proper handling of personal data shows we respect people s information, which fosters confidence in BHF. Mistakes could result in bad publicity, legal action or even fines. We ask that you only collect the information you need. Keep it safe, do not share it and only keep it for as long as you need. Handling cash with care It s likely you will handle cash at some stage in your role as a speaker volunteer. This may include collecting a cheque and it s important to follow our guidance when handling cash, to safeguard yourself and the money you raise. The key thing to know is that we ask you never to transport or store cash over 5,000. If you think you may collect this amount of cash at an event, please speak to your Fundraising Manager in advance so they can help arrange a secure collection service. If you have any questions regarding your fundraising and the law, please call us on We ll be more than happy to help out. To help you feel confident you are handling data in the right way please visit bhf.org.uk/vfzone or speak to your Fundraising Manger about best practice when handling data. 19

20 It s also important you know that your safety is our primary concern when volunteering for BHF, so if you were ever in the unfortunate position of being challenged whilst handling cash, we ask that you hand over the cash without resisting and report any theft or loss to the police within 24 hours of the incident, as well as informing your fundraising manager. In general, we ask you to follow these guidelines; Where you collect large amounts of cash, cash should be collected, counted, transported, banked and recorded by two unrelated individuals. Cash must never be left unattended at an eventand we encourage that at least two people should always stay with any cash. Cash should be stored in a secure (ideally locked) place until banked. Cash should be bagged and banked in suitable bags, and transported in bags that help disguise the cash (such as a shopper or carrier bag) Cash and cheques should be double counted and banked ideally the same day they are collected or at least within 2 working days. Cash and cheques should be banked using the BHF pay-in books provided. When receiving cheques or single large donations please give the individual, group or organisation a receipt for their donation from the official BHF receipt book we provide you. All money raised should be recorded on a BHF Remittance Form and sent to the Fundraising Support Team within 5 days of banking the money. If returning the form by post, enclose the paying-in book counterfoil. Within a week of receiving a donation, please send a thank you letter. You can use our template letter found on the Volunteer Fundraising Zone. 20

21 Representing the BHF As a Community Speaker volunteer you re the face of the BHF locally, representing our cause and mission to everyone you meet and talk to. And the materials you use are a very visual expression of this. When you re creating materials such as publicity posters or letters, we ask you to use the BHF templates. Using BHF templates helps ensure who we are comes across strongly and consistently whenever and wherever people see us, both locally and nationally. And that ultimately strengthens everything we re doing together. Good practice when volunteering with children As a community speaker volunteer, you may deliver talks to schools and youth organisations. The BHF is committed to providing the best safeguards for children and young people aged under 18 years old when they are involved in BHF fundraising activities. As part of their standard procedures, nurseries, schools and colleges will have policies to ensure that visitors are always accompanied whilst on their premises. As such, the school should never leave you alone with children. Safeguarding concerns our work with both children and adults. A few simple steps can help avoid potentially compromising situations, or opportunities for misunderstandings. To that end, the good practice information below should be followed when visiting nurseries, schools and colleges or other locations where children and young people are present. Always be public and open when working with children and young people. Always ensure a teacher is present when you are with children and young people. Avoid inappropriate language and subject matter. Where possible, check the content of a talk in advance with a teacher. 21

22 Be careful not to do or say something that could create a false impression or be misunderstood or interpreted as innuendo. Avoid showing favouritism or singling out individuals in any way. Be aware of individual needs and personalities, and never make derogatory or discouraging remarks. If a child is upset, ensure that it is school staff who provide comfort and support Contact with children or young people in or near school premises must only be made with the prior knowledge and approval of the Head Teacher or a member of the school s staff designated by the Head Teacher and according to processes agreed with them. Do not take any photographs or videos of a child or young person. Avoid using your mobile phone whilst on a school visit. Never give out your personal contact details to a child or young person. Never drive or walk a child or young person home. Never take a child or young person into your home. If you are unsure on anything related to the above please discuss this with your Fundraising Manager. Claiming expenses We really appreciate the time our volunteers give to help support our work. We re committed to ensuring that no volunteer is out of pocket because of expenses incurred whilst carrying out their role within the BHF. The BHF Volunteer Expenses Policy provides guidelines on what expenses can be claimed for and promotes a reimbursement procedure that is fair and consistent across the organisation. Please take the time to familiarise yourself with the policy. Please ask your Fundraising Manager for a copy of the policy. Find out more For more information contact your Fundraising Manager. To find out more visit bhf.org.uk/vzone 22

23 Know your Gift Aid Gift Aid is a fantastic scheme that allows charities to raise extra funds by reclaiming tax on donations made by UK taxpayers. If someone opts to Gift Aid their donation its value will increase by 25% at no extra cost to them or us. In other words, Gift Aid turns every 1 into For free. So you can see it pays to know about Gift Aid! To collect these donations on behalf of the BHF here s what you need to take on board: We can claim Gift Aid on personal donations made to the BHF if the donor is a UK taxpayer. We cannot claim Gift Aid on the proceeds of a cash collection or donations made from company accounts. To make a Gift Aid claim we must collect certain details about the donor (such as name and home address) and have a signed and dated legal declaration from them. If you collect donations it s important to use our Gift Aid donation form or envelope, as this will prompt the donor to give the details we need to make the claim. Please also send in any Gift Aid forms or envelopes at the same time you send in the donations to ensure we can claim the extra money. The Fundraising Support team will be happy to send you Gift Aid donation forms or envelopes. It s best to request them as you need them that way you will de nitely be using an up-to-date form that contains the correct legal declaration. heretohelp@bhf.org.uk for Gift Aid donation forms or envelopes. declaration. 23

24 I m Richard Elgar and my family is the centre of my life. But they could have lost me when I had a heart attack. I was just 36 and had no idea there was anything wrong with my heart. I m so grateful that research (that at the time I knew nothing about!) helped save my life, so I could go back home to my family. Richard Elgar Heart Patient 24

25 Frequently asked questions Q. Should I give medical advice? A. It is important not to give any medical advice to anyone in the audience. This is because the consequences for the individual who received this advice could be very serious and all medical advice must be given by a registered healthcare professional that has access to a patient s medical history. You may not always have access to the most up-to-date information and BHF could be sued for any advice given that was inappropriate or which had harmful consequences. You should always encourage people to seek help from their healthcare professional team. Always promote the Heart Helpline as another means of support Lines open 9am 5pm, Monday to Friday, or heretohelp@bhf.org.uk Q. Can we make changes to the presentation? A. It is important to use the BHF messages in the presentation as these are the most up to date. There is a section where you can add specific local statistics within the presentation, which will be provided by your Fundraising Manager. Please let your Fundraising Manager know if you change the presentation in any way. There is a section in the evaluation form for you to complete regarding changes that you have made. We are keen to have as much feedback as possible and appreciate you letting us know whether changes you have made have been successful or not. Q. Which publications should I keep a supply of? Where do we get these supplies from? A. Publications are available to download from: bhf.org.uk or order by post. You can also order by calling the BHF Orderline on , or ing orderline@bhf.org.uk 25

26 Q. What happens if I can t answer a question posed by the audience? A. Firstly do not panic, you can t be expected to know everything. Don t be afraid to admit that you don t know. Clarify that you have understood the question correctly. It may be that you can refer the person to an expert e.g. a healthcare professional or to BHF Alternatively you could take the main contacts details and get back to them with an answer at a later date. You can contact your Fundraising Manager for support if needed. Q. What should I do once I have given a talk? A. Your Fundraising Manager wants to hear from you so please let them what talks you have given. You will be asked to complete a feedback form after each talk. It s also a chance to hear how the material is working for you and if there is anything else that you need that BHF can help you with. Q. What should I do about expenses? A. Your Fundraising Manager will provide you with an Expenses Form and we will reimburse you for appropriate expenses incurred. Please contact your Fundraising Manager before you attend an event to discuss arrangements. Q. Should we expect a donation or payment for expenses? A. The main aim of giving talks is to raise awareness of the work of the BHF and the vital research we do and inspire others to get involved - you should not feel obliged to ask for a donation. Q. Do I need to have a DBS (Disclosure Barring Service) check to deliver talks to schools and youth organisations? A. As a Community Speaker volunteer you will always work alongside a member of the school / youth group staff, as a result they do not require a DBS check. Please refer to the Good Practice when volunteering with children guidance or more information. 26

27 For over 50 years our research has saved lives. We ve broken new ground, revolutionised treatments and transformed care. But heart and circulatory disease still kills one in four people in the UK. That s why we need you. With your support, your time, your donations, our research will beat heart disease for good. British Heart Foundation 2018, a registered charity in England and Wales (225971) and Scotland (SC039426) 27