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TimeBank Fact Sheet

Who We Are

TimeBank is a national charity that:

• aims to inspire a new generation of people to volunteer in their communities
• enables charitable organisations and businesses to develop effective volunteer programmes.

TimeBank makes volunteering easier and more attractive by:

• creating new ways for people to get involved
• connecting people and organisations to each other
• transforming the image of volunteering to reflect its vital role in a healthy society and the dynamic affect it can have on the lives of volunteers.

Conceived by the founders of Comic Relief and launched in February 2000, TimeBank:

• raises awareness of the importance and benefits of giving time
• removes barriers to volunteering
• improves the recruitment and retention of volunteers
• invents new approaches to volunteering that energise people of all ages.

What we do

TimeBank provides support, inspiration and professional services to:

• Volunteers – TimeBank matches the interests and skills of individuals with volunteer opportunities locally, nationally and internationally. We also care for volunteers with information, advice and ongoing support that helps them make the most of their experience.
• Charitable and public sector organisations – TimeBank develops and administers innovative volunteer recruitment programmes and shares best practices to improve the effectiveness of the voluntary sector. Primarily, we focus on supporting the network of more than 400 Volunteer Centres ( TimePartners) across the country by recruiting volunteers for local projects, providing technical support, inspiring them with new ideas and materials. We also partner with a wide variety of charitable and public sector organisations on specific targeted volunteer recruitment campaigns (e.g., London 2012, Help the Hospices, and Samaritans).
• Businesses – TimeBank works with some of the most recognised companies in the UK to plan and promote volunteering, resulting in thousands of new people volunteering in their communities and a better brand image for our business partners.

Our professional services

• Conducting marketing and communications campaigns
• Garnering media exposure for volunteering and volunteer campaigns
• Harnessing IT and web technology to make campaigns more effective
• Providing unmatched customer care to volunteers
• Delivering full-scale project development and management
• Supporting ongoing market research into relations between the voluntary sector, the media and the public

How TimeBank is making a difference

TimeBank has attracted more than 220,000 people in the UK into volunteering since our inception five years ago. We have achieved this by supporting our TimePartners across the country, and through targeted volunteer recruitment campaigns for charitable and public sector organisations and businesses. For example:

• the “What if…” campaign for Crime Concern recruited a record number of people to their mentoring project
• Help the Hospices ‘13 Days’ campaign inspired more than 1500 people to inquire about how to volunteer with a hospice; 73 percent of them were under age 35
• our ‘Extreme Listening’ campaign for Samaritans led to the recruitment of more than 1000 young people in only three months
• the (External) ‘ Perk up your Life’ campaign, created in partnership with Starbucks, was seen by up to 1 million Starbucks customers each week; during the first month of the promotion, 1000 people registered to give time.
• the (External) London 2012 ‘Volunteer to Win’ campaign led to: 60,000 people registering to volunteer; more than 150 grassroots organisations registering their interest in accessing volunteers through the scheme; media attention from BBC Breakfast TV, Evening Standard, Metro and other local London papers; 42 community activities taking place in London as a result of a grants scheme and competition.

Some facts about TimeBank volunteers

• 80% had not given time before registering with TimeBank
• 33% were aged 26–34
• 23% were aged 18–25
• 87% were under age 50

How did they rate their TimeBank experience?

• 95% found it easy to sign up with TimeBank
• 33% are currently volunteering
• 96% of those who have started volunteering are satisfied with their experience
• 77% said they would definitely continue volunteering
• 76% said that the information they received from TimeBank made it more likely that they would volunteer in the future

Other facts about and opinions from TimeBank volunteers:

• 26% volunteer to develop their skills and get work experience
• 75% would volunteer if they were given the time to do so through an employee volunteering scheme
• 27% said volunteering had helped them get their first job or change career direction
• 32% used the internet to find out about volunteering
• 22% would like to see more promotion of volunteering in the media

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