Center for frivilligt socialt arbejde

The Volunteer Centre in Denmark was established in 1992 on a national basis to promote and support the development of voluntary social work in Denmark.

Services and activities We offer a range of services to support volunteers and voluntary organisations in Denmark. Besides, our services are offered to the public authorities and others co-operating with volunteer organisations, and we provide information on voluntary social work for the public and the press.

Our services are:

Consultancy We offer our consultancy freely to volunteers and voluntary organisations. Our advisers answer questions concerning a variety of subjects, for instance: How to set up an organisation, the tasks and responsibilities of a committee, regulations, insurance and fundraising. Our advisers also answer specific questions such as: How do you recruit volunteers? How do you keep volunteers in your organisation? Is it possible to fire a volunteer? Can you do voluntary work if you receive welfare benefits?

Training and education Every year we arrange a series of courses for volunteers which deal with different subjects, for example co-operation, fundraising, personal resources, PR and management. In addition to the courses we arrange a series of seminars.

Development of organisations and networks We offer consultancy regarding development of your organisation or networking between different organisations. The aim is to provide the organisations with tools and methods to develop an attractive environment for volunteering. Among other things we focus on the organisation and management of voluntary work, on the motivation for volunteering and the possibilities for volunteers to learn and develop, for example through experience groups and network.

Also, our advisers offer assistance in developing co-operations and partnerships – either between organisations or between organisations and the public authorities. We help starting the process by creating dialogue, reflection and clarity of the role of the participants, their values and their standpoints. The purpose is to create knowledge of the conditions for an equal co-operation between the parties.

Conferences We arrange conferences about subjects of current interest for volunteers. An example is the December Conference that takes place every year and celebrates the international volunteer day on December 5th. At this conference volunteers meet with colleagues, researchers and others in order to discuss and share knowledge and experiences.

Knowledge of voluntary social work We gather and build up knowledge of voluntary social work and this knowledge is the foundation of the work we do. We communicate the information and knowledge through our consultancy and our courses, in pamphlets, books and reports.

We publish "Social Vejviser" a database with addresses and information about Danish voluntary social organisations. You find the database at our website http://www.frivillighed.dk.

The Centre The Volunteer Centre is an independent institution under the auspices of the Ministry of Welfare.

The Centre is located in the city of Odense and has 15 employees, who work with consultancy, courses, development of organisations and networks, models for co-operation between organisations and public authorities, analysis, projects, information and communication.

Contact If you are interested in further information, please feel free to surfe here at our website http://www.frivillighed.dk.

You are also welcome to call us. Our number is + 45 66 14 60 61, and the phones are open Monday to Thursday from 9 to 15 and Friday from 9 to 14.

If you need further information about the Centre and our activities, you are most welcome to contact us