Rewards for young volunteers

More than a decade after Labour attempted to launch a card offering young people rewards for taking part in social action, the idea is being revisited.

The Youth Opportunity Card, which was backed with £28m of central government cash, was shelved in 2007 before pilots in 10 council areas were due to take place because of technological difficulties. It was designed to test whether giving spending power through money and discounts might encourage those 13- to 19-year-olds who do not engage in constructive activities to do so.

Now youth volunteering charity Vinspired has announced plans to run a reward card scheme - which will be called the Inspired Card - offering a range of discounts for shops, events and attractions, to young people aged between 14 and 30 across England.

Europe-wide discounts

It will also act as a European Youth Card as a result of Vinspired becoming the first licence holder in the UK for the initiative - it is running in 38 European countries already. Young people holding the card will be eligible for discounts across Europe including travel and accommodation. There will also be ubiquitous discounts for domestic offers, such as 30 per cent off study guides, and reduced entry to London attractions.

In addition, there will be "money can't buy" offers, including development opportunities such as work experience or masterclasses.

The card, which formally launches this month (June), will not be restricted to those taking part in volunteering. However, those involved in youth social action should benefit most from it and organisers say it will be a useful tool in engaging young people from more disadvantaged backgrounds to take part in volunteering (see box).

"The aim of the scheme is to reach young people who are not aware of volunteering or don't traditionally engage with it," says Rob Burley, director of strategy, public affairs and partnerships at Vinspired.

"We want to get the card into people's hands and get them on that journey. We are constantly seeking feedback from young people about what they want."

Young people will be encouraged to record their interests on their account, with offers potentially being tailored to their preferences and areas connected with volunteering activities they have taken part in.

It will not, for now, be a reward-based system where young people receive credits for social action they undertake and can exchange it for offers or opportunities, but there is a possibility that could follow in the future.

"It [the possibility of a credit system] depends whether young people tell us they want it and our partners want to develop it with us," says Burley.

"Initially, the first target is to reach 20,000 young people over the summer to show it is viable."

Leo Watson, public affairs manager at City Year, says that while he backs the initiative, he does not believe individual charities should be left to manage incentive schemes.

"It needs the government to step up and support those engaging in social action," he says.

Government backing needed

Watson says the forthcoming civil society strategy, would be the perfect opportunity for the government to commit to "game-changing" initiatives such as this. It has already said it wants the strategy to, among other things, support young people to play an active role in building a stronger society, but the scope and ambition of it is unclear.

"If you look at what other nations around the world have done - in the US, France and Germany for example - there are government-backed programmes to do this kind of work in the environment, health, and social care [sectors]," says Watson.

"They match-fund charities doing full-time social action. There are discount cards on a national scale and free bus travel. Those who undertake it get money off their tuition fees and can reduce existing debts.

"For a real game-changing initiative there needs to be a lot of government backing. There has to be a new deal for volunteers - a new coherent vision that the government is going to back."

Watson says City Year has previously commissioned a report by Pro Bono Economics which found that if the scheme offered money off tuition fees, it could get more back than it cost.

That report, published in November 2017, found that annual total net benefits of a full-time volunteer programme for young people to the UK economy could be up to £2.60 for every £1 spent.

Emma Thomas-Handcock, director of delivery at Volunteering Matters, also says she will encourage her volunteers to sign up for it and access the benefits.

"I do remember the Youth Opportunity Card and being quite in favour of it at the time," she says. "The difference now is that the technology has progressed a lot in terms of being able to match young people with volunteering opportunities. We are looking to do a similar thing through an online mentoring platform."

FALL IN YOUTH VOLUNTEERING

Recent research shows that the gap in the amount of volunteering undertaken by the most and least affluent children and young people has grown over the past year.

The #iwill campaign's annual survey of youth social action, found that in 2017 32 per cent of young people from the most disadvantaged backgrounds participated in volunteering, a drop of eight per cent from the year before and back to the level recorded in 2014.

By comparison, 51 per cent of young people from the most affluent backgrounds took part in youth social action in 2017, two per cent up on the year before.