If we want to be heard we must be prepared do it ourselves

There has been a bit of talk on Twitter and on here recently about the need for the voluntary and community sector to have a strong and independent voice. Some have been critical of our representative bodies for not speaking out against government policy loudly enough and others feel we have no voice at all on some of the most important issues and decisions that affect our work.

I'm of the opinion that relying on just a few bodies or people to speak for everyone is highly unlikely to succeed. Indeed those that are primarily funded by government will always find their hands tied, to a bigger or lesser degree, when it comes to challenging the status quo. Government can be and often is petty and vengeful when responding to perceived criticism from those it directly funds. I recall a very recent example of a national CEO who spoke out against a government scheme in which they were taking part. They had their wrists very soundly slapped accompanied by veiled threats of funding withdrawal by the Minister in charge. It's not nice but it does happen.

Regardless of whether we like it or not those that fund us feel they own a part of our soul and this will always make it harder to challenge them when the need arises, especially when the funding concerned is to help us have an effective voice for the voluntary sector or volunteering. I speak from both sides of the fence here. On the one side, as a former government grant maker, I took great exception when people like the Great Dame criticised us in the media having just received a hefty grant payment and I can't deny that it affected future grant making decisions. And on the other side, a recent experience of being funded by another charity where I lost count of the amount of threats to withdraw funding if we didn't do as we were told.

Of course not all government funded voluntary agencies are shrinking violets when it comes to challenging the establishment. I miss Dame Elisabeth Hoodless, the former CEO of CSV, for that very reason and Stephen Bubb at ACEVO is known to take no prisoners. But one person's opinion will always struggle to be truly representative and can all too often be self serving.

So what am I getting at? I recall @robjackson74 saying a while back that if we wanted to have a truly effective voice for volunteering then we need to be prepared to fund it. I could'nt agree more. Of course not all will be able to pay and organisations like the Association of Volunteer Managers won't suit everyone, no matter how great a job they do. But the principle of enabling and sustaining our own independent voice free from government control is something we should and indeed can all aspire to.

Even if you have don't have two proverbial organisational pennies to rub together, the chances are you'll have some access to the internet. From there you can comment on articles in Third Sector and the AVM website, rant on Twitter, blog here on i-volunteer or lobby your MP via 38 Degrees - the choices of places to be heard are huge. And if you're shy or worried about upsetting your boss you can be as anonymous as you need to be.

The fact is social media and the web has made it possible for everyone to have a voice regardless of who they are or what they do. We may need to co-ordinate or get organised but the fact remains that collectively we are a voice that is very hard to ignore.

So now there really is no excuse not to be heard - we just need to take the plunge and go for it.