Blog

vHelp is starting to work with Clinical Research Organizations (CROs) and the team understands the complexities involved in reimbursing clinical trial participants. Efficient participant payment systems are crucial for ensuring smooth operations and maintaining patient satisfaction. Here are three critical points CROs should consider when selecting a participant payment solution.

 It’s generally considered good practice for charities to cover reasonable expenses incurred by volunteers. This can include costs for travel, meals, and other expenses directly related to their volunteer work. Reimbursing volunteers for expenses helps ensure that financial barriers don’t prevent people from contributing their time and skills to charitable causes. It also demonstrates appreciation for volunteers efforts and can encourage ongoing engagement and retention. 

While volunteering doesn’t guarantee a job, it can significantly enhance a person’s chances of securing employment by providing valuable experiences, skills, and networking opportunities that make them more competitive in the job market.

I’m sure most of you have now read the Time Well Spent 2023 report by NCVO which was published back in June. I’ve only had the chance to digest it properly in the last week or so.   

As some of you know vHelp was born during the first lockdown in 2020, when we first came across the fact that there was no system out there helping charities pay volunteers expenses quickly and securely.  Back then we were completely new to the third sector and loved navigating our way around and observing the sector’s growth.  

I’m a big fan of Steven Bartlett, the young dragon on Dragon’s den. I was a fan and a follower way before he shot to fame.  I started reading his book Sexy, Happy Millionaire and it gave me the idea for this blog. 

The new year has brought us many new queries from organisations asking how to set up vHelp. This is great because its shows that organisations are taking the current climate into consideration and focusing on reimbursing their volunteers’ expenses quickly. 

Volunteers are the backbone of our society. They proved themselves repeatedly, with the pandemic being clear evidence of the value volunteers add. 

Technology has changed the way we live our lives in many ways, including the way we donate to charity and volunteer. This change was accelerated by the Covid pandemic.

We noticed that many charities we talk to don’t include technology costs when applying for grants, even though these costs are fully justifiable and essential for the charity to serve its cause.