Charities Newsletter
Issue 6

A cautionary message for volunteers and charities from iT4C.

iT4C volunteers agree to offer their efforts for free (apart from pre-agreed expenses) but some also have businesses which could offer products and services.

If you, as a charity, are offered products or services by a volunteer then be aware of these guidelines and refer any case of apparent conflict of interest to iT4C. We are told about such conflicts of interest occasionally and we will exclude volunteers who behave in this way but we only act on very clear evidence and this has to come from you, the charities. If you feel you are being badgered or pressed towards a specific solution then discuss it with us and we will help.

If you, as volunteer, offer services or products, even at cost-only then you create the suspicion that you are employing iT4C as a business channel - so don't do this. If you obtain products or services from third parties on behalf of a charity then you should not be the supplier of these products or services or have any close relationship with the supplier. Minor exceptions might, for example, include a network problem where a volunteer discovers that the network card in a PC is faulty and the charity says "Can you get us a replacement? We wouldn't know what to ask for" and the volunteer buys one through his own company, getting a better price than PC World and charging the charity at cost. But in any case of doubt charities should get in touch with iT4C confidentially and volunteers should expect them to do so - and not necessarily to be told this is happening.

If you want to offer services then register with the ICT Hub Suppliers Directory. If you provide advice about services or products then you need to state any personal interest up-front so that charities know that you have such an interest before they accept you as an iT4C volunteer.

We will periodically contact all volunteers who request large numbers of contact details. Please bear with us on this. The probity of the pro bono relationship between volunteer and charity is very important to all of us and iT4C will always strive to preserve it while keeping "checking up" to a minimum.

John I. Davies
iT4Communities Programme Director