Organisations that have completed training and provide additional support to volunteers can apply for the 'Supported Volunteering for Refugees and Asylum Seekers' badge.
This badge allows refugees and asylum seekers who are looking to volunteer to filter using the badge and more easily find your volunteering activities. It also demonstrates the extra lengths your organisation has gone to to ensure all volunteers are welcome and safe carrying out your activities.
Meeting the criteria
There are several criteria your organisation will need to meet before we can approve the badge to appear on your volunteering opportunities. Once you have achieved the badge, it can be applied to all opportunities you submit.
1. A suitable safeguarding policy
Please send us a link to the policy on your website or email us a copy.
2. A suitable Equality, Diversity and Inclusion policy
Send us a link to the policy on your website or email us a copy.
3. All staff at the applying organisation have been given some form of equality, diversity and inclusion training which includes refugee and asylum seeker awareness.
Send us evidence of raising awareness with your staff (and/or volunteers if applicable) around refugee and asylum seekers.
The training can be online or in person, short or in depth, formal or informal, your own or another provider’s.
The evidence can be any of the following: a clause in your Equality, Diversity & Inclusion policy, resources you used for delivering the training, a video link for a relevant training module, evidence for paying for training with an external provider, etc.
4. Reasonable meals and transport should be reimbursed or provided for volunteers
We do not require you to send us receipts of each reimbursement. Please send us an email to confirm that you have the budget to cover the refugees’ expenses as set above, should they be volunteering with you. Please note you should not send any specific financial details of your organisation beyond just your confirmation. Eg please do not send bank account details, budget information.
For good practice – you can include details of your offer to cover expenses, in the description of each vacancy that you advertise on Can Do Bristol and it’s suitable for refugees/asylum seekers. This will make it clear and more attractive to refugees/asylum seekers who look at volunteering.
5. In the volunteering activity page, please include details of extra benefits you may be able to provide, such as training and qualifications, interpretation, English tuition, childcare
If you can provide any of the above, you will need to add relevant information into the description of each vacancy that you advertise on Can Do Bristol and it’s suitable for refugees/asylum seekers. This will make it clear and more attractive to refugees/asylum seekers who look at volunteering.
The following resources have been put together to help you meet the above criteria:
Voscur resources for organisations on policies - if you need a steer to develop a policy on safeguarding or equality/diversity/inclusion
About BRASP - BRASP were part of the conversations to create the criteria for the badge and may be able to help with any inquiries.
Refugee and Asylum Seeker training - Bristol Refugee Rights - contact for details
Supporting Refugees training – Bridges for Communities – contact for details
Permission to work and volunteer.docx - Legal basis for refugees volunteering (and working)
Right to Remain - resources, training, workshops
Contact Refugee Action for support to organisations to recruit volunteers with experience of seeking asylum
Search | OpenLearn - Open University - free videos, articles, modules which you can select for raising awareness with your staff, about refugees/asylum seekers (use the search tool at the top)
Managed by Bristol City Council, you can direct queries or complaints to:
- Email: neighbourhoodsandcommunities@bristol.gov.uk
- Message the Community Resources profile on Can Do Bristol.
Last updated: December 2025