On this page

1. National Programme for Youth Volunteering

2. Funding

3. Characteristics of youth volunteering

4. Support to young volunteers

5. Quality Assurance (QA)

6. Target groups

National Programme for Youth Volunteering

There is no youth volunteering programme at the national level.

Funding

Not applicable as Denmark has no national programme for youth volunteering

Characteristics of youth volunteering

Not applicable as Denmark has no national programme for youth volunteering

Support to young volunteers

Denmark does not have a national programme for young volunteers and there are no youth volunteering initiatives at national level. However, as described in section 2.1, national authorities fund a broad range of civil society organisations, including youth organisations. In this way, the national pools indirectly support young volunteers.

Quality Assurance (QA)

There is no national volunteering programme and therefore no national quality assurance system is available for young volunteers.

However, civil society organisations that receive funding through the national pools mentioned in section 2.1 are subject to monitoring by the agency, municipality or civil society organisation administering the pools.

According to Act on Non-formal General Adult Education (Folkeoplysningsloven, LBK nr 1115 af 31/08/2018), an organisation receiving funding must (list not exhaustive):

• Be democratic (i.e. with a board elected by its members)
• Have statutes
• Require a Child Protection Certificate from all volunteers/employed who are in contact with young persons under 15 years of age
• formulate a yearly activity report and a financial report that document the organisation’s compliance with the law

Furthermore, municipal councils monitor organisations’ compliance with the law:

• Municipal councils may require that organisations present all necessary documentation
• Municipal councils can claim that the partial or full grant is withdrawn or returned, if the organisation reports misleading information or do not comply with the law.

Act on Receipts from the national lottery and football pools (Udlodningsloven, LOV nr 1532 af 19/12/2017 )

The Danish Youth Council (DUF) administers a range of schemes financed by public pools. Each individual grant scheme has a mandatory set of regulations that the recipient of the fund must comply with. As a general requirement, youth organisations must hand in a financial report verified by an auditor, and DUF can claim that the partial or full grant is withdrawn or returned if the organisation do not comply with the regulations.

Operating aid is typically granted based on the number of organisation members. Applicants must hand in accounting reports that are verified by an auditor. Each year, a number of applicants are randomly selected for external check by DUF’s auditor. The auditor checks the organisations’ financial reports and other application materials and set up interviews with the respective organisations.

At the interview, the auditor scrutinises the organisation’s registration of members and the application. Furthermore, the auditor initiates a survey where members are asked to confirm their membership. The auditor’s final report is included in DUF’s administration of applications.

Project funding is based on a project description with information on target groups and objectives. The benefactor must return a financial and goal achievement account by the report deadline. If an organisation reports misleading information, the partial or full grant is withdrawn or returned if the organisation do not comply with the regulations.

Target groups

Not applicable as Denmark has no national programme for youth volunteering.