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1. Support to young volunteers 

2. Community Building

3. Tackling societal challenges

Support to young volunteers

Organisations and associations can choose to reimburse incurred expenses or pay fees to voluntary unpaid work in associations/organisations and unpaid board/committee members. If the organisation reimburses incurred expenses, the reimbursement is tax free. The legal framework specifies what types of expenses the organisation can choose to cover, for instance:

1. Transportation in private car
2. Other travelling expenses
3. Additional expenses for meals in relation to one day arrangements for a minimum of five hours, such as sports competitions or matches played away from home (80 DKK pr. day)
4. Expenses for phone and internet (maximum 2450 DKK pr. year)
5. Expenses for administration, office supplies, postage, etc. (maximum 1 500 DKK pr. year)
6. Expenses for the acquisition, washing and maintenance of special clothing, for instance, sports clothing (maximum 2 050 DKK pr. year)
7. Alternatively, unpaid sports referees can be paid a tax-free allowance (250 DKK pr. match, maximum 500 DKK a day).

If the volunteer's fee exceeds the state tariffs, the compensation is taxable. Alternatively, organisations can reimburse disbursements on the basis of receipts from the volunteer.

Support for Young Volunteers

In Denmark, several initiatives and policies are in place to support volunteers, including young volunteers - particularly those facing fewer opportunities. These measures aim to reduce barriers to participation and enhance the volunteering experience. 

Organisations often cover costs incurred by volunteers, such as transportation, materials, and meals, to ensure financial barriers do not hinder participation (Frivilligcenter.dk).

Furthermore, there are specific rules and insurance schemes that ensure volunteers are covered in case of injuries during their voluntary work. This includes both personal injuries and damages they may cause while working.

Work Injury Insurance:
According to Danish law, volunteers are covered by work injury insurance, which ensures they receive compensation if they are involved in an accident while performing voluntary work. The work injury insurance covers injuries sustained during the execution of tasks that are part of their voluntary duties. This insurance covers both workplace accidents and long-term injuries that may arise in connection with the work.

Liability Insurance:
Voluntary organisations should have liability insurance, which covers any damage caused by volunteers to individuals or property during their work. This applies to situations where volunteers accidentally or negligently cause harm to others or damage property while working for the organisation.

Community Building

FriSe supports the country's 82 local volunteer centres, which are local hubs for volunteering. They bridge the gap between people and communities, creating strong foundations for local volunteer engagement.

The volunteer centres provide an overview and insight into local associations, services, and activities, while building the capacity of local associations and volunteer communities. They are well-acquainted with the municipality, associations, volunteers, and their communities, making them the core of the local civil society. A significant part of the work at FriSe is to promote participation and engagement in the local volunteer communities. Through various initiatives that support individuals' entry into local communities, FriSe works to remove barriers to participation and harness the potential that communities offer for our welfare, including tackling loneliness and poor well-being. 

Furthermore, FriSe supports 700+ local conversation groups, where FriSe creates spaces for equal, person-to-person meetings for those who need support.

Lastly, FriSe's online platform, Socialkompas, is a digital guide where citizens, their relatives, and frontline staff can find the communities, help, and support individuals need.

Together for Inclusive Communities

The "More People in Communities through Local Partnerships" project aims to break down barriers to participation in voluntary communities through five local partnership projects. These initiatives target individuals who are socially vulnerable or facing difficult life situations. The goal is to connect this group with local volunteer communities, improving their well-being, mental health, and reducing loneliness.

The five projects involve a diverse range of actors from the public, voluntary, and private sectors, collaborating to promote the participation of vulnerable citizens in volunteer communities. The project also seeks to generate knowledge and learning on how local partnerships can find joint solutions to social challenges.

The project runs from 2022 to 2028, with 31.5 million DKK allocated to develop a model for cross-sectoral local partnerships involving multiple actors. The project is overseen by the Danish Agency for Social and Housing Affairs (Social- og Boligstyrelsen), with process support from FriSe. The project is evaluated by VIVE and RUC.

There is no national initiative to support social cohesion and inclusion in cross-border mobility communities. 

Tackling societal challenges

National level initiatives have been established which can help improve and support young volunteers with fewer opportunities to engage in projects and volunteering in general.

In November 2021, the Danish Government and a majority of the Danish Parliament entered an agreement on a Civil Society Strategy for the years 2022-2025. The strategy will focus on enhanced cooperation with civil society in the development of the organisation of welfare. Through five local partnerships, a collaborative model is being tested for the purpose of increasing the participation of people in vulnerable positions in social communities, including volunteers. The local partnerships are made up of different civil society organisations as well as other relevant local actors, with the assignment of jointly finding local solutions to create more inclusive communities and contribute to solve societal challenges, such as loneliness.

Another measure is the ‘PUF Fund’ (Puljen for frivilligt socialt arbejde). It is a fund for voluntary social work for the benefit of socially disadvantaged people, through which the Minister of Social Affairs and Housing lends financial support to voluntary social organisations and societies.

National initiatives in Denmark concerning integration of refugees via the work of young volunteers primarily revolve around the Danish Refugee Council and Danish Red Cross and their youth organisations DFUNK and Red Cross Youth, respectively. In these organisations, young volunteers assist refugees of all ages with, among others, homework, finding a job, language training and cultural/systemic understanding of the Danish society.

FriSe participates in several projects with the primary aim of supporting young people facing challenges and at risk of marginalisation. This is exemplified through the Lift project in collaboration with the Mary Foundation and the Loneliness Project in partnership with the Velux Foundation. Both projects focus on addressing loneliness among young people and adults over 18 years of age in Denmark.