How to find skilled volunteers for your charity

According to research in 2022 from Pilotlight, maximising skills-based volunteering could generate up to £17 billion of value for UK charities. Almost 70% of UK employees think their employer should support them volunteering skills or knowledge to a charity and 56% believe it’s important for the UK to build a stronger culture of giving back by volunteering.

 

Great news for charities! But where can charities find people who are willing to volunteer their skills and expertise?

 

In this article we’ve put together a list of platforms and organisations where you can find skilled volunteers to help with everything and anything that you need to fulfil your mission – from building a website, to helping with a social media campaign, to finding trustees or helping you measure and articulate your impact.

 

The platforms are arranged into categories for national opportunities, local opportunities, and tech-specific opportunities.

 

 

National volunteering platforms

 

Media Trust has a volunteer platform where charities can post their comms/media/creative/tech opportunities for corporate volunteers to apply for. They offer Charity Challenge volunteer events where charities can spend up to a day with skilled volunteer professionals on a specific challenge.

 

Reach Volunteering has hundreds of skills-based volunteering opportunities created by charities and groups, covering everything from finance to PR to trustee roles.

 

Matchable Volunteering is an award-winning CSR platform that matches employees with innovative skilled volunteering projects, remotely. You need to be a charity that is contributing to at least one of the UN’s sustainable development goals to apply.

 

The Charity Mentoring Network is a community platform that connects organisations, staff, and volunteers together, so they can support one another and share knowledge and expertise through mentoring.

 

Pilotlight helps charities who are tackling pressing issues to harness the experience of business experts. They help individuals to apply their professional skills to those who need it and to grow their own skills at the same time.

 

Pro Bono Economics helps charities estimate their impact and value at a time when evidence of impact is demanded, budgets are reduced, and charities might lack the expertise to do it themselves. They do this by matching volunteer economists and analysts with charities to help them measure and articulate their impact.

 

Charterpath is a charity that inspires and connects more finance professionals to volunteer their time and skills to charities, schools and community groups.

 

Vinspired has skills-based volunteering opportunities posted by charities that cover everything from charity shop volunteers to home reading volunteers and gardening maintenance.

 

Do It offers charities the opportunity to promote volunteering opportunities for free. They have thousands of volunteering opportunities on their platform and over 750,00 people have volunteered their skills to date.

 

 

Local volunteering platforms

 

Link UP London offers a Skilled Volunteering programme which connects skilled professionals to social good organisations across London on meaningful, short-term projects.

 

The Social Society matches local businesses to local charities in London, Brighton, and Worthing needing their help. They run Festival Team Days where a team will help workshop a charity’s biggest challenges to make the most impact.

 

Match My Project is a platform that connects businesses with community organisations and residents to deliver social impact in local communities.

 

Make Good Grow matches passion with purpose, connecting businesses with charities in South Warwickshire.

 

Communities 1st runs Better Business, a project which is aimed at encouraging businesses to engage in the local community by providing support to charities across Hertsmere and St Albans.

 

Quartet Community Foundation’s ProHelp service connects skilled volunteers with local voluntary and community groups in the West of England, to share their skills, professional advice, and services.

 

 

Tech-specific volunteering platforms

 

The Scottish Tech Army are mobilising the UK’s tech talent for good. They work with Scottish charities to understand their technology problem and scope the solution, then bring in a volunteer team to help deliver it. Formed during COVID-19, they now have over 3,000 tech volunteers who have worked with more than 400 organisations.

 

Tech for Good Alliance was created by the Scottish Tech Army. They work with charities and tech volunteers across the UK. Their aim is to accelerate the development of the Tech for Good ecosystem in the UK.

 

How Might We Community unleashes the power of data, curiosity, AI, and human connection for social good. Their skilled data volunteering service deploys and develops industry data talent whilst transferring vital data skills into the Voluntary, Community, and Social Enterprise sector across the North East of England.

 

Digital Candle offers free one-hour advice calls for charities on anything digital-related. With over 500 experts available, simply fill in a form with your question and you’ll be matched with the right expert. This service is perfect for quick, technical questions or getting some external advice before embarking on a bigger digital project – for example, asking an expert to review a brief to tender for a new website build.

 

Tech to the Rescue is a global movement where tech innovators and nonprofits come together to tackle the world’s biggest challenges. They have over 1,500 tech innovators from more than 60 countries and have delivered over $7 million in value.