How to make volunteering inclusive

Download the full white paper 

Around 5.6 million people in the UK volunteered in 2024, according to the 2025 UK Giving Report. However, this figure has declined by 1.5 million since 2023, making it the lowest amount recorded since 2016. 

This volunteering decline is a considerable challenge for charities who face uncertain finances at a time of rising service demand. To prevent further drop off in 2025, it is important that charities get to the heart of what has caused it, and find new ways of engaging volunteers who can continue delivering impact for the communities they serve. 

Charities should start by looking inward. Analysing their own data can help them understand what might be preventing their volunteers from participating and who might be at risk of being lost from the volunteer workforce. For example, while the UK Giving report noted that that there was a decline in volunteering across all demographics, women were dropping out at nearly twice the rate of men. This requires investigation. 

Attracting, managing, and retaining volunteers does not demand a one-size-fits-all approach. It is essential that volunteering programs are designed with inclusion in mind, to enable as many people as possible to support a cause they care about, with consideration given to their needs and demands on their time.  

To help charities in this aim, volunteer management experts Rosterfy have developed a practical white paper, “Inclusive volunteering: How technology and data strengthen diversity”.   

The white paper offers guidance on how charities can use volunteer management software to improve their volunteering, sharing the key diversity metrics charities should track and how they can address organisational barriers to become a more welcoming prospect for volunteers. While data analysis can be a challenge for many charities, volunteer management software, such as Rosterfy, makes it easier to shape volunteering programs that are representative of the communities they serve.  

Below, we explore just three of the barriers Rosterfy highlights in its white paper and, crucially, how charities can overcome them.  

Download the full white paper 

What barriers do volunteers face? 

Accessibility 

Traditional volunteering opportunities often rely on in-person physical activity. This makes participation more daunting for volunteers with disabilities, mobility concerns, or lack of access to transportation.  

Charities should consider how they can make volunteering more accessible by identifying what is necessary for their various roles and how they can be adapted for people with different needs. Consider areas where volunteers can participate remotely or where transport can be provided or funded. Ensure physical locations are accessible and provide tools and technology to support volunteers with disabilities.  

Communication is also key. People may be put off from volunteering from the outset if they don’t feel they can participate. Communicate roles and expectations clearly, simplify the sign-up process, and reach out widely, both to those in your local area and elsewhere if there are remote roles available. Posting about volunteering programs via social media and your website are excellent ways to make volunteering more inclusive in the long-run. 

Timing 

Time is what volunteers give to charities generously. However, time is also a limited resource. Family commitments, work, caregiving, and general life admin tends to get in the way, reducing a person’s capacity to volunteer.  

The solution to this is offering flexibility. Create evening and weekend roles. Create roles that require a short-term commitment, like those working on specific projects. Rosterfy recommends introducing “micro-volunteering opportunities”, inviting volunteers to complete small tasks at their own convenience. 

The white paper also highlights the importance of transparent scheduling, which helps charities and volunteers understand which roles need to be filled and when. This is also helpful for charities in showing them if a volunteer is taking on fewer shifts than usual – it may be a case of reaching out to them proactively with more flexible options to prevent them from lapsing completely.  

Unconscious bias 

A big issue that charities face when recruiting for volunteers is that they reach out to the same pool of engaged supporters each time, failing to open up opportunities more widely to others who might be interested. As Rosterfy points out, this leads to unconscious bias, where volunteer programs are more tailored to the needs of one demographic over another, resulting in “homogenous volunteer bases”. 

The issue is further compounded by lack of or incomplete volunteer data. As the results of the UK Giving Report highlighted, if different demographic groups are lapsing as volunteers, perhaps tailored adaptations need to be made to make it easier for them. But, Rosterfy asserts, without accurate demographic data, charities cannot “assess representation, identify gaps, and measure the effectiveness of [Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion] initiatives.” Thus their volunteering programs remain exclusive.  

Many charities are using volunteer management software to track diversity data and identify gaps, including London Youth Games (LYG). LYG, which creates life-changing opportunities for more than 180,000 young people across London using the power of sport, aims to create an inclusive volunteer base that reflects the diversity of its participants through its GamesForce programme. Using their volunteer management software provided by Rosterfy, the charity has been able to analyse real-time reports to discover how they can address representation gaps and improve their outreach. In 2024, the charity recruited more than 900 volunteers, experienced a 23% increase in GamesForce volunteers, the number of young leaders with disabilities grew by 14%. 

Making volunteering inclusive is not a finite process, nor one that charities can opt out of. It is an ethical responsibility, but also one that amplifies the impact that charities can have on their cause. And the wins keep coming. A diverse volunteer base encourages broader participation, says Rosterfy, while fostering innovation and strengthening community engagement.  

“By embedding DEI principles into volunteer programme design and utilising technology,” says Rosterfy, “organisations can ensure their volunteer programmes are inclusive, accessible, and reflective of the diverse communities they support.” 

To find out more about how to make your volunteering programs more inclusive, download the full white paper from Rosterfy below.