On this page
How volunteers with skills can help
Sample role templates to help you
Why join Reach to find volunteers?
Top tips for recruiting volunteers with skills
Need help with our service?
Other useful resources for charities
The current Covid-19 (coronavirus) crisis is presenting new challenges for many charities in areas like remote working, moving services online, financial planning and HR. We can help you find volunteers with expertise in all these areas and more.
Post an opportunity and we will share it with thousands of volunteers on our platform. We will also share your volunteer role across LinkedIn and other platforms. You can also search for volunteers’ profiles and encourage them to apply.
Our experienced team is also here to support you at every stage, from creating your role to searching for volunteers who match your needs.
How volunteers with skills can help
Our volunteers can help you with managing projects, guiding you through processes and mentoring, as well as lots of practical work like graphic and web site design. Have a quick search of our volunteers to see the range of skills and experience available.
Or read our stories and blogs to see just a few of the successes other charities have had using Reach.
Sample role templates to help you
Get started quickly on the Reach platform with our sample role templates.
Why join Reach to find volunteers?
Reach has a track record of connecting charities with highly skilled and professional volunteers. We have been supporting charities to find volunteers with skills for 40 years and have worked closely with users to develop our platform. We review all our volunteers to check they have three or more years professional experience.
We have thousands of experienced professionals in the Reach community right now, and we have seen a huge surge of volunteers joining because they want to help charities during the coronavirus outbreak. They may be working from home, or be furloughed with time on their hands.
Reach is featured on the UK Government volunteering web page, and has featured in recent press articles on volunteering (for example, The Guardian and The Times newspapers). Coupled with our long standing relationship with LinkedIn and other partners, this all means that new people with the skills to help join the platform every day.
Top tips for recruiting volunteers with skills
Keep it focused
It can be tempting to put everything into one role, but it is better to be specific. That way you avoid placing too much responsibility on one volunteer.
Remember volunteers are more likely to be specialised if they have worked in larger organisations. You can always split the work into two or more roles if necessary – this can help ensure that the volunteer has the right expertise for the task. It will also make your team more resilient.
‘Chunk it up’
Break the task into phases and recruit someone for the first phase.
This helps you think through the first steps, and you might find that your needs change once you have completed the first phase.
It can also be easier to recruit someone for a shorter project. Volunteers tend to prefer shorter assignments when they first join a charity. If you both agree, you can always extend later.
Be clear
Be as clear as possible about the outcome you want, what role you want the volunteer to play, and how long you think it will take.
If you are unsure, be clear about that too! You are the expert on your charity and your cause, the volunteer will be the expert in their profession. Treat prospective volunteers like partners and communicate clearly.
Need help with our service?
Need help joining the Reach community? Not sure how to use the service? Our team can help you. Email the team help@reachvolunteering.org.uk or call on 0203 925 7721.