How Reach works for volunteers

To apply for trustee and volunteer roles through Reach, you’ll need to be based in the UK and have at least three years’ experience in one of our skill areas.

There are thousands of volunteer roles across the UK in a range of skills areas and causes, and these change all the time. If you would like to become a volunteer, why not join our community! Here is more information about how the Reach platform works for volunteers.

How do I apply for a volunteering opportunity?

Our services are always free to volunteers, and there are two ways in which volunteers can apply for roles:

Create a volunteer profile

Create your volunteer profile, which involves writing a bit about yourself, your interests and availability for volunteering. We will also ask you to provide either a CV or link to your LinkedIn profile. We’ll use these to check that you meet our criteria for volunteers
You can choose to make your profile public, or for organisations to see it only once you have applied to a role. Read more about how to manage the privacy of your volunteer profile.
Once your profile has been approved, search the Reach platform for opportunities and find an amazing cause that needs your skills!

Use your dashboard to:

Apply for a volunteer/trustee role or message organisations with any questions.
Respond to messages from prospective charities who have contacted you with their opportunities
Talk to the organisation about what you are looking for and what you can offer.

If you do not want to create a volunteer profile, you can apply for up to 5 opportunities with a guest membership.

Apply as a guest

Click the Apply button on the opportunity, then choose to apply with a guest account.
You will be taken through to a quick form, where you can share some information about yourself and your work history, and apply for the opportunity you're interested in.
We’ll review your application and work history to make sure you meet our criteria and the essential requirements for the role
Once we’ve approved your application, it will be sent through to the organisation. You'll be able to manage your applications and talk to the organisation searching for a volunteer through your dashboard.
Your guest account will expire after 30 days, or once you have applied for 5 roles. You’ll still be able to manage any applications you’ve made, and talk to organisations you’ve applied to. If you would like to continue to apply for roles via the Reach platform you’ll be able to create a full volunteer profile.

I am not sure if I meet Reach’s criteria for volunteers, what shall I do?

If you would like to sign up with Reach, but you are not sure whether you meet our criteria, we would encourage you to take a look at our guidance, including how and why we review volunteers, which outlines our process in detail.

If you are still not sure, our best advice would be to submit a registration for our review anyway, so that our team can review your profile in full, and make the most informed decision possible. If we cannot register you with us at the moment, we will always provide you with alternative websites and routes into volunteering.

Will my information be kept private?

We take data protection very seriously. The information you provide to set up your account will never be shared, and we will never pass on your contact details with a third party without checking with you first. You can choose to make your profile public, or keep it hidden in your dashboard. If you’ve uploaded your CV and it includes your contact details, please bear this in mind when deciding whether to share your profile, either publicly or with a specific organisation. You’re welcome to provide a CV without contact details if you like. Click here for more information on managing the privacy of your profile, and here for a copy of our privacy policy.

I found a volunteer opportunity on LinkedIn, why am I being asked to sign up with Reach?

We have a partnership with LinkedIn that means that many roles posted to Reach are shared there too. If you’ve come to us from LinkedIn, that means the organisation is promoting their role through Reach. If you would like to find out more about Reach, please do explore the site. Read more about Reach here.