Building a global climate campaign with skills-based volunteers

Bank.Green is a climate advocacy organisation working to draw attention to how global banks finance fossil fuel expansion, and to help people take practical action by switching to banks that support a more sustainable future. 

Founded in 2021 on Earth Day, the organisation has grown into a global campaign supported by volunteers. From analysing banks’ lending practices to building digital tools and amplifying the green banking message online, volunteers are central to how Bank.Green operates. 

Executive Director Zak Gottlieb says that platforms like Reach have helped the organisation bring together the skilled people needed to make that work possible. 

“Bank.Green is entirely volunteer-driven, so volunteers are really the lifeblood of our organisation. They contribute across all areas of our work - from analysing bank lending data to running our social media, maintaining our website and even helping recruit and onboard other volunteers. 

“Reach has been extremely helpful in building those teams. The platform is very user-friendly and well-known, so when we post a role we know it will attract attention and bring in strong candidates. One of the things I really value is that the volunteers come with established professional experience. That means they’re able to step in quickly and make a meaningful contribution. 

“We’ve recruited people through Reach for our social media team, graphic design, software development and our People team - the group responsible for recruiting and onboarding other volunteers. These are critical functions for a small organisation like ours. 

“Volunteer-led organisations can be challenging to run, especially when people are working remotely and contributing alongside their other commitments. Having access to a platform that consistently brings high-quality applicants makes a huge difference. It means you’re much more likely to find people who take the commitment seriously and stay involved long enough to make a real impact. 

“Without volunteers - and the platforms that help us find them - we simply wouldn’t be able to operate at the level we do today. Our communications would reach fewer people, our website would develop more slowly and ultimately our impact would be smaller. Recruiting skills-based volunteers through Reach allows us to focus more of our time on strategy and growing the movement.” 

Find out more about Bank.Green.