Skills-based volunteering
Post a volunteer opportunity
Recruit for a short project or an ongoing role, with skills, cause, location and time commitment clearly described.
Create an opportunity
For charities & community organisations
Find the skills your organisation needs.
Keep the familiar Reach routes for recruiting skilled volunteers and trustees, then make the workflow clearer, more self-service and easier to administer.
Core Reach service
Recruit volunteers and trustees in one place.
The proposal keeps Reach's existing strength: charities describe what they need, search people by skills and invite suitable volunteers to apply.
Governance
Recruit a trustee
Keep trustee recruitment as a specialist Reach journey, with proactive candidate search and support where organisations need it.
Start trustee recruitment
Candidate search
Find and invite people
Search volunteer profiles by expertise and interests, save promising people and invite them into a relevant opportunity.
Search peopleProposed organisation workspace
One clear journey from posting to placement.
Routine administration should happen around the organisation rather than requiring staff to learn a complex back office.
What an organisation can do
Post rolesSearch peopleInvite candidatesMessage applicantsTrack placementsIssue references
The visible workflow stays simple. Expiry dates, reminders, status changes and routine notifications happen automatically in the background.
Offer a Build Experience project.
Organisations could opt into a supported-project format that records skills used, completion evidence and a reference for the participant.
Verification concept
Automate the routine checks. Keep judgement human.
Verification can be faster without pretending every organisation fits neatly into the same database.
Registered organisations
Charity Commission lookup Automatic
Companies House where relevant Automatic
Contact domain / email match Automatic
Safeguarding exceptionsHuman review
Community groups
Responsible personReview route
ID verificationReview route
Website or domainEvidence
Constitution / community historyEvidence
Concept workflow only. Safeguarding, complaints and unusual cases remain human-governed.
See the full verification flowGreen cases can pass automatically; only exceptions need staff time.
Response accountability
Volunteers give their time freely. Their time deserves a response.
Friendly prompts help organisations stay on top of applicants, while response information gives volunteers a clearer idea of what to expect.
Response rate94%Excellent
Average response2.4 daysLast 90 days
Waiting over 7 days0Up to date
7 daysHelpful reminder with quick-response actions.
14 daysOutstanding applications are surfaced more prominently on the dashboard.
21 daysPrompt to respond, pause the role or confirm recruitment is still active.
RepeatedPosting can be temporarily limited until an applicant backlog is resolved.
Accessible opportunity standard
Tell people what a role is actually like before they apply.
Accessibility should be part of the opportunity template, not an awkward conversation after somebody has already committed time and emotion.
Physical environment
Step-free access, accessible toilet, parking, travel, standing/lifting and whether a PA or carer can attend.
Sensory environment
Noise, lighting, crowds, quiet-room availability, fragrance and remote alternatives.
Communication
Written briefs, captions, BSL/interpreter options, camera expectations and accessible documents.
Time & energy
Flexible breaks, shorter sessions, variable capacity, async options and realistic weekly commitment.
Adjustments contact
Name the person who can agree practical adjustments before or after an application.
Publish access details
Completed information becomes searchable badges on the opportunity and organisation profile.
Digital Capacity Programme · concept
Help organisations fix the digital problems around the volunteering problem.
Some charities need more than a volunteer listing. Reach could connect them to practical digital support without turning the marketplace into an Inkfire sales funnel.
Possible support routes
Website health checkAccessibility reviewSecurity & backupsCRM / toolingSkilled digital volunteersSponsored professional support
Organisations could be matched to volunteers, approved suppliers or funded support depending on what they actually need.
Buying technology services never changes marketplace access.
Inkfire could be one approved technical supplier, but purchasing Inkfire services must never improve search ranking, volunteer access or verification status.
Sustainability concept
Keep access proportionate to organisation size.
A modest annual membership could protect free access for the smallest groups while larger organisations contribute more to the platform they use. Sponsored access remains available where needed.
2,440 organisations worked with Reach in 2025.Reach’s published historical impact.
Read the 2025 impact report