Organisation membership · concept

A sustainable model that still protects access.

Volunteers remain free. This proposal develops Reach’s existing principle of asking larger organisations to contribute into a modest annual membership based on organisation income.

Open to genuine social causes

No charity number? There is still a route in.

Grassroots groups can show their purpose, accountable contacts and activity or launch plan. Social enterprises explain ownership, public benefit and how surplus is used. Every organisation and every role faces the same protection against exploiting volunteers.

Eligibility first. Contribution second. A membership payment never buys verification, priority access or weaker checks.

Try the organisation & membership route
Evidence, automation and fair review

Supported official-register checks can reduce repeated administration. Groups without a registration number use alternative evidence. Missing records, private-benefit concerns and higher-risk roles go to a human reviewer, with reasons and an appeal route. No website or personal email address is an automatic exclusion.

Membership can be free, income-based or sponsored. Annual income can be evidenced by accounts or a proportionate self-declaration when no public record exists. Changes to purpose, ownership, roles or credible reports trigger reassessment. These are proposed rules, not a connected verification service.

Evolution, not a paywall

Keep the social mission. Make the income easier to plan.

Reach already keeps volunteering free and has used charging for parts of trustee recruitment for larger organisations. The concept below extends that principle into a simple annual contribution, while the smallest organisations remain free.

Current principle

Access first

Volunteers do not pay to participate, skills-based volunteering remains accessible, and larger organisations can be asked to contribute towards higher-cost services such as trustee recruitment.

Concept evolution

A proportionate annual membership

Instead of relying heavily on individual transactions or grants, organisations make a predictable contribution based on their income, with sponsored access available where even a small fee is genuinely unaffordable.

Illustrative pricing only

One national platform, shared proportionately.

These bands are a discussion model for trustees. They are not approved Reach prices and would need financial modelling and consultation before adoption.

Under £10k annual income
Free

Core access for the smallest charities and community groups.

  • Post volunteer and trustee opportunities
  • Manage applicants and messages
  • Standard organisation verification
£50k–£100k
£99/year

Simple annual membership for growing organisations.

  • Core platform access
  • Organisation insights
  • Reference workflow
£100k–£250k
£199/year

For established organisations using Reach regularly.

  • All core tools
  • Multiple active opportunities
  • Role performance reporting
£250k–£1m
£349/year

A proportionate contribution from larger organisations.

  • All core tools
  • Higher-volume recruitment
  • Enhanced reporting
£1m–£5m
£599/year

Higher-volume organisations support more of the infrastructure they use.

  • All core tools
  • High-volume use
  • Programme options where needed
£5m+
£999/year

A larger contribution from organisations with substantially greater resources.

  • All core tools
  • Higher-volume recruitment
  • Reporting and programme options
Major public / institutional
Bespoke

For complex multi-team, public-sector or strategic partner arrangements.

  • Agreed scope
  • Partner reporting
  • Integration options where justified

Concept pricing only. The exact thresholds, exemptions and benefits would be for Reach’s trustees to model and approve.

Why membership?

Your membership helps keep Reach available to charities and volunteers.

Predictable annual income can support hosting, security, accessibility, platform operations and continuous improvement, while reducing dependence on grants and one-off charges.

Sponsored access

No useful community group should disappear over a small fee.

A straightforward sponsored-access route could waive membership for organisations facing genuine hardship, funded by partners, employers or the wider membership pool.

A firm boundary

People give their time. They do not pay to participate.

Explore opportunities

Volunteer profiles, applications and the proposed experience-building pathway remain free to individuals. Employer programmes pay for infrastructure, programme support and outcomes, not for access to a pool of indefinite unpaid labour.