Young people’s prospects topped this autumn’s political agenda. Here’s how volunteer managers can design roles that build skills, confidence and purpose.

As UK hospices face a funding crisis and US payment reform gathers pace, here’s how to evidence the value of your hospice volunteer programme.

The NYC Marathon’s 50th five-borough race shows how volunteers power big events. Five practical lessons for organizers of races, festivals and fairs.

What charity trustees are responsible for when they involve volunteers: delegation, the risk register, safeguarding, insurance and serious incident reports.

Since 1 September 2026, supervision no longer takes work with children out of regulated activity. Oliver Jones of Verifile explains what changes for volunteers.

Elena Laguna on flexible volunteering: why micro-volunteering falls short as an add-on, and how to redesign volunteering around outcomes and real lives.

The 10 features that matter most in volunteer management software for charities, from scheduling and reporting to automation and responsible AI.

Many organisations struggle to recognise volunteers consistently. Learn how better systems make volunteer recognition simple, fair and automatic.

Giving volunteers control of their own shifts builds ownership, improves engagement and retention, and cuts admin for volunteer coordinators.

Why instant messaging gets faster replies and stronger engagement than email for volunteer programmes, without the risks of consumer apps like WhatsApp.

How charities can use AI support chats, organisation-specific training and automated insights to support volunteers better without burning out staff.

Traditional volunteer management systems focus on records. See how Volunteero uses automation, messaging and real-time support to engage volunteers.

US volunteer management conferences for 2027, with confirmed dates, locations and who each event is for, plus the regular conferences still to set dates.

Gwen James of the National Trust on volunteering and the law: avoiding employment relationships, health and safety, the Equality Act and job substitution.

Plug the gaps before you recruit volunteers: assess your programme, update policies, train staff, test onboarding and make an invitation people want to accept.

Ross McCulloch of Third Sector Lab gives a jargon-free look at how charities are using AI today and where the real opportunities are for small teams.

How Little Village made one-off volunteering work: simple roles, light onboarding, staff buy-in, promotion and what happened to the people who came.

How to use the Google Ad Grant to recruit volunteers: keyword buckets, ads people click, landing pages that convert and the rules that keep you eligible.

How volunteer managers can gain buy-in for volunteering: link it to strategy, build a vision, adapt to each stakeholder and focus on what you can influence.

How Marie Curie works with fundraising volunteers: the roles it uses, how it turns one-off collectors into regulars and where it would start again.

Practical ideas for TikTok videos that show what volunteering is really like and help your charity reach and recruit more volunteers.

How spent and unspent convictions work, what each DBS check shows, when you can ask, and how to welcome volunteers with criminal records fairly.

Volunteer management conferences in the UK and Ireland for late 2026 and 2027, with dates, locations and who each event is for, checked with organisers.

How to plan and handle difficult conversations with volunteers, from performance to organisational change, with practical tips from Jenny Whyte of Crisis.

Maria McEvoy on trauma-informed volunteer management: why it matters, the six principles in practice and how to support volunteers with lived experience.

How the Investing in Volunteers accreditation works, step by step, with tips on preparing for the assessment and its benefits from CHAS, seven-time achievers.

How Tasha, volunteer program manager at Oklahoma City Zoo, relaunched its volunteer program after the pandemic and grew it to 3,000 volunteers in 2023.

Ilana Green of Born Social on using social media and TikTok to recruit volunteers: what to post, how to make joining easy and how to start small.

How to write a volunteer strategy that helps you recruit, manage and retain volunteers: the key components and a step-by-step guide to creating yours.

How to run a volunteer survey that gets useful answers: common questions on satisfaction, skills, support and impact, and a step-by-step guide to creating one.

Keeping volunteers motivated can be a challenge. Practical strategies to understand what drives your volunteers and keep them engaged.

How to write a volunteer policy that sets clear expectations: what to include, from roles and recruitment to support and recognition, and how to review it.

How to recruit volunteers: understand what motivates them, write roles people want, find them where they spend time and keep them from day one.

What a volunteer CRM does, how it differs from a volunteer management platform, and which your charity needs to manage volunteers well.

What online volunteering is, the roles you can do from home, the benefits and challenges, and how to get started with online volunteering in the UK.

How to write a volunteer role advert that gets the right applicants: what to include, mistakes to avoid and where to publish, from our Lunch and Learn.

Voluntary work means giving your time to help others without pay. What it involves, formal and informal examples, the benefits and how to get started.

How Bay Volunteers engages younger volunteers through schools, colleges and universities, plus simple changes that help young people get involved fast.

Four active Facebook groups for volunteer managers and coordinators, each with useful resources and peer support for people working in different sectors.

Six quotes to inspire and motivate your volunteers, from Sherry Anderson, Mark Twain and others, with ideas for using them in thank yous and newsletters.

Do volunteers have employment rights? How UK law treats volunteers on pay, worker status, health and safety, discrimination, data protection and insurance.

How Young Lives vs Cancer runs micro-volunteering for fundraising: the roles that took off, the ones nobody chose, and getting people from sign-up to action.

What collaborative working is, why it matters for charities and volunteer teams, and how to bring people together to solve problems and share expertise.

Could a volunteer passport verify a volunteer's identity, experience and checks in one place? We look at whether the idea could become reality.

Christmas volunteers could become lifelong supporters. How to welcome them, stay in touch after the festive season and turn one-off helpers into regulars.

Volunteer burnout and fatigue are real. Practical ways to support volunteer wellbeing and build a healthy, happy volunteer team.

How to write a volunteer thank you letter that feels personal, with a sample letter to copy and adapt and short thank you messages for cards and emails.

Effective ways to train volunteers, from core modules and e-learning to measuring impact, so volunteers feel prepared, motivated and confident in their role.

Rob Avann on inclusive recruitment: getting the culture right, removing barriers from roles and processes, and practical ways to diversify your board.

How to include volunteering experience on your CV: where to put it, how to describe your roles and skills, and how to use it at every career stage.

From formal and informal volunteering to remote and skills-based roles, we explain the main types of volunteering and the difference each one makes.

Chris Wade on building communities of action: map your supporters, offer a ladder of participation and keep people involved for years, not just one role.

How Matt Smith set up Waffle, a community waffle house tackling loneliness: lessons for starting a charity, and how its volunteers spark conversations.

Ideas for giving back through volunteering, why it makes a difference to others and to you, and tips for finding the right opportunity.

Tips to improve volunteer recruitment from Catherine Rose: make roles worth applying for, fix the basics, advertise in the right places and remove barriers.

How to recognise volunteers, corporate and community: low-cost ideas, rewards that work and pitfalls to avoid, from our Lunch and Learn with Elaine McCulloch.

Free tech tools that help small and medium-sized charities create content and run social media without a dedicated social media manager.

How charities can find ambassadors, make quick social media content and reach Gen Z, with practical advice from Mathew Lewis-Carter and Luke Hodson.

Remote volunteering lets people support causes from anywhere. How it works in the UK, the roles available and how to get involved.

The 10 skills volunteering builds, from communication and time management to resilience, and how to show your volunteer skills on a CV and at interview.

A volunteer shares her experience of befriending people living with dementia, and why how you make someone feel stays with them.

Practical tips for befriending volunteers: getting to know the person you support, using technology to stay in touch and activities to enjoy together.

How charities can build corporate partnerships: what funders look for, how to approach a company, the value you can offer and getting volunteering right.

Panellists from St John Ambulance, Guide Dogs and Rob Jackson Consulting on volunteering trends, younger volunteers, risk and the recruitment drought.

Five practical ways to improve volunteer retention: respond quickly, get new volunteers started fast, show appreciation, build a network and act on feedback.

Interview questions to ask volunteers, with what each one tells you, tips for running the chat and advice for volunteers preparing to answer them.

What volunteer coordinators do, how to coordinate volunteer activities with ease, and the skills that make a great volunteer coordinator.

How to grow a corporate volunteer programme: plan and price team volunteer days, cut cancellations and turn days into partnerships, from our Lunch and Learn.

Our guide to volunteering: finding the right opportunity for your skills, making the most of your time and maximising the difference you make.

Volunteer burnout is on the rise. How technology can reduce the pressure on volunteers and help them keep giving their time sustainably.

Amanda-Jane Anderson on building a strong culture as a new charity leader: giving everyone a voice, leading for wellbeing and building trust.

How to start a volunteer program: define it, set goals, identify the volunteers you need, create roles and plan how you will recruit them.

Five practical tips for using social media to attract new volunteers: the right platforms, content that shows real volunteering, tagging and sharing.

A month into befriending with Age UK Northamptonshire, Debby shares how her first calls felt and what helped her support lonely clients.

How to manage volunteers well: the right roles, the right people and the right support, and why it differs from managing paid staff.

Sarah Swaysland volunteered for 100 days in a row. We hear what motivated her, what she experienced and what she learned along the way.

Three simple ways to get more volunteers: use social media well, ask your volunteers to bring a friend and partner with other charities in your area.

What a volunteer is, the main types of volunteering, the benefits for volunteers and communities, and how to start volunteering in your local area.

What DBS checks are, which level of check volunteer roles need, who pays and how long checks take, for organisations involving volunteers in England and Wales.

Debby, mother of Volunteero co-founder Ash, writes about taking her first steps as a befriending volunteer with Age UK Northamptonshire.

How Re-engage made volunteer management consistent and automated, so thousands of volunteers could act with confidence and staff time went further.

What youth work volunteering involves, the benefits for you and young people, and practical steps to become a youth work volunteer.

The main roles and responsibilities of a volunteer, with examples from fundraising and advocacy to mentoring and direct support, and what volunteers gain.

Microvolunteering means quick, flexible tasks volunteers can do in minutes, often online. What it is, how it works and how to offer it in your organisation.

The main reasons people volunteer, from giving back and finding purpose to learning skills and meeting people, and how volunteering benefits communities.