Volunteer Management Conference 2026: Recruiting, Retaining and Engaging Volunteers
Past and Present Supporters Include
Overview
Charity organisations are facing growing pressure from financial strain and ongoing difficulties recruiting and retaining volunteers. Voluntary and community organisations are being challenged to create more inclusive and adaptable volunteering opportunities that reflect changing lifestyles and community needs. As the sector continues to evolve, developing approaches to support volunteer engagement will be critical to developing resilient organisations and communities.
Agenda
Registration
Chair’s Opening Remarks
Keynote: Navigating the Future of Volunteering: Challenges and Opportunity in the Charity Sector
- Exploring how volunteer managers can respond to rising demand for services, funding pressures and increasing competition for volunteer time across the sector
- Considering the changing volunteer expectations, including the growing demand for flexible opportunities to attract and retain a diverse group of volunteers
- Supporting inclusive volunteering practices by addressing barriers around accessibility and culture
- Identifying opportunities for volunteer engagement through community engagement and emerging technologies
Shaun Delaney, Head of Volunteering Strategy, Department of Culture, Media and Sport (invited)
Keynote: Strategies for Developing and Implementing Policies to Support Volunteers
- Strategic recommendations for designing volunteer policies that empower volunteers as central to the charity’s mission
- Utilising a broad range of avenues to recruit potential volunteers to support your team
- Creating a feedback system for volunteers to create a positive work environment
- Providing onboarding processes and adequate training for volunteers to maintain engagement and reduce early drop-outs
Ruth Buchanan, Chair, Association of Volunteer Managers (CONFIRMED)
Questions and Answers
Comfort Break
Keynote: Improving Volunteer Recruitment and Retention Strategies
- Discussing why volunteers disengage during the recruitment process and identifying where organisations lose potential applicants
- Adapting recruitment models to reflect the growth of informal and skills-based volunteering opportunities across the sector
- Designing clearer and more purposeful volunteer roles that improve recruitment and support longer-term retention
- Building volunteer programmes that support flexibility and impact to create stronger volunteer commitment and satisfaction
Ellie McGowan, Volunteering Operations, Policy and Development Manager, Samaritans (invited)
Keynote: Developing Flexible and Inclusive Opportunities for Volunteers
- Considering how volunteering models can exclude people who have caring responsibilities, or limited availability and how organisations can redesign opportunities to better reflect modern working arrangements
- Exploring how charities are successfully using flexible volunteering approaches to increase participation
- Developing expense policies that remove financial barriers to volunteering, ensuring volunteers are not expected to cover the cost of essential participation costs
- Improving accessibility by making volunteering simpler to navigate and including stronger ongoing support for volunteers once they join the organisation
Jo Keller, Head of Volunteering Strategy and Innovation, Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) (invited)
Questions and Answers
Lunch Break and Networking
Keynote: Developing a Strong EDI Policy for Volunteers
- Developing EDI principles across volunteer management so that inclusion is firmly established within the norms and culture of the charity
- Discussing the barriers faced by volunteers from the global majority, disabled volunteers and LGBTQ+ communities, with a focus on why many people still feel excluded or underrepresented within volunteering spaces
- Identifying where bias can appear throughout the volunteer journey, particularly during recruitment and onboarding and exploring how organisations can create more inclusive environments
- Developing cultures that encourage volunteers from marginalised communities to feel valued and discussing how volunteer managers can respond effectively to discrimination and volunteer concerns
Vanisha Parmar, Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, The Scouts (invited)
Case Study: Creating a Culture of Safeguarding in your Organisation
- Outlining how safeguarding responsibilities within volunteering have evolved, particularly as organisations respond to growing concerns around volunteer conduct and accountability
- Exploring how volunteer managers can build safeguarding cultures that encourage early reporting and greater confidence among volunteers when raising concerns or challenging inappropriate behaviour
- Identifying where safeguarding risks can emerge within volunteer programmes and examining how organisations can create safer working environments for volunteers and service users
- Developing safeguarding approaches that ensure volunteers receive effective training, helping them feel more supported and better prepared in their roles
Beck Matthews, Safeguarding Lead Practitioner, British Heart Foundation (CONFIRMED)
Questions and Answers
Breakout Networking: Developing Strategies to Better Recruit, Retain and Manage Volunteers
This session will provide you with the opportunity to discuss the main challenges you face in recruiting and retaining volunteers for your organisation. Allowing you to share your experiences with other senior colleagues and encourage collaboration in managing the volunteer workforce.
Comfort Break
Keynote: Driving Innovation in Volunteer Management
- Exploring how digital tools support volunteer management and examining where technology is improving volunteer experiences
- Outlining why many organisations still struggle to adopt digital systems effectively and how to avoid barriers to innovation across volunteer programmes
- Ensuring technology strengthens volunteer engagement rather than reducing opportunities for relationship-building and community
- Identifying what strong digital infrastructure looks like for the voluntary sector including digital transformation that support long-term innovation across volunteering programmes
Case Study: Engaging Young People with Volunteering
- Exploring how volunteering programmes can better engage 18-25-year-olds by connecting volunteering opportunities to employability and long-term career development
- Considering what younger volunteers are looking for from volunteering experiences, particularly around flexibility and opportunities to develop workplace skills that improve future employment prospects
- Examining how organisations can position volunteering as a credible route into employment by strengthening progression pathways, and partnerships with employers and education providers
- Identifying the barriers preventing younger people from volunteering, including financial pressures and exploring how organisations can make opportunities feel more accessible and worthwhile
Senior Representative, City Year UK (invited)
Questions and Answers
Chair’s Closing Remarks
Conference Close
Get in Touch
Previous Speakers
Juliana Mainard-Sardon
Senior Research Fellow
Nottingham Trent University Business School
Amanda Naylor OBE
Chief Executive
Volunteering Matters
Ruth Leonard
Chair
Association of Volunteer Managers
Hannah Bester
Head of Volunteers & Citizen Science
Marine Conservation Society
Emily Hughes
Head of Volunteer Experience
Girlguiding
Sam Ward OBE
Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief of Services & Volunteering
Royal Voluntary Service
Amy Butterworth
Chief Executive Officer
Make it Happen
Louise Oliver
Head of Inclusion and Engagement
NCT Charity
Sarah Wood
Retail Safeguarding Manager
Oxfam
Suzanne Atherton
Head of Safeguarding Audits
SCIE
Testimonials
During the event I noted my emotions. For the first time in a long while I felt excited again about volunteer management and hopeful this event did it for me!
As someone new to my role, I found this course insightful, encouraging and really productive! It is 100% worth investing a day to receive this training, as you receive high quality, up-to-date research on what really works
The Volunteer Management Conference was a truly great opportunity for professional development
Having attended the Volunteer Management Conference, I feel more confident in my ability to successfully manage volunteers and improve the volunteer experience within our organisation
Why You Should Attend
✓ Gain insights into current trends and national strategies for managing volunteers
✓ Discover approaches for increasing volunteer recruitment and retention
✓ Explore ways to offer flexible, hybrid and accessible volunteering opportunities
✓ Hear examples of how to engage 18-25 year olds in volunteering
✓ Network with senior colleagues from across
✓ Gain 8 hours of CPD points towards your yearly quota
Who Should Attend
| Job Title | Organisation |
| Volunteer Manager | Charities= |
| Director of Volunteering | Faith-Based Organisations |
| Community Engagement Officer | Local Government |
| Programme Manager (Volunteering) | International NGOs |
| Head of HR / People Director | Public Sector Bodies |
| Diversity & Inclusion Lead | Volunteer Networks |
| Volunteer Recruitment Specialist | Health Trusts |
| Events and Volunteer Lead | Cultural Venues |
| Trustee or Board Member | Voluntary Sector Boards |
| Policy Officer (Volunteering) | Local Authorities, |
| Safeguarding Lead | Youth Work |
Pricing Options
PUBLIC SECTOR
Your delegate place at this leading conference gives you: Full access to the conference; E-guide; Networking opportunities during the day; Access to presentations post conference; 8 CPD Points.
VOLUNTARY SECTOR
Your delegate place at this leading conference gives you: Full access to the conference; E-guide; Networking opportunities during the day; Access to presentations post conference; 8 CPD Points.
PRIVATE SECTOR
Your delegate place at this leading conference gives you: Full access to the conference; E-guide; Networking opportunities during the day; Access to presentations post conference; 8 CPD Points.
Sponsorship
Raise Your Profile, Showcase Your Solutions, Generate New Business
If your products, services, and solutions can support our audiences in their roles, and you want to make connections and generate new business with key stakeholders, decision makers, and influencers, then please contact us using the form below.
IMPORTANT: There are only a small number of sponsorship opportunities available to ensure maximum exposure and ROI – contact us today to secure your place.
Virtual vs F2F
Whilst F2F provide better options for networking, there are many distinct advantages of sponsoring our online conferences including:
- Wider geographical reach of delegates and a different audience who prefer online to f2f
- Lower sponsorship package costs
- No travel/accommodation
- Less time out of the office
- No stand materials required (lower costs)
- 1 of only 2 sponsors involved – less competition on the day
- Prime speaking slot in the morning of the conference including Q&A – less distractions and easier for delegates to hear/absorb information
- Receive all delegate data after the conference to follow-up directly with those who attend and don’t attend (small % but still key stakeholders)
- Ongoing exposure via OnDemand access
To find out more and discuss your specific objectives, please contact us below:
