Volunteer Management Conference 2025: Recruiting, Retaining and Engaging Volunteers
Past and Present Supporters Include:
Overview
As charities continue to face rising demands and a decline in volunteer engagement the need for sustainable volunteer strategies has never been more urgent. There has been a growing opportunity to re-engage with lost volunteers and attract a new generation of people willing to get involved with valuable charitable causes. Through providing strengthened workplace policies and practices, voluntary organisations will be better equipped to recruit, retain and support the longevity of their workforce.
Agenda
Registration
Chairs Opening Remarks
Juliana Mainard-Sardon, Senior Research Fellow, Nottingham Trent University Business School (CONFIRMED)
Keynote: Volunteering Matters – Power, Participation and Belonging in Volunteering
- Exploring how Volunteering Matters aligns its strategy with the Vision for Volunteering to support volunteers.
- Learning how centring volunteer voice and agency gives people influence over their work and impact
- Discover how the volunteering continuum model enables diverse, flexible participation that fits people’s lives and interests
- Gain practical insights into co-production, removing barriers, and building reciprocal volunteering cultures
Amanda Naylor OBE, Chief Executive, Volunteering Matters (CONFIRMED)
Keynote: Strategies for Developing and Implementing Policies to Support Volunteers
- Strategic recommendations for designing and evolving volunteer policies that prioritise and empower volunteers as central to the organisation’s mission
- Utilising a broad range of avenues to recruit potential volunteers to support and diversify your team
- Creating an accessible feedback an 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 Leonard, Chair, Association of Volunteer Managers (CONFIRMED)
Questions and Answers
Comfort Break
Keynote: Creating Flexible Volunteering Opportunities
- Outlining the benefits of flexible working, such as, a better work-life balance for volunteers, increased productivity and less absentees
- Encouraging leaders in the voluntary sector charity roles to advertise roles as flexible
- Supporting volunteers to not rely on team leaders when they are working from home and manage their own time based on outcomes and impact
- Creating a culture in the voluntary sector that champions the value of flexible working
Hannah Bester, Head of Volunteers & Citizen Science, Marine Conservation Society (CONFIRMED)
Case Study: Supporting the Relationship Between Staff and Volunteers
- Working together to achieve your charity’s aims
- Ensuring staff and volunteers have mutually positive experiences
- Managing change with staff and volunteers
Emily Hughes, Head of Volunteer Experience, Girlguiding (CONFIRMED)
Keynote: Engaging Volunteers
- The ‘Why’ behind volunteering: removing reticence, worry and the people-centric approach.
- Demonstrating clear and tangible impact: start with the end in mind.
- Cultural Development: Creating a cultural which harnesses the power of volunteering to improve performance.
- Support, onboarding and CPD: engaging new volunteers and retaining existing.
Jessica Hart, Business Development Manager, Futures for All (CONFIRMED)
Questions and Answers
Lunch Break and Networking
Case Study: A New Digital Volunteering Platform
Britain has seen a steady decline in formal volunteering participation for over a decade, and many charities are now struggling to recruit the support they need.
RVS has developed a major new digital volunteering platform. The aim of the platform is:
- to inspire the next generation of volunteers by providing a frictionless route into volunteering and
- to support charities to recruit and retain the volunteers they need whilst effortlessly building a pipeline of volunteers for the future.
- It will build on and enhance the vital work already happening at a local and national level. It will do this by showcasing opportunities from a wide range of charities and causes, including large and grass roots charities.
- It will also build on the learning RVS has gained through our work as a major provider of volunteering opportunities enabled by digital, including the NHS and Care Responders scheme and the Big Help Out.
- It’s important to understand that the platform is not a VMS system and will not look to replace existing platforms or services. Rather it aims to be a sort of ‘Right Move’ for volunteering, pulling in existing data to reach a larger audience.
Sam Ward OBE, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief of Services & Volunteering, Royal Voluntary Service (CONFIRMED)
Case Study: Measuring Volunteer Impact
- Mapping the effects of volunteering by capturing individual stories and identifying changes in personal development and wellbeing opportunities
- Analysing the broader impact of volunteering on community networks, including improved mental health and cohesion
- Documenting the learning and growth experienced by your organisation and volunteers to inform future strategies
- Integrating volunteer impact data into wider sector strategies by collaborating with charities and prioritising positive outcomes for volunteers
Amy Butterworth, Chief Executive Officer, Make it Happen (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 cross-sector collaboration in managing the volunteer workforce.
Comfort Break
Keynote: Create an Inclusive Environment for Your Volunteer Workforce
- Best practice for embedding equity, diversity and inclusion policies throughout your volunteering team
- Encouraging more people from diverse backgrounds to volunteer and adapting your recruitment process to cater for this
- Utilising research and data-led approaches to target and identity areas for improvement to create a more inclusive environment for volunteers
- Meeting the needs of volunteers from marginalised communities through listen-first approaches
Louise Oliver, Head of Inclusion and Engagement, NCT Charity (CONFIRMED)
Keynote: Balancing Recruitment Demands and Safeguarding
- Explore strategies to meet recruitment targets without compromising safety.
- Discuss safeguarding responsibilities in high-demand hiring contexts.
- Identify early warning signs and risk mitigation approaches.
- Share best practices for maintaining ethical and compliant recruitment
Sarah Wood, Retail Safeguarding Manager, Oxfam (CONFIRMED)
Case Study: Embedding Safeguarding into Volunteer Culture
- Designing safeguarding training to meet the specific needs of volunteers, ensuring it is easy to applicable in real-world scenarios
- Creating an environment where safeguarding is seen as a shared responsibility and remains a consistent priority throughout the volunteer journey.
- Regularly reviewing and evaluating training approaches to ensure they remain up to date and effective as safeguarding guidance and expectations evolve
- Addressing common challenges such as inconsistent understanding, turnover of volunteers, and varying levels of experience, to maintain strong safeguarding awareness across all volunteer roles
Suzanne Atherton, Head of Safeguarding Audits, SCIE (CONFIRMED)
Questions and Answers
Chairs Closing Remarks
Juliana Mainard-Sardon, Senior Research Fellow, Nottingham Trent University Business School (CONFIRMED)
Conference Close
Get in Touch
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
Ian Cooper
Head of National Business Development
Futures For All
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
Daniella Abraham
Head of Volunteering
NCT Charity
Sarah Wood
Retail Safeguarding Manager
Oxfam
Suzanne Atherton
Head of Safeguarding Audits
SCIE
Testimonials
Great event, an interesting and informative range of speakers which left me with lots of takeaways and things to think about
A thought provoking day with ideas to take away and potential put into practise.
Was a great event with really useful input from a range of speakers.
Knowledgeable event for volunteering process, really interesting to hear the different challenges in recruiting and retaining volunteers
Why You Should Attend
Why Attend:
- Get insights into current trends and national strategies for managing volunteers
- Discover practical approaches for increasing volunteer recruitment and retention
- Explore ways to offer flexible, hybrid and accessible volunteering opportunities
- Hear real-world examples of how to measure volunteer impact and build meaningful partnerships
Who Should Attend
| Job Title | Organisation |
| Volunteer Manager | Charities, NGOs, Community Organisations |
| Director of Volunteering | National Charities, Faith-Based Organisations |
| Community Engagement Officer | Housing Associations, Local Government, Police Services |
| Programme Manager (Volunteering) | International NGOs, Youth Organisations |
| Head of HR / People Director | Large Charities, Public Sector Bodies |
| Diversity & Inclusion Lead | Volunteer Networks, Equality-Focused Groups |
| Volunteer Recruitment Specialist | Nonprofits, Health Trusts, Education Providers |
| Events and Volunteer Lead | Cultural Venues, Sports Foundations, Environmental Groups |
| Trustee or Board Member | Voluntary Sector Boards |
| Policy Officer (Volunteering) | Local Authorities, National Volunteering Bodies |
| Safeguarding Lead | Youth Work, Healthcare, Education Sector |
| Digital Engagement Officer | Charities using online and hybrid volunteer models |
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 (coming soon)
To find out more and discuss your specific objectives, please contact us below:
