What Reach Volunteering does

Reach Volunteering is a UK-registered charity (company limited by guarantee, charity numbers 278837 and SC041623) operating the country's leading skills-based volunteering platform. Founded as a non-profit and headquartered in London, Reach connects skilled professionals with charities and community organisations seeking volunteer expertise, with a particular focus on trustee recruitment for charity boards. The organisation describes itself as the UK's single biggest source of trustees for the voluntary sector, having facilitated 5,996 placements in 2025 and recruited 1,387 trustees including 70 Chairs and 164 Treasurers.

The core product is a web-based two-sided marketplace at reachvolunteering.org.uk where volunteers create profiles and apply for roles, while organisations post opportunities and search candidates. The platform incorporates skills-based matching, search by skills/interests/availability/location, profile-based messaging, guest applications (up to 5 roles without full registration), and a weekly Profile Match email system. On top of the free platform, Reach operates TrusteeWorks, a specialist inclusive board recruitment service with dedicated consultants, and Self Service Plus/Enhanced, a paid advertising tier for wider job board promotion. Distribution is amplified through partnerships with LinkedIn, Escape the City, and Rest Less.

The business model is predominantly charitable: services are free for volunteers and free for organisations with turnover under £1M, while paid services (TrusteeWorks, Self Service Plus/Enhanced, Board Placement Service) generate trading income for larger charities and corporate clients. The platform is funded through a combination of donations (PayPal integration visible), grants, and paid service fees. The organisation runs a small team of approximately 10-15 staff led by CEO Janet Thorne, with measurable social impact including £60 million of expertise donated in 2025 and 94% of charities reporting their volunteer made them more effective.

Name

Reach Volunteering

Legal name

Reach Volunteering

Website

https://reachvolunteering.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1979

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Reach Volunteering is a UK charity operating a two-sided online platform that connects skilled professionals with charities seeking volunteer expertise and trustees, with 16,000+ registered volunteers and 5,996 placements facilitated in 2025.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Volunteer Matching and Trustee Recruitment Services

NAICS

Temporary Help Services (561320)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Capacity Building & Nonprofit Infrastructure Funders (BPAGAKAO)

akta.pro secondary industry

Unpaid/Volunteer-Linked Work Placement Programs (EDAIAFAE)

Keywords

• Skills-based volunteering
• Trustee recruitment
• Volunteer matching
• Nonprofit board services
• Charity volunteer platform

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations

Revenue model

1. Free volunteer services: Core platform services are free for volunteers, heavily subsidised by funders
2. Self Service Plus / Enhanced: Paid services for trustee and governor roles including external advertising and promotion on jobs boards and social media channels. Organisations with turnover under £1m get free access to basic self-service.
3. TrusteeWorks recruitment services: Full search service for trustee recruitment for charities and Funder Plus programmes
4. Board Placement Service: Income from helping companies encourage staff to consider trusteeship

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Reach Volunteering runs an online platform that connects skilled volunteers (UK professionals with 3+ years' experience) with charities and non-profits needing skills-based volunteering and trustee candidates. Volunteers create profiles and apply for opportunities free of charge, while organisations post roles, search for candidates and message them directly. Paid enhanced services (Self Service Plus and TrusteeWorks) provide external advertising, jobs-board promotion, and full-service inclusive trustee recruitment for charities.

Product overview

Reach Volunteering operates a single online platform connecting skilled volunteers with charities and non-profit organisations. The core product consists of the Reach Volunteering Platform, which enables posting and searching of skills-based volunteering and trustee opportunities. Additional offerings include TrusteeWorks (a specialist inclusive board recruitment service) and Self Service Plus/Enhanced (paid advertising services for trustee roles). The platform also supports Guest Accounts for limited applications and provides the Trustee Recruitment Cycle as a guidance resource for charities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• TrusteeWorks: A specialist service focusing solely on board development and trustee recruitment for social purpose organisations.

Products and services

• Reach Volunteering Platform An online platform that connects skilled UK-based volunteers (3+ years' professional experience) with charities, community groups and social-purpose organisations seeking skills-based volunteering opportunities. Organisations post roles and search candidates; volunteers create profiles, search opportunities, and message organisations directly.
• TrusteeWorks A specialist paid trustee-recruitment service for charities and social-purpose organisations, including full search, external advertising, campaign management, and the Board Placement Service that helps companies encourage staff to consider trusteeship.
• Self Service Plus / Enhanced A paid-for service for organisations advertising trustee and governor roles, which adds external advertising, promotion across jobs boards, and Reach's social media and partner channels to the standard free self-service.

Quantifiable outcome

• £60 million worth of expertise donated to civil society in 2025
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, secondary and minor.

• LinkedIncoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership to share trustee roles with LinkedIn's professional network, extending Reach's reach beyond its own platform to a wider audience of potential trustees
• Escape the CitysecondaryGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership to promote trustee opportunities to career changers seeking meaningful roles
• Rest LesssecondaryGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership to reach retirees and those later in their careers who are interested in volunteering and trusteeship opportunities
• NPC (New Philanthropy Capital) - Everyone's EnvironmentminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLearning partner for NPC's Everyone's Environment programme, supporting climate and environmental organisations
• ACEVOminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCEO signed up to ACEVO's environmental and leadership principles; CEO previously member of ACEVO's Climate crisis working group
• Doit LifeminorOthersAlternative platform for volunteering roles - referenced as option for opportunities not meeting Reach's criteria
• Taproot PlusminorOthersAlternative platform for international/professional volunteering - referenced as option for those seeking opportunities outside the UK
• CatchafireminorOthersAlternative platform for skills-based volunteering with remote opportunities globally - referenced as option for those seeking beyond UK

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Idealist: Global nonprofit jobs, volunteering and nonprofit-board matching platform. Competes in the same online skills-based volunteering and board placement category, though with US/global orientation.
• Catchafire: US-headquartered skills-based volunteering platform matching professionals with nonprofits. Reach explicitly references Catchafire as an alternative for users seeking opportunities outside the UK, making it the closest functional peer.
• Taproot Foundation: US-based skills-based volunteering organisation offering pro bono consulting and a nonprofit board placement service. Functionally analogous to Reach's skills-based matching and TrusteeWorks board recruitment (RXR0T8SUOW).
• VolunteerMatch: Large US online volunteer-matching platform connecting volunteers with nonprofit opportunities. Comparable self-serve online marketplace model, though broader in scope than Reach's skills-based specialism.
• Trustees Unlimited: UK-based trustee recruitment service for charities, directly competing with Reach's TrusteeWorks and Self Service Plus offerings on board placement in the UK market.
• Work for Good: UK platform that helps small businesses and charities structure commercial partnerships and pro bono engagements. Closely comparable in connecting skilled professionals with UK charitable causes.
• Doit Life: Volunteering platform referenced by Reach as an alternative channel for opportunities not meeting its criteria. Directly comparable volunteer-listing marketplace serving UK and international users.

Broad incumbents

• Points of Light: US-headquartered service organisation that recognises, connects and mobilises volunteers. Comparable mission of scaling volunteer impact, though broader in scope than Reach's skills-based trustee-recruitment focus.
• NCVO (National Council for Voluntary Organisations): UK umbrella membership organisation for the voluntary sector, providing infrastructure, policy and capacity-building support to charities — analogous to Reach's capacity-building role for nonprofits.
• LinkedIn (Volunteer Marketplace / Nonprofit Board Connector): Reach's Core distribution partner and a broad incumbent in professional networking that increasingly offers volunteer and nonprofit-board matching — overlapping with Reach's marketplace and board placement services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ReachVolunteering
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/reach-volunteering
• Instagraminstagram.com/reachvolunteering
• Xx.com/ReachVolunteer

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Reach Volunteering