Tipperary Volunteer Centre

What Tipperary Volunteer Centre does

Tipperary Volunteer Centre is a registered charity (Charity Number 20068103) and company limited by guarantee operating as the designated county-wide intermediary for volunteering in County Tipperary, Ireland. Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Cashel, the centre operates with a small team of approximately seven staff under Manager Derek Fanning. Its core function is two-sided: it connects individual volunteers seeking opportunities with volunteer-involving organisations that need volunteer support, and it provides back-office services including Garda Vetting facilitation, volunteer management training, governance support, and skills auditing resources.

The centre's technology stack is modest and built primarily on shared national infrastructure. It uses the i-vol national volunteering database (powered by Volunteer Ireland) to list opportunities and register volunteers, the Garda National Vetting Bureau online system for vetting processing, Zoom and Eventbrite for delivering and registering online training, and the UserWay widget to meet WCAG 2.1 accessibility requirements on its WordPress-based website. Proprietary assets are limited to a Skills Audit Toolkit (Excel templates) and a video education series; there is no proprietary platform, no public API, and no developer-facing integration.

The business model is government-funded non-profit. The Department of Rural and Community Development provides core funding to strengthen volunteering across the county; additional co-funding is sourced through partnerships with the North and South Tipperary Development Companies (LEADER delivery bodies), Volunteer Ireland, and Carmichael. All services — placement, Garda Vetting, training, and governance support — are provided free of charge to both volunteers and organisations. Customer segments are two primary groups: individual volunteers (a persona-based, geographically dispersed segment) and volunteer-involving organisations spanning health, hospice, youth, disability, family, and community-service sectors. The centre is governed by a multi-stakeholder Board including representation from Tipperary County Council, Limerick Institute of Technology, both LEADER development companies, Tipperary PPN, and Tipperary Citizens Information Service.

Name

Tipperary Volunteer Centre

Legal name

Tipperary Volunteer Centre CLG

Website

https://tipperaryvolunteercentre.ie

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Tipperary Volunteer Centre is a government-funded registered charity that connects individual volunteers with volunteer-involving organisations across County Tipperary, providing free placement, Garda Vetting facilitation, training, and governance support services county-wide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Volunteer Services and Community Engagement

NAICS

Civic and Social Organizations (813410)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE)

Keywords

• Volunteer placement services
• Volunteer matching
• Garda Vetting facilitation
• Volunteer management training
• Community engagement support

Headquarters

HQ city

Cashel

HQ country

Ireland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: Funded by the Department of Rural and Community Development to strengthen and support volunteering in Tipperary.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Tipperary Volunteer Centre is the designated county-wide intermediary in County Tipperary that matches individual volunteers with volunteer-involving organisations using the national i-vol database. It additionally facilitates Garda Vetting applications, delivers free volunteer management and governance training, and provides skills audit toolkits and COVID-19 response resources to community groups. All services are provided free of charge to both volunteers and organisations.

Product overview

Tipperary Volunteer Centre operates as a charitable organisation (Registered Charity No. 20068103) funded through the Department of Rural and Community Development to strengthen and support volunteering in County Tipperary. The organisation provides a coordinated suite of services including volunteer placement and matching (through the national i-vol database), Garda Vetting facilitation, governance support, training programmes, and educational resources. The core offering centres on connecting volunteers with organisations, providing regulatory support (Garda Vetting), and building capacity through skills auditing tools, video series, and volunteer management training. Additional services include COVID-19 response coordination, research on volunteering trends, and support for volunteer recognition initiatives such as Volunteer Ireland Awards.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Volunteer Placement and Matching Service Connects individuals seeking volunteer opportunities with registered volunteer-involving organisations across County Tipperary, providing registration via i-vol, vacancy search, and placement support. Available to all individuals and organisations in the county.
• Garda Vetting Service Facilitates Garda Vetting applications for volunteers through the Garda National Vetting Bureau online system, providing guidance, video tutorials, and NVB1 form submission support for organisations and individuals. Available free of charge as a registered liaison service for roles involving children and vulnerable adults.
• Volunteer Management Training
• Basic Skills Audit Toolkit
• Centre Video Series
• Governance Support and Board Resources
• COVID-19 Response Resources Comprehensive resources including volunteer response checklists, returning to volunteering safely guides, free 'Ready and Able' training for reopening, and community call coordination support during the pandemic. Available to volunteers, organisations, and the wider community in Tipperary.

Named customers5 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and major.

• Volunteer IrelandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational development agency for volunteering; coordinates National Volunteering Week and Volunteer Ireland Awards; provides resources and support to volunteer centres.
• Tipperary Public Participation Network (PPN)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for community engagement; nominates four members to the Board of Directors of Tipperary Volunteer Centre.
• Tipperary County CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal authority partner; nominates three directors to the Board including two elected members and the Director of Services for Community Development.
• Limerick Institute of TechnologyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducational partner; nominates the Vice President for Research, Development and Enterprise or nominee to the Board.
• North Tipperary Development CompanyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLEADER delivery body for North Tipperary; nominates CEO or nominee to the Board; co-funded Ready and Able training programme.
• South Tipperary Development CompanyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLEADER delivery body for South Tipperary; CEO nominates Board member; co-funded Ready and Able training programme.
• Tipperary Citizens Information ServiceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNominates one representative to the Board of Tipperary Volunteer Centre.
• CarmichaelmajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerNot-for-profit support organisation providing governance training; co-developed Good Governance Awards and delivered Ready and Able COVID-19 recovery training via Zoom.
• Tipperary Sports PartnershipminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership to deliver volunteer management training for sporting clubs; joint online training sessions on sustainable volunteer programmes.
• Gurteen Agricultural CollegeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducational partnership where agricultural students volunteer at community projects; partnered for volunteering initiative at St. Anne's Special School Roscrea.
• i-volcoreTechnology or IntegrationNational volunteer opportunities database powered by Volunteer Ireland; used by Tipperary Volunteer Centre to list opportunities and register volunteers.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Catchafire: Skills-based volunteering platform matching professionals with nonprofits. Relevant comparator for the centre's skills audit toolkit and skills-based matchmaking offerings.
• Idealist: Global nonprofit job and volunteer listing platform. Comparable to the centre in connecting volunteers with mission-driven organisations, but operates purely online without local intermediary services.
• VolunteerMatch: US-based large-scale digital volunteer matching platform. Represents the technology-mediated alternative to local volunteer centres, with a self-serve model that could partly substitute for the centre's intermediary function.

Direct peers

• Cork Volunteer Centre: County-level Volunteer Centre in Cork, part of the same national network and Department-funded structure. Operates the same service catalogue to volunteer-involving organisations and individual volunteers.
• Carmichael: Irish nonprofit support organisation providing governance training and capacity-building to small nonprofits. Listed as a partner of Tipperary Volunteer Centre and most directly comparable in the governance support and training line of service.
• Dublin Volunteer Centre: Largest of Ireland's 20+ Volunteer Centres, providing the same core services (placement, Garda Vetting, training, governance) within Dublin. Most directly comparable peer in terms of service mix and funding model.
• Galway Volunteer Centre: Another county-level Volunteer Centre in the same national network, providing placement, Garda Vetting, and training services. Closely comparable operating model and revenue structure.

Broad incumbents

• Points of Light: Large international nonprofit focused on volunteer service and civic engagement. Comparable in mission and policy advocacy role, with a broader geographic footprint and a more developed recognition programme (Presidential Volunteer Service Award).
• Volunteer Ireland: National umbrella body for volunteering in Ireland and the centre's primary strategic partner. Operates the i-vol database and coordinates national programmes such as National Volunteering Week that Tipperary Volunteer Centre participates in.

Regional players

• Reach Volunteering: UK-based volunteer matching platform focused on connecting skilled professionals with charity board roles. Comparable in the skills-based and governance aspects of the centre's offering, but operates in a different geography.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/TippVolCentre
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCr72bwAu829TTOSLG37bnmA
• Facebookfacebook.com/volunteertipperary
• Instagraminstagram.com/tippvolcentre
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tipperary-volunteer-centre

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Tipperary Volunteer Centre