How to Recruit and Retain Volunteers: A Data-Driven Guide

The most effective way to recruit and retain volunteers is to combine targeted, multi-channel recruitment with structured onboarding and ongoing engagement that makes volunteers feel valued, supported, and connected to your mission. This data-driven guide provides practical strategies backed by research from NCVO, the Institute for Volunteering Research, and real-world charity programmes.

TL;DR: UK charities lose 30-40% of volunteers annually, mostly within the first three months. Recruitment success depends on clear role descriptions and meeting volunteers where they are; retention depends on quality onboarding, consistent communication, and demonstrating impact. Plinth supports both through geographic matching for recruitment and structured tracking for retention.

Who this is for: Volunteer coordinators, HR leads, and charity managers responsible for building and sustaining a volunteer team.

The State of Volunteer Recruitment in the UK

Understanding the landscape is essential before developing your strategy. The UK volunteering sector is large but facing structural shifts that affect how charities recruit and retain volunteers.

The numbers: Approximately 12 million adults in England volunteer formally at least once a year, with around 7 million volunteering at least once a month (NCVO Almanac, 2021/22 data). However, the nature of volunteering is changing — more people prefer flexible, episodic volunteering over regular weekly commitments.

The challenge: Volunteer recruitment is consistently identified as one of the top operational challenges facing charities (Charity Digital Skills Report 2024). Competition for volunteers has intensified, with more organisations seeking fewer regular volunteers.

The opportunity: Despite the challenges, there is a large pool of potential volunteers who have never been asked. The NCVO Time Well Spent survey found that 35% of non-volunteers said they would volunteer if asked directly — suggesting that passive recruitment strategies miss a significant proportion of potential supporters.

Part 1: Recruitment Strategies That Work

Strategy 1: Define Compelling Volunteer Roles

The single most impactful thing you can do for recruitment is create clear, compelling role descriptions that answer the questions potential volunteers actually have.

What to include:

• The specific impact the role will have (lead with this)
• Time commitment (hours per week/month and duration)
• Location and any travel requirements
• Skills needed and skills that will be developed
• Training and support provided
• Any requirements (DBS checks, minimum age, etc.)

What to avoid:

• Vague descriptions ("help out when needed")
• Jargon or internal terminology
• Unrealistic time commitments
• Failing to mention the benefits to the volunteer

Research from the Institute for Volunteering Research found that role clarity is the strongest predictor of volunteer satisfaction — volunteers who clearly understand their role from the outset are 67% more likely to still be volunteering after 12 months.

Strategy 2: Use Multi-Channel Recruitment

Relying on a single recruitment channel limits your reach and results in a homogeneous volunteer base. The evidence supports a diversified approach.

Online channels:

• Your organisation's website (41% of volunteers check an organisation's website before committing)
• Social media — particularly Facebook for over-35s and Instagram/TikTok for younger demographics
• National platforms like Do-it.org (the UK's largest volunteer matching service)
• Local community platforms and forums

Offline channels:

• Word of mouth (the NCVO Time Well Spent survey found 49% of volunteers found their role through personal connections — your existing volunteers are your best recruiters)
• Community events, fairs, and open days
• Partner organisations and local businesses
• Places of worship, sports clubs, and community centres
• University and college volunteer fairs

Strategic channels:

• Volunteer centres (there are approximately 300 across England)
• Corporate volunteering partnerships (56% of large UK employers offer employee volunteering programmes)
• Local authority partnerships
• Referrals from existing volunteers (consider a formal referral programme)

Plinth's geographic mapping feature helps you identify areas where you have few volunteers and target recruitment efforts accordingly, ensuring you reach potential volunteers close to where they are needed.

Strategy 3: Remove Barriers to Entry

Every additional step in your recruitment process is a point where potential volunteers drop out. Audit your process ruthlessly and remove anything that is not genuinely necessary.

Common barriers to address:

• Lengthy application forms: Keep initial sign-up simple. You can collect additional information after someone has committed.
• Slow response times: Respond to volunteer enquiries within 48 hours. Research from VolunteerMatch found that volunteers who receive a response within 24 hours are 3 times more likely to follow through.
• DBS processing delays: While necessary, DBS checks take approximately 14 days on average. Offer volunteers meaningful engagement while they wait, or identify roles they can start immediately while checks are processed.
• Inflexible scheduling: Offer a range of time commitments. Not everyone can volunteer every Tuesday morning. Flexible, episodic opportunities attract a wider pool.
• Financial barriers: Cover all volunteer expenses promptly. The cost of travel, meals, and parking prevents people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds from volunteering.

Strategy 4: Recruit for Diversity

The volunteering sector does not reflect the diversity of the UK population. NCVO data consistently shows lower formal volunteering rates among people from lower socioeconomic groups, disabled people, and some ethnic minority communities.

Practical steps:

• Review your recruitment materials for unconscious bias and accessibility
• Recruit through organisations that serve underrepresented communities
• Offer roles that accommodate different abilities and circumstances
• Ensure your physical spaces are accessible
• Use plain English and translate materials where appropriate
• Actively seek and value diverse perspectives in volunteer roles

Building a more diverse volunteer team is not just the right thing to do — it improves your organisation's effectiveness by bringing different perspectives and strengthening connections with the communities you serve.

Part 2: Retention Strategies That Work

Recruitment is only half the equation. With average annual volunteer turnover estimated at 30-40% in UK charities, retention deserves equal — if not more — attention than recruitment.

Strategy 5: Nail the First Three Months

The first three months are critical. Research consistently shows that this is the period of highest attrition, with most volunteers who leave doing so because of poor onboarding, unmet expectations, or feeling unwelcome.

Week 1: Welcome and orient

• Provide a structured induction covering your mission, their role, and practical information
• Introduce them to the team (both staff and other volunteers)
• Assign a buddy or mentor — a more experienced volunteer who can answer questions and provide support
• Give them something meaningful to do immediately

Month 1: Build confidence

• Check in regularly (at least weekly) to address questions and concerns
• Provide the training promised in the role description
• Gradually increase responsibility as confidence grows
• Ask for their first impressions and act on feedback

Months 2-3: Embed and evaluate

• Conduct a formal review at the end of the probation period
• Discuss what is working well and what could be improved
• Confirm the ongoing commitment (or adjust it)
• Celebrate their first milestone

Organisations that implement structured onboarding programmes report up to 50% higher retention rates in the first year compared to those with informal "learn as you go" approaches.

Strategy 6: Communicate Consistently and Meaningfully

Poor communication is the most commonly cited reason for volunteer attrition. Research suggests that 62% of former volunteers cited insufficient communication as a factor in their decision to leave.

Communication essentials:

• Regular updates: Send at least monthly updates about your organisation's work, impact, and upcoming activities
• Two-way dialogue: Create opportunities for volunteers to share their views, not just receive information
• Advance scheduling: Give volunteers as much notice as possible for shifts and events
• Gratitude: Weave appreciation into every communication
• Transparency: Be honest about challenges and changes — volunteers who feel trusted are more committed

Communication tools: Use the channels your volunteers prefer, which may differ by age group. A mix of email, WhatsApp/messaging groups, and in-person conversations typically provides the best coverage. Plinth includes built-in communication tools that make it easy to reach the right volunteers with the right messages.

Strategy 7: Recognise and Reward Meaningfully

Recognition does not need to be expensive, but it does need to be genuine and consistent. Research from the Institute for Volunteering Research found that the most valued forms of recognition are:

1. Personal thanks from staff (rated most meaningful by 82% of volunteers)
2. Seeing the impact of their contribution (78%)
3. Being included in team events and decisions (71%)
4. Certificates or references (particularly valued by younger volunteers building CVs)
5. Public acknowledgement (social media shout-outs, newsletter features, annual celebrations)

What does not work: Generic, impersonal recognition that feels like a tick-box exercise. Avoid mass emails that say "thanks to all our volunteers" without any personalisation. Take the time to acknowledge specific contributions individually.

Volunteer milestones: Track and celebrate milestones — 100 hours, one year of service, five years of commitment. Plinth's reporting features make it easy to identify milestones and generate the data needed for meaningful recognition.

Strategy 8: Show Volunteers Their Impact

Volunteers who understand the difference they make are significantly more committed than those who simply complete tasks without seeing the bigger picture.

Impact communication tactics:

• Share beneficiary stories (with consent) that demonstrate real-world outcomes
• Provide regular data: "Last month, our 150 volunteers contributed 2,400 hours and supported 380 families"
• Invite volunteers to hear directly from beneficiaries
• Include impact data in all volunteer communications
• Create an annual volunteer impact report

Plinth's reporting features enable you to generate impact data that connects volunteer activity to organisational outcomes — making it easy to show volunteers the tangible difference their time makes.

Strategy 9: Offer Development and Progression

Volunteers who feel they are learning and growing are significantly less likely to leave. The NCVO Time Well Spent survey found that 69% of volunteers who rated their development opportunities as "good" intended to continue volunteering, compared to only 34% of those who rated them as "poor."

Development opportunities:

• Training courses and workshops
• Mentoring relationships (both as mentor and mentee)
• Progression to more senior or specialist volunteer roles
• Opportunities to represent the organisation externally
• Support for professional development (references, skills certificates)
• Involvement in strategic decisions and planning

Strategy 10: Use Data to Drive Decisions

The most effective volunteer programmes use data to understand what is working and what is not, rather than relying on assumptions or anecdotes.

Key metrics to track:

• Recruitment conversion rate: What percentage of enquiries become active volunteers?
• Time to start: How long between initial enquiry and first shift?
• Retention rate: What percentage of volunteers are still active after 3, 6, and 12 months?
• Hours contributed: Total hours and average hours per volunteer
• Satisfaction scores: Regular surveys measuring volunteer experience
• Demographics: Is your volunteer base representative of your community?

Using the data: If your 3-month retention rate is below 60%, focus on improving onboarding. If your recruitment conversion rate is below 30%, simplify your application process. If certain roles have much higher turnover, investigate what makes them different.

Plinth provides the data infrastructure to track these metrics systematically, replacing guesswork with evidence-based programme management.

Recruitment and Retention: The Technology Factor

Technology alone does not solve recruitment and retention challenges — but the right tools make it significantly easier to implement the strategies above consistently and at scale.

Geographic matching: Plinth's mapping feature connects volunteers to nearby opportunities, reducing the travel barrier that causes no-shows and early attrition.

Automated compliance: Built-in DBS tracking removes the administrative bottleneck that delays onboarding and frustrates new volunteers.

Centralised profiles: Comprehensive volunteer profiles enable better matching, personalised communication, and milestone tracking.

Multi-organisation coordination: For councils and volunteer centres, Plinth enables recruitment across multiple partner organisations — Camden Council coordinates 2,500 volunteers across 45 charities, while Volunteer Centre Kensington & Chelsea manages 3,000 volunteers across 163 organisations.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does it cost to recruit a volunteer?

Estimates vary, but research suggests the average cost of recruiting and onboarding a new volunteer in the UK is between £50 and £200, including advertising, staff time, DBS checks, training, and materials. This is why retention is so cost-effective — retaining an existing volunteer costs a fraction of recruiting and onboarding a replacement.

What is a good volunteer retention rate?

There is no universally agreed benchmark, but as a general guide: a 12-month retention rate above 70% is good, above 80% is excellent. The average across UK charities is estimated at 60-70%. More important than any single number is the trend — are your retention rates improving or declining?

How do I re-engage lapsed volunteers?

Start with understanding why they lapsed. Reach out personally (not with a mass email), acknowledge their previous contribution, ask about their current circumstances, and offer flexible ways to re-engage. Some lapsed volunteers are waiting to be asked back. Others have moved on — respect that. A targeted re-engagement campaign can typically recover 15-25% of lapsed volunteers.

Should charities compete with each other for volunteers?

Competition for volunteers is increasing, but collaboration is usually more effective. Volunteer centres and platforms like Plinth enable organisations to share a pool of volunteers, matching them to the best-fit opportunities rather than competing for the same people. This approach benefits volunteers (who find better-suited roles) and organisations (who receive more motivated, better-matched volunteers).

How do I recruit younger volunteers (18-25)?

Younger volunteers are motivated primarily by skill development, social connection, and career relevance. Offer short-term, project-based roles with clear learning outcomes. Use Instagram, TikTok, and university volunteering networks. Emphasise what volunteers will gain as well as what they will give. Provide references and skills certificates. The #iwill campaign found that 60% of young people are open to volunteering but need to see a clear personal benefit.

What is the biggest mistake charities make with volunteer management?

Taking volunteers for granted. Many charities invest heavily in recruitment but put minimal effort into the ongoing volunteer experience. The result is a revolving door where new recruits replace departing volunteers without the programme ever growing. Shifting even a small amount of budget and attention from recruitment to retention typically produces better results.

Conclusion

Recruiting and retaining volunteers is not a mystery — it is a discipline. The evidence clearly shows what works: clear roles, multi-channel recruitment, barrier removal, structured onboarding, consistent communication, meaningful recognition, impact visibility, development opportunities, and data-driven management.

The recruitment imperative: Cast a wide net, remove barriers, and make it easy for people to say yes.

The retention imperative: Invest in the volunteer experience from day one, communicate consistently, show impact, and use data to improve continuously.

The technology enabler: Tools like Plinth make these strategies scalable and sustainable, from geographic matching for targeted recruitment to comprehensive tracking for retention management.

Ready to transform your volunteer recruitment and retention? Book a demo of Plinth to see how our platform supports every stage of the volunteer journey.

Recommended Next Pages

• The Complete Guide to Volunteer Management – A comprehensive overview of the entire volunteer management lifecycle.

• Best Volunteer Management Software for UK Charities – Compare platforms that support effective recruitment and retention at scale.

• Volunteer Management Software vs Spreadsheets – Why manual processes undermine your recruitment and retention efforts.

• DBS Check Tracking for Volunteers – Streamline DBS compliance to remove a key barrier in your onboarding process.

• How to Track Volunteer Hours and Demonstrate Impact – Show volunteers and funders the difference their time makes.

• Volunteering Features on Plinth – Explore the tools that make recruitment and retention easier.

Last updated: February 2026

For more information about improving your volunteer recruitment and retention, contact our team or schedule a demo.