How Charities Can Attract More Volunteers and Keep Them

16th April 2026

By Helen Scullion Assoc. CIPD  |  6 minute read

Volunteers are the backbone of most charities. They extend capacity, bring skills and passion, and often become some of the most committed advocates for the cause. But recruiting and retaining them is harder than it looks.

Most charities approach volunteer recruitment the same way they approach everything else: with limited time, limited resource, and a lot of goodwill. The result is often a volunteer experience that’s warm once people arrive but patchy on the way in, and unclear on what they’re joining.

Here’s what makes the difference between a charity that struggles to fill volunteer roles and one that has a waiting list.

Key facts at a glance

  • Most charities lose potential volunteers not because of the cause, but because of friction in the joining process.
  • Volunteers need to feel welcomed, purposeful and part of something within the first few interactions, or they disengage.
  • The organisations that retain volunteers consistently have three things in common: a clear ask, a warm welcome and regular recognition.
  • A structured Volunteer Welcome experience dramatically improves retention and reduces the time and cost of continuous recruitment.

Why volunteer recruitment is different from employee recruitment

Volunteer recruitment requires a different approach to hiring employees because the motivation is entirely different. Volunteers give their time freely. They choose you over other charities, other hobbies, and other demands on their time. To attract them, you need to be clear about what you stand for, what the experience will be like, and what they’ll get from it. That’s not about pay. It’s about purpose, community, and feeling that their time is well spent.

The organisations that get this right do not treat volunteer recruitment as an admin exercise. They treat it as an extension of their brand and their mission.

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Why volunteers leave and what you can do about it

Most charities put a lot of energy into recruiting volunteers and relatively little into keeping them. Yet the patterns are consistent: volunteers who are thanked, developed and given the chance to grow are the ones who stay. Those who feel like extras rather than essential contributors tend to drift away.

Practical retention starts with the basics. Regular communication that keeps volunteers connected to the charity’s impact. Team events that build relationships across the volunteer community. A named contact who checks in on each volunteer’s experience and notices when someone has gone quiet. None of these are expensive. Most charities simply don’t make them consistent.

Does your onboarding experience reflect your values?

The experience someone has in their first few weeks as a volunteer shapes whether they stay. A warm, well-structured welcome that shows genuine investment in them makes a real difference. A form-heavy, slow, impersonal process signals that they’re not a priority.

Think about what it actually feels like to start as a volunteer with your organisation right now. Is there a named person who welcomes them? Do they understand their role and what support they can expect? Do they know the charity’s story and why their contribution matters? If the answer to any of those is uncertain, your onboarding needs attention.

Can we access funded support for this?

Limelite works closely with Worcestershire County Council and often has access to funded support for charities looking to improve their people practices, including volunteer recruitment and onboarding. If your organisation is based in Worcestershire or the surrounding area, it’s worth having a conversation about what might be available.

How we helped a local hospice stand out

We recently worked with a much-loved charity in Worcestershire providing hospice care and support to local families. They wanted to attract new volunteers and set themselves apart from other charities in a competitive market for people’s time and commitment.

Working through Worcestershire County Council’s workforce planning programme, they came to us to create a volunteer culture book, timed to launch at an upcoming event. We met with their Head of People, reviewed their website and social media, and worked closely with the team to shape a 20-page visual culture book that felt fun, warm and entirely them. It included a welcome from the Chief Executive, the charity’s history and values, volunteer stories and roles, the volunteer agreement and benefits, and a clear picture of what joining the hospice community looks and feels like.

“The process helped us reflect on how we present our offer to potential volunteers and gave us something we’re genuinely proud to share. It’s part of the onboarding process, giving potential volunteers a compelling reason to choose us.”

Head of People and Operations

Three things any charity can do now

  • Review your volunteer-facing materials. Read them as a potential volunteer would. Is it clear what you stand for, what the experience will be like and why someone should choose you?
  • Create a simple visual volunteer welcome resource. It doesn’t need to be 20 pages. A well-designed four-page PDF that brings your charity to life is a significant step forward.
  • Audit your onboarding process. Map out what happens between someone expressing interest and their first day. Where do people fall through the gaps?

How Limelite can help

We help charities across Worcestershire, Birmingham and the wider UK create compelling volunteer welcome resources and onboarding processes that make people proud to be part of your organisation. We also offer retained HR support for charities that want ongoing people expertise without the cost of an in-house hire.

Find out more about our HR support for charities and not-for-profits. Book a free 30-minute discovery call to talk through what would work for your organisation.

Book a free 30-minute discovery call

About the author

Helen Scullion Assoc. CIPD, HR Client Manager at Limelite HR & Learning. Helen supports organisations with day-to-day HR management, employee relations and practical people support. Connect with Helen on LinkedIn.

FAQS

  • Why do charities struggle to retain volunteers after recruiting them?

    Most volunteer attrition happens in the first few weeks, not after months of service. The most common causes are a lack of clarity about what is expected, an onboarding process that makes volunteers feel anonymous, and no regular sense of connection to the cause they joined to support. Retention starts with the welcome.

  • How is recruiting volunteers different from recruiting employees?

    Volunteers cannot be motivated by salary, so everything else matters more. The cause, the culture, the flexibility and the sense of belonging are the factors that drive volunteer recruitment. Adverts written for employees often fail as volunteer adverts because they focus on requirements rather than opportunity and impact.

  • Do volunteers have the same legal rights as employees?

    Generally no. Volunteers are not employees or workers in the legal sense and are not entitled to statutory rights such as the National Minimum Wage, holiday pay or sick pay. However, if a volunteer arrangement starts to look like an employment relationship, with regular hours, set tasks and an expectation of ongoing attendance, there is a risk that a tribunal could find the person to be a worker. If you’re unsure about the nature of your volunteer arrangements, it is worth taking HR advice.

  • What does a good volunteer onboarding process look like?

    A good volunteer onboarding process gives every new volunteer a clear welcome, a named contact, an understanding of what they will be doing and why it matters, and a check-in within their first two weeks. What matters most is that the volunteer feels seen and valued from the start, not processed.

  • Can Limelite HR help charities improve volunteer recruitment and retention?

    Yes. We work with charities and not-for-profits across Worcestershire and beyond on people strategy, culture and HR support. Get in touch to find out how we can help your organisation attract and keep the volunteers you need.

  • What should be in a volunteer welcome pack?

    A volunteer welcome pack should cover who the charity is and what it stands for, the range of volunteer roles available, what volunteers can expect in terms of support, training and recognition, what the charity expects of them in terms of commitment and conduct, key practical information like expenses and contacts, and ideally some real stories from existing volunteers. It should be visual, on-brand and genuinely engaging rather than a collection of forms and policies.

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