Shortfall of three million volunteers faced by charities
Leading charities, led by Royal Voluntary Service, urge the public to take up volunteering amidst rising demand in services
- Nearly half of charities (44%) experiencing rising demand for services, and one in four say they are unable to meet demand *
- Coalition of household name charities stand together to deliver urgent call for volunteers
- Many Brits want to help but feel nervous (22%), unsure of commitment (25%), or worry opportunities aren’t flexible (19%), new research found **
- The new digital volunteering platform GoVo offers easy-to-access, flexible local and remote volunteering experiences to would-be volunteers
Charities across the country anticipate a shortfall of three million volunteers over the next year***, jeopardising essential charity services from hospices, conservation, animal welfare, and local community support, according to Royal Voluntary Service.
New research by Nottingham Trent University found that 44% of charities report rising requests for help, while one in four (27%) say they are unable to meet demand*. Without additional volunteers, vulnerable communities and causes could be left without the practical and emotional support they rely on.
In response, national charity Royal Voluntary Service is urging the public to take on volunteer roles with causes they care about, alongside a coalition of household name charities including Guide Dogs, Bookmark Reading Charity, Missing People, Oxfam, RNIB, Rotary Great Britain & Ireland, RSPCA, Stroke Association, and The Conservation Volunteers.
To welcome more people into volunteering, Royal Voluntary Service has launched a digital volunteering platform named GoVo.
Developed using support from the players of People’s Postcode Lottery, GoVo connects volunteers with flexible local and remote opportunities, making it easier to fit helping out into busy lives. Research by Royal Voluntary Service found that 164 million additional volunteering hours could be unlocked each month if more flexible, digital opportunities were available **** enough to staff 631 charity shops for 25 years.
"Bookmark Reading Charity’s One-to-One Reading Programme volunteers are the heart of our charity. Without their dedication, we simply couldn’t help disadvantaged children transform their life stories through the power of reading.
"But right now, there are far more children struggling to read than we have volunteers to support them. We currently need almost 25% more volunteers to ensure every child in our partner schools gets the reading help they need to thrive. With one in four children leaving primary school unable to read well, our volunteers play a vital role in giving this generation the chance to succeed and build a brighter future."
Emily Jack, CEO of Bookmark Reading Charity
To amplify the appeal, ITV is partnering with Royal Voluntary Service on a new and ambitious campaign to inspire the nation to get volunteering. The campaign ‘Role of a Lifetime’, will see familiar ITV faces - including Rochelle Humes, Ryan Thomas, Dr Amir Khan, and Ellie Simmonds, draw on their own charitable experiences and call on the nation to embrace volunteering.
Encouragingly Generation Z and Millennials are taking charge, as 74% say they are actively looking for ways to support their communities. However, practical and emotional barriers are holding many of them back: 35% cite lack of time, 28% worry opportunities may lack flexibility and 24% feel nervous about volunteering. Of those who have sought roles, 21% struggled to find one, and 19% were frustrated by the application process**.
"Britain’s charities are facing an unprecedented volunteer shortfall, and vital services risk being unable to meet growing needs. Charities are standing together like never before, but they cannot do it alone — volunteering is essential. Every contribution, no matter how much time someone can give, helps sustain services, provide support, and make a real difference to causes and communities. The new digital volunteering platform, GoVo, makes it easy to find flexible opportunities locally or remotely. Now is the moment to step forward get involved, and help us show what we can achieve when charities and communities unite."
Catherine Johnstone CBE, Chief Executive of Royal Voluntary Service
"We got involved in this project because we know that volunteering is time well spent and anything that encourages new people to start can only be a good thing.
"Volunteers are vital for charities and good causes up and down the country, but studies also show volunteers are happier, healthier and feel more connected to their communities.
"I’m so pleased that funding raised by Postcode Lottery players has made GoVo possible and I hope it encourages a new cohort of volunteers to step forward."
Clara Govier, Managing Director of People’s Postcode Lottery
Over 3,000 charities from across the country are signed up to GoVo, and local and regional charities in a range of cause areas are also standing with RVS to deliver the urgent call for volunteers, including Dementia Disco, Wilderness Foundation, Wheels for All, Marauders Men’s Health and Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity.
"Guide Dogs is reliant on volunteers to help create life changing guide dog partnerships. But like many charities we are finding it harder to recruit enough volunteers, especially training dog fosterers, who provide loving homes to our dogs through the final stage of their training journey.
"We know that financial pressures and busy lives can make volunteering feel out of reach, but fostering can fit around work, family and other commitments — and it’s an incredibly rewarding way to make a direct, lasting difference. Volunteers are at the heart of everything we do, helping us to raise and train the next generation of guide dogs so people with sight loss can live the life they choose.
"With a waiting list of people hoping for the independence, mobility and confidence a guide dog brings, we need to ensure we can attract, retain and grow our volunteer community to deliver this unique service."
Maria Rogan, Head of the Guide Dog Service Operations at Guide Dogs
"Without dedicated volunteers stepping up to fill these vital roles, Marauders Men's Health will be unable to scale up our critical plans for growth across South Wales. The immediate effect is a strain on our existing resources, leaving our core team stretched too thin which directly impacts the quality of our service delivery. More critically, the needs of men in the community will not be met, leaving countless men without the essential support network they need to address and improve their health and well-being.
"Ultimately, without our volunteers, our charity's potential remains capped, and the fun, life-changing opportunities we provide to break the stigma around men's health will simply be out of reach for too many men who desperately need a stronger support network."
Greg Orrell, Project Coordinator at Marauders Men’s Health, a Welsh charity supporting men’s physical and mental wellbeing
"We are thrilled to be supporting the launch of RVS’ volunteering platform to help recruit more volunteers to the charity sector. The Stroke Association relies on a dedicated team of around 1,200 volunteers who help stroke survivors by providing a listening ear, running support groups, helping at events, raising awareness of stroke and championing our work. We look forward to benefitting from the platform in the future, to help us support the 1.4 million stroke survivors and their loved ones."
Juliet Bouverie OBE, CEO of the Stroke Association
Also supporting the call for more volunteers are the first businesses to back the GoVo platform as Founder Members - Centrica, ITV, Mail Metro Media and Global. They will work alongside RVS to support GoVo’s continued development – including piloting the platform for employee volunteering ahead of its upcoming launch to businesses and helping champion volunteering across their national networks and audiences.
Anyone inspired to get involved, explore flexible volunteering opportunities and see the difference they can make, visit GoVo.org
Notes:
* Research conducted by Nottingham Trent University (VCSE Barometer Survey data October, 2025) identified the percent of charities unable to meet demand due to recruitment challenges
** Fieldwork was conducted by 3Gem Research, which surveyed 2,000 British adults (ages 18+) between 6 – 9 October 2025
*** Research was conducted by RVS with a sample of 922 registered charities across England, Scotland and Wales between 30 September to 6 October.
**** The research was conducted by Censuswide with a sample of 2,002 nationally representative respondents. Quotas were applied to nationally representative proportions for age, gender and region aged 16+. The survey fieldwork took place between 28 February 2025 - 3 March 2025. Censuswide abide by and employ members of the Market Research Society which is based on the ESOMAR principles and are members of The British Polling Council.
