01283 219761
ABOUT US
Volunteering has changed. We're changing with it.
We're South Derbyshire Volunteer Force, the volunteer centre for this district, and part of South Derbyshire CVS. Our job is to connect people who want to give their time with the organisations that need them, and to make that connection work for both.
WHO WE ARE
Built around people, not vacancies.
For years, volunteer brokerage has worked like a noticeboard. Roles went up, people browsed, and whoever felt confident enough put themselves forward. It served one kind of volunteer very well, the person who already knew what they wanted and recognised themselves in a role description.
It quietly failed everyone else. The person who knows they want to help but has no idea what they'd be good at. The person who's been out of work and reads "must be reliable and organised" as a list of things they aren't. The person managing a health condition who can't tell from an advert whether a role would be manageable. They looked at the list, saw nothing obvious, and left. We never heard from them, and never knew we'd lost them.
So, we are changing the model. We now start with a conversation about the person! What's drawing them to volunteering, what they can realistically offer, and what might get in the way, and only then talk about roles. Everything else we do sits on top of that.
Wanting to help is enough to start with. The rest is worked out together.
WHAY ARE WE CHANGING
The national picture made the case for change.
Volunteering in England hasn't stopped, but it has moved. People still want to contribute; they want to do it on terms that fit real lives. The evidence on that is consistent, and it's why a noticeboard is no longer good enough.
17%
of adults in England volunteered formally at least monthly in 2024/25, down from 27% in 2013/14. Annual participation fell from 45% to 28% over the same decade.
34%
of non-volunteers say the main thing putting them off is not wanting to make an ongoing commitment, the single biggest barrier recorded.
30%
say flexibility on the time committed is what would most encourage them to start; 26% want flexibility in how they give their time.
14%
of people who looked into volunteering and didn't proceed found nothing matching their interests, skills or experience, and another 14% found it wasn't flexible enough.
15%
would get involved if someone simply asked them directly, and 12% if they knew what opportunities were actually available. Being asked matters.
14%
now say they'd worry about being out of pocket, with up from 5% in 2019, and 18% among 18 to 24 year olds. Cost is a live barrier, not a footnote.
31%
of recent volunteers did at least some of it online or by phone, and satisfaction was identical to in-person volunteering, at 92% either way.
89%
of volunteer's report enjoyment and a sense of making a difference; 88% a sense of achievement and 87% greater social connection. Done well, it works.
Read together, these numbers say something specific. Fewer people are volunteering through organisations, but the appetite hasn't gone! What's changed is the shape of what people can offer. Time is tighter, budgets are tighter, health and caring responsibilities are more visible, and a rigid weekly slot is out of reach for many who'd otherwise be glad to help.
Meanwhile, the loss is real for organisations too: an estimated 1.16 million fewer people aged 50 and over now volunteer formally compared with 2019, equivalent to around 110 million hours a year [3]. Nationally, formal volunteering has been valued at roughly £18 billion, about 0.8% of UK GDP [4]. That is a lot of goodwill to leave on the table because the way in was too narrow.
WHAT WE COMMIT TO
Our pledge.
We serve four distinct groups, and the new model will only work and be successful if both get the same standard. Here's what each side can expect of us.
VOLUNTEERS
We start with you, not a vacancy. You don't need a CV, experience or a plan, only an interest.
We know it can be daunting to make the first move, so we'll give you time, take your skills and interests seriously, and try to deal with barriers up front. We'll tell you the truth about what a role really asks, share only opportunities worth your time, and never put you forward without asking. Saying no is always allowed.
Should we get it wrong, tell us, we'll do our best to put it right.
VCSE SECTOR
We will support VCSE organisations and community groups to adapt, not just be supplied, through practical help, training, information, support and guidance.
We know volunteering has changed, and that adapting takes time you may not have. So, we'll work alongside you, at your pace, on the things that matter rethinking roles, recruitment, expenses, safeguarding, supervision and retention. We'll be honest about what we're seeing locally, including when it's uncomfortable. When we refer someone, they'll have had a real conversation with us first. If we can't help with something, we'll say so and help you find who can.
CORPORATE
We start with a conversation, not a calendar slot. Employer supported volunteering only works when it's genuinely useful to the cause as well as good for your team. A well-meaning day that leaves a small charity with more work than it started with helps nobody.
So, we'll ask what skills your team actually has, what your calendar allows, and what you want from it: social value, staff development, local visibility, or all three. Then we'll find or build the right opportunity, brief both sides honestly, and stay involved.
Real capacity for local causes. Something real for your staff.
SERVICE AND SUPPORT PROFESSIONALS
You are often the first person to raise volunteering with someone, and that early conversation can be the difference between finding a role where they flourish and missing the chance entirely.
We know you're having it with limited time and a full caseload. So, we will publish a framework and free practical resources: guidance on exploring motivations, strengths, aspirations and circumstances, so the people you support are pointed towards opportunities that are realistic, rewarding and right for them.
Refer someone and we'll take it from there, and we'll tell you honestly if volunteering isn't the right step yet.
REFERENCES
Where our figures come from.
We'd rather you checked. Every statistic on this page is linked to its original publisher below.
[1] Community Life Survey 2024/25: Volunteering and charitable giving. Department for Culture, Media & Sport, published 10 December 2025. Formal volunteering rates for England.
gov.uk/government/statistics/community-life-survey-202425-annual-publication
[2] Time Well Spent 2023. NCVO national survey of the volunteer experience. Barriers, enablers, flexibility, remote volunteering and volunteer impact.
ncvo.org.uk — Time Well Spent 2023: at a glance
ncvo.org.uk — barriers and enablers
ncvo.org.uk — volunteer experience and impact
[3] State of Ageing 2025. Centre for Ageing Better - 1.16 million fewer formal volunteers aged 50+ than in 2019, around 110 million hours a year, as reported in Plinth's review of the evidence.
plinth.org.uk/debates/volunteering-crisis
[4] UK Civil Society Almanac 2024. NCVO - 14.2 million formal volunteers in 2021/22, contribution valued at approximately £18 billion, or 0.8% of UK GDP.
ncvo.org.uk — why investing in volunteering is money well spent