# LinkedIn launches Volunteer Marketplace in the UK

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2015/02/06/linkedin-launches-volunteer-marketplace-uk/
- Published: 2015-02-06T10:42:22+00:00
- Author: Howard Lake

**Business social network LinkedIn yesterday launched its Volunteer Marketplace 
in the UK. Launched in the US last year, this service enables LinkedIn users to 
volunteer their skills and time, and for charities to post volunteer opportunities
to find the right volunteers.**

LinkedIn, the oldest of the major social networks, now has over four million people
around the world who have added their volunteering interests on their LinkedIn profile.
In the UK there are over 250,000 so far, out of the 17 million users, but the company
expects this to grow considerably.

> 250k [@linkedin](https://twitter.com/LinkedIn?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) UK members 
> have already listed they want to volunteer their time for causes they support 
> [@LinkedIn4Good](https://twitter.com/linkedin4good?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) [#volunteeronlinkedin](https://twitter.com/hashtag/volunteeronlinkedin?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
> 
> ## Advertisement
> 
>  [⌊Posthub advert. You create the campaign. We'll handle the postal journey. Get started at post-hub.co.uk.⌉](https://fundraising.co.uk/ads/posthub-20261007-300x250/)
> — Cities of Service UK (@CitiesServiceUK) [February 5, 2015](https://twitter.com/CitiesServiceUK/status/563397425105489921?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

## Volunteer partners

LinkedIn has been trialling the Volunteer Marketplace since last year. Its two lead
partners are [REACH Volunteering](http://www.reachskills.org.uk/) and [Do-it.org](https://do-it.org/news/welcome),
but they are working with other organisations such as youth volunteering specialists
[vInspired](http://www.vinspired.org).

It has already helped find dozens of people who have volunteered as school governors.

LinkedIn employees themselves have used it to find volunteering opportunities, for
example at The Prince’s Trust.

## Skilled volunteers and board members

VolunteerMatch, part of LinkedIn’s **LinkedIn4Good** programme, is designed to help
charities with two volunteering challenges:
1. finding volunteers with particular
professional skills2. finding volunteers who want to serve as a board member or 
trustee

![LinkedIn for Nonprofits](https://www.fundraising.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/
02/linkedin-for-nonprofits-volunteer-match.jpg)

LinkedIn for Nonprofits contains resources for recruiting skilled volunteers

## How to volunteer

Charities can encourage their LinkedIn users to volunteer their skills and experience
by [completing the volunteer section of their LinkedIn profile](http://volunteer.linkedin.com).

## How to find volunteers

Charities can post volunteer opportunities on [LinkedIn for Nonprofits](https://nonprofit.linkedin.com/).
There is a modest fee – 10% of the standard cost to post a job on LinkedIn – which
LinkedIn explained was to ensure the facility was not misused. LinkedIn says it 
will reinvest this income in the service.

But **charities can post at no charge** if they post their advert via the two lead
partners REACH Volunteering and Do-it.org. Adverts posted there will also access
LinkedIn members.

There could be competition: over 200,000 charities have a company page on LinkedIn.

## First opportunities emailed today

From today LinkedIn will be emailing UK members who have posted volunteering skills,
sending them details of relevant opportunities.

[Ariel Eckstein](https://www.linkedin.com/in/aeckstein), Managing Director, LinkedIn
EMEA, said at last night’s launch:

> “We have hundreds of thousands of professional members who want to volunteer their
> skills but, until now, there was no easy way for them to connect with charities
> through LinkedIn.
> “We’re launching the Volunteer Marketplace today to solve that.
> By applying what we do best – connecting talent with opportunity on a massive 
> scale – to the social sector, we want to help UK charities recruit the skills 
> they need to tackle some of the world’s most pressing challenges.”

 * **[LinkedIn launches volunteer marketplace in the UK](https://fundraising.co.uk/2015/02/06/linkedin-launches-volunteer-marketplace-uk/)(
   6 February 2016)**
 * **[Applications open for LinkedIn ad grants programme](https://fundraising.co.uk/2022/12/13/applications-open-for-linkedin-grants-programme/)(
   13 December 2022)**
 * **[Santa Clause has a LinkedIn account and works for the NSPCC](https://fundraising.co.uk/2014/10/15/santa-claus-linkedin-account-works-nspcc/)(
   15 October 2014)**