Reach Volunteering to close after 45 years
Howard Lake | 1 September 2026 | News
After more than 45 years of connecting charities with skilled volunteers and trustees, Reach Volunteering has announced that it will cease operations. The charity has instituted a managed 12-week closure plan from 1 September 2026, with operations expected to cease fully by 30 November 2026.
The decision was taken by the Board of Trustees, alongside Chief Executive Officer Janet Thorne and the senior management team, following conclusions that there is no realistic path to long-term financial sustainability.
Shift in funding landscape
Reach generates around half of its operational income through earned revenue, including its TrusteeWorks team and recruitment fees charged to larger charities. However, the organisation relies on support from trusts, foundations, and philanthropists to fund the remaining cost of its free services.
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According to the charity, funders have increasingly narrowed their focus to specific geographic regions, causes, or demographics. This shift has led to a decline in funding for infrastructure organisations that assist charities of all sizes in building capacity, skills, and networks.
To remain open, Reach estimates it would need a funding package of roughly £200,000 annually for at least two years to stabilise operations and expand its earned-income streams. To halt the closure process, this funding would need to be in place by 10 September 2026.
Reach reports that it explored alternative pathways, including service redesigns, further cost savings, charging smaller charities, asking volunteers for donations, and pursuing mergers or transferring the platform to another nonprofit organisation. However, none provided a viable long-term solution.
“Record impact” before closure
The decision to close comes despite Reach achieving record activity levels. In 2025, the platform placed 5,996 volunteers and trustees, who contributed an estimated £60 million in professional expertise across the UK voluntary sector.
It was particularly successful at supporting small charities.
Over 16,000 new volunteers registered on the platform in 2025, with strong representation from younger people and ethnically diverse communities. Reach engaged 2,440 organisations during the year, 96% of which had annual incomes under £1 million, and nearly half had incomes under £50,000. Over the past decade, the charity enabled nonprofit organisations to recruit more than 34,000 volunteers and trustees.
Key dates for the winddown
Reach is managing its closure through a 12-week phased timetable to allow organisations and candidates to complete active recruitment:
- 15 September 2026: Deadline for registering new organisation profiles and contacts.
- 29 September 2026: Final day for posting new volunteer or trustee opportunities.
- 20 October 2026: Deadline for creating new full volunteer profiles.
- 27 October 2026: All live roles will be paused, and guest applications will close.
- 10 November 2026: On-site messaging functionality will close.
- 24 November 2026: The Reach Volunteering platform will enter read-only mode.
Sector impact and future assets
The charity expressed concern over the gap its closure will leave across the sector. Reach has acted as the largest single source of trustees for UK charities, with 40% of its applicants aged under 40 and 40% coming from ethnic minority backgrounds.
During the winddown period, Reach plans to share its digital assets, frameworks, and sector insights with partners to preserve the knowledge built over its four decades of operation.
For full details on the winddown, visit the Reach Volunteering FAQs page before operations close on 30 November 2026.
- Big Help Out volunteering app launches (21 March 2023)
- 6 in 10 charities still struggling with volunteer recruitment (31 May 2024)
- Volunteering numbers down since pandemic, NCVO reports (2 May 2023)
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About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.