Over the Christmas period, we asked you what’s really going on in your volunteer programmes. The response was honest, practical and (at times) a little weary. You told us where the friction is. Where the duplication lives. Where digital helps – and where it hinders. So we’ve built our 2026 Community of Practice Events campaign directly from that feedback.

This year revolves around four quarterly webinars – each feeding into new Toolkit content – and is designed to strengthen your digital confidence across four pillars:

• Efficiency (doing the work better)
• Scale (coordinating and growing sustainably)
• Experience (improving volunteer journeys)
• Standards (building shared frameworks and trust)

What You Told Us

From the survey:

• 44% said monitoring and reporting is a top pain point
• 43% struggle with ongoing volunteer management
• 34% cited activity planning challenges
• 34% are still using spreadsheets as a core management tool

So the pattern is clear: This isn’t primarily about recruitment. It’s about coordination, duplication and process overload.

You don’t need more tools, just fewer, better-connected ones.

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Q1: AI, Data & the Future of Volunteering (14 January)

Pillar: Efficiency

We began 2026 by stepping into one of the biggest shifts facing the sector: Artificial Intelligence. But rather than running a “how to use ChatGPT” workshop, we zoomed out.

The session asked a more strategic question: What does AI mean for volunteering — and how do we navigate it responsibly?

We opened with a landscape view of how AI is reshaping work, communication and decision-making across the voluntary sector. From there, we explored the importance of data maturity. If AI is powered by data, then ethical, inclusive and effective AI use depends on the quality, structure and governance of that data.

We were joined by:

• Ross McCulloch (Third Sector Lab)
• Andrew Newman (Open Data Institute)
• Daniel King (VCSE Data Observatory, Nottingham Trent University)
• Amanda Naylor (Volunteering Matters)
  

Together they helped unpack:

• How AI is influencing the wider voluntary sector
• Why data standards and interoperability matter
• Risks around bias, exclusion and poor data practice
• What responsible experimentation looks like

The tone of the session reflected our broader approach for the year: not hype, not fear, but informed judgment. Whether you’re curious, cautious or already experimenting, this session was designed to build awareness, spark thoughtful conversation and support confident navigation of AI in volunteering.

The learning from this session will now feed into updated Toolkit guidance on AI awareness, data readiness and responsible implementation – strengthening the Efficiency pillar of our digital scaffold.

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Q2: Digital for Coordination & Capacity (30 April)

We don’t need more tools – just fewer, better-connected ones. 

Pillar: Scale

This session responds directly to your survey feedback. When 44% struggle with reporting and 34% still rely on spreadsheets, it suggests fragmentation — not a lack of effort.

We’ll focus on decision-literacy rather than selling software.

The session will bring together a range of perspectives to strengthen digital coordination and decision-making. Content will explore:

• What your organisation needs in place before selecting a Volunteer Management System
• Moving beyond spreadsheets with vendor-neutral guidance on key decision points and common pitfalls
• Using digital platforms to support recruitment and coordination at scale
• Understanding integrations – when they add value and when they create complexity
• Volunteer passporting as a system-coordination mechanism, not just a data product
• Cross-sector examples from health and care illustrating how shared infrastructure can reduce duplication
  

This isn’t about adding more platforms but auditing your admin, identifying duplication, making sense of your digital ecosystem, and reducing friction rather than increasing workload.

The goal is to strengthen decision-literacy – helping you choose fewer, better-connected tools that genuinely support coordination and capacity. Toolkit updates will include practical guidance on auditing workflows and evaluating integrations.

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Q3: Digital for Flexibility – Volunteer Experience (23 July)

If flexibility is the demand, coordination is the cost – how do we design for both?

Pillar: Experience

Your survey didn’t just speak about systems – it spoke about people. You told us that digital overload can damage volunteer engagement, that communication can feel chaotic and that tools should enhance, not erode, human connection. This session is intended to explore:

• Reducing friction in volunteer journeys
• Matching and onboarding improvements
• Designing better communication flows
• Balancing digital and human touchpoints

Toolkit updates here will focus on journey mapping and experience design.

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Q4: Building Digital That Doesn’t Exclude (29 October)

If digital is normalised, inclusion is non-negotiable.

Pillar: Standards

We’ll close 2026 with what we see as a defining moment for the Community of Practice: a standards-setting conversation about inclusion. Your survey made this unavoidable:

• 31% identified equity and inclusion as their top priority.
• The digital divide was repeatedly mentioned in free-text responses.
  

As digital becomes embedded in volunteering – from recruitment platforms to AI-supported workflows – inclusion can no longer be an afterthought. If digital is the norm, then accessibility, trust and fairness must be built in by design.

We aim to explore:

• Inclusion in Practice – Real-world examples of adapting volunteering models to ensure disabled volunteers and those facing digital barriers are not excluded, including hybrid design approaches.
• Accessibility Standards Demystified – What AA/AAA accessibility standards actually mean, and how organisations can make proportionate, practical improvements.
• Data Ethics, Trust & AI – Addressing bias, transparency and responsible AI use in volunteer management, and what good organisational policy looks like.
• Maintaining Standards Through Skills & Training – How qualifications, occupational standards and sector-wide capability building can embed inclusive digital practice.
  

Q4 completes our digital scaffold by grounding everything in shared principles:

• Efficiency matters.
• Scale matters.
• Experience matters.

But without inclusive standards, digital progress risks widening gaps rather than closing them. In October, we make inclusion non-negotiable.

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What This Means for You

We are not becoming a software marketplace.
We are not endorsing specific vendors.

We are strengthening digital judgement.

You told us you’re overloaded. You told us that coordination is harder than recruitment. You told us that reporting and management take up too much time. This programme is our response.

Thank you to everyone who completed the survey. We’re listening and building this with you.

If you haven’t yet joined the Community of Practice, now is a great time.

Let’s make 2026 the year digital genuinely works for volunteering – not the other way round.

Ruth, Chris, & Gethyn