FAQs

Are you interested but have some questions? Take a look below and see if we’ve answered them here!

We support all small, London-based Social Good Organisations (registered charities, CICs, social enterprises, and community groups) tackling poverty alleviation, marginalisation, and vulnerability. Please note that our focus is on organisations that serve the wider community without religious or political affiliation, or the promotion of religious or political views.

Link UP engagements use volunteers’ skills to help charitable organisations to increase their efficiency, grow and develop. These are project-based, not ongoing roles. Our Skilled Volunteering Projects are bite sized, achievable, structured and timebound.

Projects are agreed upfront by the organisation and volunteer before they begin.

Please note that Link UP London does not place front-line or ongoing volunteers.

Once you have submitted a sign-up form, we will be in touch to discuss how Link UP works and what to expect, including your organisational development priorities and designing your first Skilled Volunteering Project.

On average it takes anywhere between a week and a few months to match a project. We aim to match projects within a month or sooner.

We will keep in touch while looking for a Skilled Volunteer.

No. In order to ensure projects are really able to support your organisation’s development we only run one project at a time.

You are more than welcome to request another project after your first has come to a close. Many organisations have run more than one project with us over the years!

Our projects are matched according to skillset. We do our best to ensure that Skilled Volunteers have the skills you need and can make meaningful contributions.

Social Good Organisations (SGOs) need to be committed to their project. We encourage you to come prepared in advance of every meeting with your Skilled Volunteer. This allows your Skilled Volunteering Project to run as planned.

For a successful Skilled Volunteering Project, SGOs must be prepared to collaborate with their Skilled Volunteer. Skilled Volunteers are not able to solve your specific challenges without regular input from you. Good projects only work when everyone involved is driving them forward.

Yes! All Social Good Organisations are welcome to do another Skilled Volunteering Project after completing one and providing feedback.

There are some requests we CANNOT support:

Website and Database Building: These projects are simply too large in scale for a volunteer to undertake through our process. However, we will support planning around the scoping and development of websites and databases, preparing organisations to take work forward in order to build them.
Bid Writing: While we do not match Skilled Volunteers as bid-writers, we are able to support strategic development for fundraising, developing a case for support, research into appropriate funders, impact data gathering / reporting, policy development and other areas important for organisations to successfully apply for grants.

Yes! All Link UP London services are currently free.

Link UP London’s Skilled Volunteering Projects are matched according to skillset. Our projects need all sorts of skills. These include, branding, events, finance, strategy, marketing, legal, research, writing, finance, management and much more.

Those looking to volunteer need to have relevant skills to help organisations grow and develop. For the most part, our Skilled Volunteers come from professional sectors. They support organisational development with strategy, systems, operations, policy and research.

We encourage anyone interested in Skilled Volunteering to sign up and we are happy to answer any questions you may have.

Link UP London’s Skilled Volunteering differs from traditional volunteering in a few ways. First and foremost, it is based on skills.
Our Skilled Volunteering only matches Skilled Volunteers to Social Good Organisations on a project-by-project basis (which is why we call our engagements Skilled Volunteering Projects). This means they have agreed structures and timeframes.

Our Skilled Volunteering Projects are NOT ongoing roles for volunteers and can last from a few hours up to 6-months depending on what the project is.

Our projects are matched according to skillset. We think carefully about our matches to make sure that Skilled Volunteers are able to contribute meaningfully and Social Good Organisations can get real capacity building support.

Skilled Volunteers always have a choice of what to be involved in. We share relevant opportunities with you, but you make the decision about whether to participate!

Once you’ve submitted your volunteer sign up form, we will be in touch to find out more about your skills and experience and what you’d like to get out of volunteering.

No. There is no specific time of day that you are required to volunteer. Link UP Skilled Volunteering is designed to fit into people’s busy schedules, including those working full-time.

Yes, definitely! While we expect that volunteers have the skills to complete their project, we know that Skilled Volunteering is a great way to develop skills that you may have but not have had a chance to use before in the work environment.

We are happy to discuss this as an option for anyone looking to develop and grow confidence in specific skillsets.

When signing up as a Link UP Skilled Volunteer you are more than welcome to let us know about any charitable cause area that speaks to your heart. We will try our best to accommodate your preferences when sending through roles!

After completing a project with us it is great to shout about what you have done in as many ways as you can.

You should definitely include Skilled Volunteer Projects on your CV. Many of our Skilled Volunteers also get recommendations on LinkedIn from the organisations they volunteer with.

We know many of our volunteers have gone on to get new roles as a result of their volunteer experience.

Beyond our Skilled Volunteering Projects there are a number of ways to engage with us.

Flash Consulting: These events take place every few months and are short, fun and effective ways to share skills. These are 1.5 hour events with a series of 1:1 matches between Skilled Volunteers and Social Good Organisations to work through a specific issue the organisation is working to overcome.

Events / webinars: Link UP has a series of events and webinars through which our volunteers are able to share their skills with our network. For example, our Lunch & Learn event series.

Blogs: Link UP regularly has blog posts by Skilled Volunteers sharing their knowledge and tips around areas that Social Good Organisations need to develop and grow.

Share through social media and beyond: Share what we do and our opportunities with your network and help us find amazing volunteers!

Our services are free.

We are extremely grateful to our funders (shout out to the National Lottery Community Fund!) and the donations we receive from individuals who support our work.

Are you interested but have some questions? Take a look below and see if we’ve answered them here!

Is my organisation eligible for support?

What is a Link UP Skilled Volunteering Project?

What happens once I’ve registered my Social Good Organisation?

How long does it take to find a match for my project?

Can I submit more than one project request at a time?

How do I know the volunteer has the right expertise to help us?

What is expected of my organisation once the Skilled Volunteering Project begins?

Can we do another project after completing one?

Are there project requests you do not match?

Is Link UP London support Free?

What skills do I need to be a skilled volunteer?

How is Skilled Volunteering different to traditional volunteering?

How will my experience be matched to a project?

What happens once I’ve submitted a volunteer sign up form?

Is there a specific time of day that I need to volunteer?

Can I use a Skilled Volunteering Project to develop and/or learn new skills?

Can I choose a specific cause area I would like to support?

Can I share news of my completed project on social media and on my CV?

How else can I engage with Link UP London?

Are Link UP’s services free?

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