Thursday 24 July 2025 | 9.30am to 12.30pm | Online via Zoom
Ticket prices: Members £27 | Non-members £43
Explore what works in volunteer recruitment — and how to make it work for you.
We are being joined by two guest speakers at this dynamic event about recruiting and attracting volunteers.
Margaret Starkie from Volunteer Scotland will share the powerful wellbeing benefits of volunteering and an overview of the national Volunteer Recruitment Campaign.
You will discover some practical recruitment strategies, understand the current challenges when recruiting volunteers, and learn from a successful project where volunteer numbers doubled.
Dave Thomas from Nottingham Community and Voluntary Service will also be leading an interactive workshop where we’ll flip the traditional recruitment model and explore how to make your organisation become truly “the volunteers” organisation, by putting volunteers at the heart of the experience.
We’ll map the volunteer journey from the volunteer’s perspective and brainstorm creative ways to attract the perfect fit for your team. The workshop will go through steps on how to plan a volunteer opportunity, define a volunteer role, and how to use call to actions to attract new volunteers.
This event will cover:
- the barriers to volunteer recruitment
- creative volunteer recruitment strategies
- how to build a volunteer recruitment campaign
- the current challenges around recruiting volunteers and what works well to overcome them.
About the speakers
Margaret Starkie, Partnership and Communications Manager at Volunteer Scotland
Margaret Starkie joined Volunteer Scotland in 2009 and has held various key organisational roles. Currently, Margaret is a vital member of the Senior Leadership Team, offering strategic guidance to advance the organisation’s growth and enhance volunteer participation throughout Scotland.
In her capacity, Margaret leads the Volunteer Scotland Communication Team, overseeing multiple websites and external communication activities to promote volunteerism. She leads impactful campaigns such as Volunteers’ Week and the National Volunteer Recruitment Campaign (Scotland) in response to the ongoing Cost of Living Crisis.
Margaret’s collaborative approach extends to partnering with organisations across Scotland, the UK, and internationally. Through these partnerships, she strives to raise awareness and recognition for volunteers and volunteering, work towards optimal outcomes, and support those engaged in volunteer activities.
Dave Thomas, Volunteering Development Officer at Nottingham Community and Voluntary Service
Dave Thomas has over 40 years’ experience as a Leader of Volunteers and as a volunteering development professional. He has worked in accredited Volunteer Centres in Nottingham, South Derbyshire and Gedling, providing support, training and advice to hundreds of organisations and Leaders of Volunteers.
He is something of a volunteering research geek and keeps up to date with the rapid changes that have taken place in volunteering. His own volunteering has been lifelong, starting as a subject for Girl Guiding’s childcare badge just before his first birthday.
AVM Members’ Discount
AVM members are eligible for a discount on the event ticket price. Please login to your account so that your discount can be automatically applied.
If you’re not an AVM member, you can join AVM today to gain access to this event, as well as receiving lots of other benefits, including access to free member-only events, discounts for all public events and the annual AVM conference.
You will also have access to the AVM BiteSize webcasts and AVM Replay videos of previous events, including our annual conference. Members also have the opportunity to join our Mentoring Scheme and build their professional network through AVM Connect.
Join AVM today to access your discount for this event.