the volunteer-to-employee pipeline.

The volunteer-to-employee pipeline — charities sit on a huge pool of engaged people who already believe in the mission. Most organisations don't have a deliberate strategy to convert that into hiring.

The Volunteer-to-Employee Pipeline: Turning Mission Belief into Talent Strategy

Charities sit on one of the most underused talent pools in any sector — people who already believe in the mission, know how the organisation works, and have given their time freely to prove it. Yet most organisations don't have a deliberate strategy for converting that goodwill and engagement into hiring. The pipeline exists, but it's largely accidental.

This session explores what it would look like to change that. We'll talk about why the journey from volunteer to employee so often breaks down, how to have honest career conversations without raising false expectations, and whether formalising this pipeline risks undermining what makes volunteering valuable in the first place. We'll also take on the harder questions — the fairness issues around who can afford to volunteer, and whether giving volunteers an advantage is equitable to strong external candidates.

If your volunteers are one of your best kept secrets as a talent source, this session is about making that intentional.

This is not a webinar. It's a small group discussion with cameras on, built around real experiences from practitioners in similar organisations. Come prepared to share what's worked, what hasn't, and what you're still figuring out.

For Volunteer Coordinators, in-house recruiters and HR professionals working in the non-profit sector.