Supporting people to volunteer: Community Impact Bucks receive Lottery funding for new project

Volunteering is at the heart of what local infrastructure organisations do. Every community is different, and NAVCA members work closely with them to meet local needs. Many local infrastructure organisations run their own volunteering platforms, connecting people with opportunities that work for them and helping charities and community groups reach a local audience.

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That’s why we’re delighted to share that NAVCA member Community Impact Bucks, in partnership with the Buckinghamshire Health and Social Care Academy (BHSCA), has secured funding from The National Lottery Community Fund for a new five-year programme to transform volunteering in Buckinghamshire.

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This marks a major milestone for Volunteer Bucks, a free online platform that connects people to local volunteering opportunities. The ambition is simple but powerful: make volunteering easier, more inclusive, and more rewarding for everyone—regardless of background or experience.

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The project will expand the Volunteer Bucks platform so people can find the right role more easily, and organisations can benefit from better matches. It will also work with underrepresented groups to make volunteering more accessible, ensuring everyone can share in its benefits. And crucially, it will strengthen links across health, social care, and the voluntary sector - helping volunteers move seamlessly between roles so they can help where and when they’re needed most.

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Welcoming the funding, Kate Walker, Chief Executive Officer at Community Impact Bucks said:

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“We are incredibly proud to launch this exciting project to amplify volunteering in Buckinghamshire. The National Lottery funding will help us strengthen and diversify volunteering across Bucks—making it easier for more people to get involved and for organisations to access the support they need to thrive.”

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“Our partnership with BHSCA will be key in creating smoother transitions for volunteers across sectors, while our focus on inclusion ensures no community is left behind.”

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Professor David Sines OBE PhD, Buckinghamshire Health and Social Care Academy Chair, added:

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“I am delighted the Academy’s Volunteer Faculty and Community Impact Bucks are strengthening their partnership and building on previous collaborative projects to deliver this new programme, supporting our aims to develop work readiness, experience and skills through volunteering and expand career opportunities across health and social care.”

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At NAVCA, we want to celebrate diversity in volunteering and back our members to run platforms that work for their local context. Local infrastructure plays a vital, often overlooked role in making this happen. We’ll keep championing that role — supporting our members to support volunteers, and advocating for local infrastructure to be at the forefront of volunteering.

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Find out more about Community Impact Bucks’ project here.

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