Almost four in 10 voluntary organisations want to collaborate with private sector organisations but have been unable to find partners, new research indicates.

A report from the think tank What Impact, which is based on research conducted with 100 voluntary organisations across the UK during the summer, says there is often a gap in expectations between corporate volunteers and the charities they engage with. 

The paper says almost 40 per cent of the voluntary organisations surveyed in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland do not collaborate with private sector organisations, despite wanting to. This figure rose to 60 per cent among the 25 respondents from Wales.

Just 20 per cent of respondents reported an increase in interest from the private sector in collaboration since January 2021, when the UK introduced a mandatory requirement for social value engagement in public sector procurement.

While the report found that 40 per cent of the organisations asked reported positive experiences with corporate volunteers, respondents also outlined a number of challenges associated with corporate volunteering.

Challenges relating to time commitments were mentioned in 20 per cent of all responses, with the report saying: “Corporate volunteers often only help for a day when many charities need consistent volunteering support.”

One respondent said: “Securing longer-term partnerships is a challenge, corporate volunteers usually wish to do something on an ad-hoc or one-off basis which is difficult to accommodate.”

Some respondents urged companies to consider ways they can create more flexibility with volunteers’ time, such as giving staff a day off for volunteering so they can choose to carry it out over the weekend.

The report found that the costs involved with corporate volunteering was also a barrier for some organisations, with some respondents saying the cost of providing the necessary training often puts their charity out of pocket.

Some respondents mentioned organisational and operational challenges they encountered when trying to set up corporate volunteering. One said that companies sometimes ask to bring a large group of volunteers at short notice, which their charity cannot accommodate. 

Another said that companies often demand lots of attention from the charity’s leadership, which is hard to prioritise as a charity chief executive.

Respondents also mentioned that there was often a gap in expectations between corporate volunteers and the charities they engage with, stemming from a lack of understanding of how charities work and how their programmes operate.

To address this lack of understanding, respondents advised that private sector organisations take time to learn about the charity’s mission and work and display a willingness to listen to the charity’s expertise.

“In terms of budget, corporates should consider that though they can bring ideas and skills, VCSEs may lack the budget to implement these,” the report says. 

“Successful collaborations involve a shared understanding of these differences.”

Respondents urged private sector organisations to consider other ways they can support charities, either instead of or alongside corporate volunteering initiatives, such as with donations or fundraising.

The report urges businesses to consider having a budget to support the charity with the co-ordination and equipment costs, to help “deliver a longer-standing impact and secure guaranteed, meaningful volunteering opportunities”.

Most of the organisations surveyed in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland were registered charities, accounting for 93 per cent of these respondents. This figure was lower among the Welsh organisations surveyed, with registered charities accounting for just 61 per cent of respondents. 

The rest of the respondents were either social enterprises or unregistered community groups.