About us

What is vinspired.com?

vinspired.com is the UK's only online platform dedicated to connecting young volunteers with the causes they care about, helping them build skills, networks and confidence.

Since 2009, it has helped 1.4 million young people to volunteer with over 8,000 charities and log 4.7 million hours of volunteering.

Our story

vinspired.com was set up by the charity vInspired, a leading light in the UK voluntary sector for over 12 years.

Sadly vInspired had to close in 2018 due to funding cuts.

Bob Barbour was Digital Director at vInspired before it closed. He took on the website from the liquidator of the charity in July 2019 and has been working to save it ever since.

Volunteering UK is a new social enterprise set up by Bob and Reason Digital, a Manchester-based social enterprise specialising in tech for good.

We set up Volunteering UK, because we believe that the whole voluntary sector deserves quality technology to help it find and keep volunteers.

Find out more at www.volunteering.co.uk.

For young people

Volunteering can be a life-changing experience, and for young people, one of the best ways to build skills and confidence and open new and unexpected opportunities.

In a time where our lives and communities are ever more disconnected, volunteering helps young people to make meaningful and lasting connections.

For the voluntary sector

Volunteers are the lifeblood of communities and social causes, but there’s a lack of quality technology to help connect them with the causes they care about.

vinspired.com is a rare exception, and a real asset to our sector.

We’re here to save it and help it thrive, building a low cost, high quality digital service around the needs of volunteers and social causes.

Our vision is of a platform that helps non-profits of all shapes and sizes to find the volunteers they need.

For too long, the voluntary sector has been starved of quality, affordable technology. We’re here to change that.

Contact us

vinspired.com is run by Volunteering UK, a partnership between Bob Barbour and Reason Digital.

At the moment, Bob and a couple of other former members of vInspired staff are running the service part time, while we raise the investment we need to secure its long term future.

If you have any questions, suggestions or criticisms, or can offer us any help or advice, please get in touch and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.

For general enquiries about the service, please email info@vinspired.com.

For enquiries about Volunteering UK, please email bob.barbour@volunteering.co.uk.

Our postal address is:

Volunteering UK Ltd
C/O Reason Digtial
2nd Floor
22-24 Lever Street
Manchester
M1 1DW

More about Reason Digital

Reason Digital is a 40-strong team of digital changemakers working in the tech for good space who understand how to build digital platforms and engagement tools that increase awareness, spread influence and drive income.

It works with both large and small charities, including:

• scaling Age UK’s award-winning volunteer befriending service by digitsing key volunteer management processes;


• designing digital diagnostic tools and a brand and website for Volunteering Week for NCVO;


• developing a platform to promote current media volunteering opportunities for The Media Trust; and


• designing a website to help recruit sports coaching apprentices for Coach Core

Reason Digital also devised, designed and spun out the social value reporting tool Impact, to promote and support more accurate measurement of – and engagement with – social impact activity in the voluntary and corporate responsibility sectors.

The tool is being used by organisations as diverse as Network Rail, DWF, The British Library, Helpforce and Places for People.

More about Bob Barbour

Bob has spent 14 years leading digital strategy and product development programmes in the not for profit sector, including leadership roles with the MS Society, NSPCC and Shelter.

He now advises non profits on digital strategy as a freelance consultant.

From 2016, until the charity closed in 2018, Bob led the digital transformation programme at vInspired, building vinspired.com into the UK’s leading digital volunteer brokerage service for young people.

Bob passionately believe that the voluntary sector needs to do tech differently and his personal dream is of a voluntary sector in the UK and beyond that truly benefits from the digital revolution.