Organisation Terms
Last Updated: 21/09/2026
1. Who These Terms Apply To
These Organisation Terms apply to anyone who publishes an opportunity (including through their personal group), creates a Group or Channel, or is made an administrator of a Group. You accept them when you first do any of these things. They apply in addition to our Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, and Community Guidelines.
They apply whether you represent a registered charity or are an individual organising something informal, such as a one-off litter pick. We have kept them short so that everyone can follow them.
2. Your Role With Volunteers' Information
When you run opportunities and Channels, you can see information about the volunteers taking part, including their bookings, attendance, hours, availability, application answers, expressions of interest, and emergency contact details. You also decide what questions to ask and how to use the answers.
For your use of this information, you are responsible under UK data protection law as a data controller, separately from VolunteerNearMe. We remain responsible for running the platform itself.
3. How You Must Handle Volunteers' Information
Only ask for what you need: Only ask application questions and collect documents that are necessary for the volunteering.
Use it for the volunteering only: Use volunteers' information only to organise your opportunities. Do not use it for marketing, fundraising, or anything unrelated without the volunteer's separate permission.
Emergency contacts are for emergencies: Only access or use emergency contact details if there is an emergency involving that volunteer.
Limit access: Only make people administrators if they need access to volunteers' information.
Keep copies to a minimum: Avoid copying volunteers' information out of the platform. If you do, keep it secure and delete it when it is no longer needed.
Documents: Do not upload documents containing other people's personal information unless you have a lawful reason to share it.
Respond to volunteers: If a volunteer asks what information you hold about them, or asks you to delete it, respond within one month or forward the request to privacy@volunteernearme.co.uk.
Tell us about problems: If you believe volunteers' information has been lost, misused, or accessed by someone who shouldn't have it, tell us at privacy@volunteernearme.co.uk without undue delay, and within 72 hours at most.
4. Volunteers Under 18
Volunteers aged 16 and 17 use VolunteerNearMe, and you will be able to see when a member of your Channel is under 18. If your opportunities are open to them, you must:
State a minimum age on your opportunity if your activity is not suitable for under-18s
Have safeguarding arrangements proportionate to your activity, including who is responsible for young volunteers on the day
Keep contact with young volunteers to the volunteering, through the platform or your Group's normal arrangements
Report safeguarding concerns to the appropriate authorities and to safety@volunteernearme.co.uk
5. Your Opportunities
Accuracy: Describe opportunities accurately, including time commitment, location, requirements, and minimum age.
Genuine volunteering: Only offer genuine volunteering. Do not use the platform to recruit unpaid staff for work that should be paid.
Health and safety: Take reasonable steps to keep volunteers safe and give them the safety information they need.
Insurance: Consider whether your activities need insurance covering volunteers, and arrange it where needed.
Equality: Do not discriminate unlawfully in who you accept as a volunteer.
Changes and cancellations: Update or cancel sessions promptly if plans change, so volunteers are not left without notice.
6. Attendance and Hours
Record attendance accurately, including marking volunteers who did not attend
Only endorse hours that were genuinely volunteered
Correct hours promptly if a volunteer tells you they are wrong
If you turn on automatic completion, check afterwards that the recorded attendance is correct
7. Automatic Settings You Control
Some Channel settings make decisions automatically, such as approving applications whose answers match preset answers, adding everyone who books to your Channel, and completing sessions and logging hours when they end. You are responsible for how you set these up. If a volunteer asks you to review an automatic decision, you must review it yourself.
8. What We May Do
If we believe a Group or administrator has broken these Terms, or that volunteers are at risk, we may remove opportunities or content, restrict features, remove administrator access, suspend or delete the Group or Channel, and refer concerns to the appropriate authorities. We will tell you what we have done and why where it is safe to do so, and you can appeal as described in our Community Guidelines.
9. Leaving or Closing a Group
If you are the only administrator of a Group, you must transfer administration to another member before leaving or deleting your account. Otherwise, the Group and its opportunities and Channels will be deleted.
When a Group or Channel is deleted, volunteers' Channel information is deleted in line with our Privacy Policy. Hours already logged remain on volunteers' records.
Delete any copies of volunteers' information you hold outside the platform once you no longer need them
10. Contact
Data protection: privacy@volunteernearme.co.uk
Safeguarding: safety@volunteernearme.co.uk
Group support: support@volunteernearme.co.uk