Organisation FAQ's

The brokerage is a university service that connects local charities, non-profits, and community groups with enthusiastic student volunteers. 

We provide a platform to advertise roles, promote opportunities on campus, and support both students and organisations throughout the process.

We welcome a wide range of opportunities, including:

• Ongoing roles such as mentoring, admin, or community support
• Project-based work, e.g., research, communications, or digital support
• Flexible or remote volunteering where appropriate
• One-off events or fundraising activities can be advertised but there may be more efficient ways to advertise, that are less time consuming that adding a new advert, such as a mailshot to all student volunteers registered with us.

No. Our brokerage is a free service for charities, non-profits, and community partners. We aim to remove barriers and make it easy for you to access student support.

Create an account on our volunteering portal and upload your opportunity. 

You can also contact the student volunteering team at volunteering@canterbury.ac.uk. 

We’ll review the role to ensure it’s suitable for students, check you have in-date public liability insurance and then publish it on our volunteering portal and promote it through campus events.

Our team can:

• Advise on writing clear, engaging role descriptions
• Promote your opportunities to students through multiple channels
• Help with recruitment, matching, and volunteer queries
• Offer ongoing partnership support

For certain roles (e.g., working with children or vulnerable adults), you may need to carry out DBS or other safeguarding checks. 

The brokerage can advise, but the responsibility for completing these lies with the host organisation.

If issues arise, we encourage open communication. Speak with the student first if possible, and contact our team if further support is needed. 

We’ll work with you to resolve concerns or reassign the volunteer if necessary.

Demand varies depending on timing, type of role, and flexibility. Some opportunities attract large numbers (e.g., one-off events), while specialist roles may suit only a handful of students. 

We can advise on how to maximise engagement.

Yes, in most cases. Volunteering is generally permitted under student visa conditions if the role is unpaid and truly voluntary but volunteering often competes with paid-work as international students have 20hrs per week that includes both paid-work and volunteering. 

We encourage partners to be inclusive and we can advise on any queries.

We value partner feedback to improve our service. You’ll be invited to share updates on your volunteers’ contributions and to complete occasional surveys. 

Success stories are especially welcome and can be featured in our communications.

You can complete the ‘organisation registration’ link straight on our website but we advise you contact our team to set up an initial conversation. 

We’ll guide you through registering your first opportunity and discuss how we can best support your organisation. 

The more we know about you and what volunteer support you need, the better we can promote your services to our students.