Creating personalised volunteer pathways | Case Study

In 2024–25 the Socialability program adopted a largely group-based and outreach-focused approach, designed to engage a broad number of participants and organisations. This included delivering group volunteering activities across multiple organisations, alongside extensive community engagement through meetings, events and provider connections. It focused on raising awareness of inclusive volunteering, promoting opportunities through social media and direct outreach and delivering workshops to support organisations in understanding priority groups and inclusive practices.

While this approach built strong networks and reached a wide audience, it relied heavily on generalised engagement methods. Challenges identified included individuals initially engaging but not progressing into ongoing volunteer roles, the requirement of more tailored support to build confidence and sustain engagement and organisations facing capacity constraints that made it difficult to accommodate group volunteering or respond to individual needs effectively.

In 2025–26 the program shifted to a person-centred, one-on-one approach, focusing on tailored support for both participants and organisations. This prioritised individual engagement, starting with in-depth one-on-one sessions to identify each participant’s strengths, goals, interests and barriers to volunteering. Individualised support plans were then developed, enabling structured pathways into volunteering that aligned with personal capacity and aspirations. Participants were then matched with suitable roles through a more strategic and thoughtful process, ensuring placements were accessible, meaningful, and sustainable.

Ongoing mentoring became a key part of the approach, with regular check-ins, adjustments to roles and continuous support provided to both the participant and host organisation. This ensured challenges could be addressed early and progress maintained. At the same time, the program worked directly with organisations through one-on-one guidance, supporting them to implement inclusive practices, adapt volunteer roles and create more flexible and supportive environments.

This collaborative, hands-on approach strengthened organisational capacity while ensuring participants were effectively supported within their roles and overall, the transition from a broad, group-based model to a targeted, individualised approach was a shift in delivery resulting in better outcomes.

Outcomes improved significantly in 2025-26 across all key areas in comparison to those achieved through in 2024-25:

• The program exceeded its participation target, supporting a total of 63 participants, compared to the target of 50.
• Of these participants, 59% progressed into active and ongoing volunteering roles, demonstrating a much stronger conversion from engagement to participation.
• Confidence levels increased substantially, with 83% of participants reporting improved confidence, while approximately 90% gained practical, transferable skills such as communication, teamwork, and role-specific capabilities.
  80% of participants reported improved connection to their community, reflecting reduced social isolation and stronger social networks
• Participants required less ongoing support over time, indicating increased confidence and capability in maintaining their volunteer roles.
• Organisations demonstrated improved capacity to support inclusive volunteering, with many implementing flexible roles, accessible practices and tailored support mechanisms.
• The transition to an individualised approach led to improved quality of outcomes, moving beyond participation numbers to achieve long-term impact, increased independence and meaningful community contribution.