About Volunteer Toronto

volunteers start here

Volunteer Toronto is Canada’s largest volunteer centre with 50 years of experience connecting volunteers to the organizations that need them. Our services empower local volunteers to find opportunities that make a positive difference in their community. Through in-person and online training , we also educate and help non-profit organizations and community groups run successful volunteer programs.

If you are looking TO volunteer or looking FOR volunteers in Toronto, we are the place to start!

our mission

Volunteer Toronto increases the positive impact that volunteering has on the City of Toronto through innovative initiatives that inspire, inform, and connect volunteers and the organizations that need them.

Our Vision

We envision a Toronto that is caring, inclusive, and engaged where volunteering is an important avenue through which everyone has the opportunity to participate and contribute meaningfully.

Our Values

Being what is needed: Filling gaps in support, using experience and knowledge to deliver services
Inclusivity: Everyone is able to contribute in a meaningful way
Positive change: Using expertise to explore new and better ways to support volunteerism in Toronto
Growth & learning: Empowering people and communities to develop and thrive
Connection: Building valuable relationships with each other and those we interact with

what we do

Support organizations in adopting best practices in volunteer engagement through specialized training, resources and advice;
Help individuals find suitable volunteer positions with the aid of online resources, referral services and public awareness initiatives; and
Work collaboratively with community and corporate partners to conduct research, share information and identify opportunities in the volunteer sector.

Our 2021-2025 Strategic Plan

On behalf of Volunteer Toronto's Board of Directors, we are pleased to release Volunteer Toronto's new Strategic Plan for 2021-2025.  You can watch an overview video above or download the full plan here . 

Volunteer Toronto’s Strategic Plan is founded on two clear insights from the early response to the pandemic. First, that specialized expertise, lived experience, and intensive support will be necessary in rehabilitating the voluntary sector, and second, that technology alone will be ineffective in levelling out the forces of volunteer supply and demand. 

Stabilizing the voluntary sector is our responsibility, and this goal will guide our actions over the next five years. The delivery of our Strategic Plan will be approached through two key pillars—fostering and elevating volunteerism—to reflect the immediate needs of our city recovering from COVID-19 and the advancement of the future of volunteerism. We envision a Toronto that is caring, inclusive, and engaged where volunteering is an important avenue through which everyone has the opportunity to participate and contribute meaningfully.

LATEST Annual Report

previous reports

oUr Staff

Our staff come from a variety of backgrounds and areas of expertise. We are pleased to have such a diverse and dedicated group of individuals all working to ensure volunteers and the causes that need them can come together harmoniously. Read their bios and find their contact information here.

Our board

We have a dedicated board of directors with vast and varied experience from law to corporate development to non-profit management. The board and staff work closely together to create organizational policy, sound financial stewardship and to ensure Volunteer Toronto fulfills its mission. Read their bios here .

Like many non-profits, Volunteer Toronto has a network of individuals and organizations that help guide our strategic direction by electing our board of directors, reviewing financial statements, and approving fundamental changes to the organization. Each year, we invite members of our community to consider signing up as voting members as a way of becoming more involved in our work. You will find a list of voting members at the link above.

Our Funders

We extend our sincere gratitude for the ongoing commitment and support of our core funders—Ontario Health, the City of Toronto and United Way of Greater Toronto. Their ongoing commitment to volunteerism ensures that our organization can build capacity for the health sector and allows us to meet emergent needs based on local insights and trends. In 2023-2024, we welcomed a new funder and partner—the Toronto Foundation. We are immensely grateful for their collaboration, mentorship and investment that enabled us to mobilize a Continuum of Civic Engagement and microgrants for Torontonians. We also recognize and appreciate a significant corporate donation in 2023 from Meridian Credit Union, and the investment from an Ontario Trillium Foundation Resilient Communities grant, worth $81,500, which helped us return to in person programming.