Refer people to us
Social prescribers, housing officers, foodbank teams and support workers can point someone at Neighbourly, or post a request on their behalf with consent. We'll supply referral cards and a short script for your frontline staff.
Partnerships
Your organisation already knows who needs a hand
Councils, charities, surgeries, schools, faith groups and local businesses see the need long before we do. Partnering with Neighbourly gives you somewhere practical to point people — free, local and answered by real neighbours.
What it asks of you
01
Cost
Free — we never charge partners
02
Setup
Usually one call and a week
03
Best for
Councils, charities, health, faith, business
What the role actually involves
Sponsor your area
Local businesses can fund a leaflet drop for their town, put a card in the window, or give staff a paid volunteering hour. Sponsorship pays for print and postage only — nobody pays to be on the noticeboard.
Offer space and skills
A room for a meet-up, a noticeboard by the door, a van for a house move, a tradesperson's afternoon, or an accountant's hour for a family in trouble. Practical offers land better than anything else.
How it works, step by step
- 1
Get in touch
Send us your organisation, your area and what you think you could offer or need. A short message is plenty to start.
- 2
A 30-minute call
We'll walk through how listings, moderation and safeguarding work, and be honest about what Neighbourly is not — we're not a crisis, care or emergency service.
- 3
Agree the practical bits
Referral routes, materials, named contacts on both sides, data protection and how consent is handled if you post on someone's behalf.
- 4
Review after three months
We look at what actually happened in your area — requests posted, offers made, gaps left — and adjust.
What we ask of you
- Only refer someone with their informed consent, and never share their details in a public listing.
- Be clear with people that helpers are volunteer neighbours, not vetted professionals.
- Keep emergency and safeguarding cases within your own statutory routes.
- Give us one named contact so requests don't fall between desks.
- Tell us quickly if something goes wrong — we would far rather hear it early.
“Our social prescribers had a long list of people who needed a shelf putting up or a lift to a hospital appointment, and nowhere to send them. Now they have somewhere, and it costs the council nothing.”
Questions people ask
Does it cost anything?
No. Referring, listing and answering requests are free and always will be. Sponsorship is optional and only ever covers print and postage.
Are helpers background-checked?
No, and we say so plainly. Neighbourly is a noticeboard between neighbours, with moderation, reporting and safety guidance — not a regulated care provider.
Can we post on someone's behalf?
Yes, with their consent. Many partners keep a staff account for exactly this and monitor the offers that come in.
Can you present to our team?
Happily — in person where we can reach you, otherwise a 20-minute video session for frontline staff.
Ready to give it a go?
Open a short support ticket telling us which role you're interested in and roughly how much time you have. We reply to every volunteer within two working days.