Do-it Trust, the charity behind Do-it.org the UK’s leading digital volunteering service, has joined forces with Vivo Technology, the skills and character-building platform, in the creation of a new social tech enterprise that will enable both Do-it.org and Vivo to increase their reach and impact and secure a long term future for the national volunteering database.

The new social enterprise called Vivo Life will bring together all the digital services currently managed by both organisations. The new enterprise will be registered as a B Corps which are for-profit companies certified by the nonprofit B Lab to meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. Vivo also aims to extend the partnership with Do-it Trust by endowing the charity as its corporate foundation, with the object of further supporting the voluntary and community sector.

Speaking about the new enterprise, Pat Samuel CBE, Chair of the Do-it Trust said: “I’m really excited by the potential of the new joint social enterprise we are embarking on in partnership with Vivo as it will take Do-it.org to the next level in terms of the service provided and the impact we can generate through supporting people to volunteer. It secures the long term future of the platform and will give access to new technology that will result in a better service for volunteers, recruiters and other social enterprises.

I'm also pleased to say that Jamie Ward-Smith, our former CEO, has agreed join the Board of Trustees of Do-it Trust so he can continue his excellent work in this next phase of development as Do-it Trust’s representative on the Board of the new company as their new non-executive Chair.”

George Grima, CEO of Vivo, also welcomed the agreement of the new partnership: “We are incredibly ambitious about the positive impact we can make as an organisation and have been looking for the right partners that share our vision to create a step change in the way that people do good in the UK. I’m incredibly proud that Do-it Trust has chosen to partner with us so we can work together and, with Vivo’s digital tools and reach, ensure that Do-it.org become the most successful volunteering platform in the world.

We have hit the ground running with the new company and are already planning some exciting new enhancements and developments that will hugely benefit the Do-it.org Service and its stakeholders, which we’re looking forward to announcing in the coming months.”

Jamie Ward-Smith, a Trustee of Do-it and non-executive Chair of VivoLife, said: “Vivo are a really good fit for our ambition for Do-it.org. Their passion for helping individuals to realize their true potential is in no small part driven by the recognition and commitment to enabling more people to volunteer so that they benefit communities as well as themselves. They also believe that technology is a key tool to enabling and inspiring volunteering and social action and have got the expertise, reach and innovation to help us create a step change in the impact Do-it.org can have. I’m really looking forward to working with them.”

There is no change to the existing service on Do-it.org, with all the current services and functionality continuing under the new management. The new social enterprise is already planning the upgrade of Do-it.org to an enhanced platform which will be powered by Vivo’s very successful architecture, which itself has recently completed a significant development phase, with additional features that will improve the service overall. As currently, the Do-it service will remain free to use for volunteers and recruiters. Vivo will also make Do-it.org volunteering opportunities available to its existing 1m student users via its new platform that is being rolled out to over 350 secondary schools.