Turning service-user feedback into a clear revenue growth strategy
The challenge: falling volunteer recruitment
Volunteers Initiative Nepal (ViN) is a Nepal-led non-profit, empowering marginalised communities through ethical, holistic development, supported by volunteers from around the world. Since starting in 2005, around 400,000 Nepalis and 6,000 international volunteers have been positively impacted by ViN's work.
But since COVID-19, volunteer numbers have fallen significantly, creating a challenge for ViN's future revenue and, ultimately, its ability to sustain its impact.
ViN needed to understand why demand for volunteering was changing, what volunteers valued, and where it could focus its resources to rebuild recruitment.
The approach: evidence generation from disparate data sources
To inform our recommendations, we synthesised several data sources:
- Direct primary research with volunteers — a qualitative and quantitative survey of around 70 former volunteers, supported by in-depth one-to-one interviews.
- Performance analysis — reviewing recruitment data, partner performance, competitors and channel research.
- Service design — mapping the end-to-end volunteer journey to identify friction, missed conversion opportunities and operational gaps.
The impact
The work gave ViN:
- A clearer understanding of its volunteers — we identified the different types of people that volunteer, why they do it and what they value.
- A clearer, prioritised growth strategy — we prioritised actions ViN could take across several areas, including partner relationships, alumni advocacy and digital conversion.
- A functional new website prototype with a simpler customer journey — we used service design to connect volunteer acquisition and retention drivers to specific points in the customer journey, demonstrated through a new website prototype.
Feedback
Completed by Bhupi Ghimire, Founder President of Volunteers Initiative Nepal.
"Tom's approach was deeply empathetic, highly analytical, and incredibly structured. He didn't just look at numbers; he genuinely tried to understand the heart of ViN and the real experiences of our volunteers. He was collaborative, deeply respectful of our local context, and truly integrated himself into our vision."
"We gained immense clarity. Instead of guessing why volunteer numbers were dropping, we now have a data-driven understanding of what modern volunteers value. We have a clear, prioritised roadmap for our digital transformation and alumni engagement, and we are already utilising the new website prototype to streamline our user journey."
"Tom seamlessly bridged the gap between high-level strategic consulting and grassroots NGO realities. He didn't just hand us a generic report; he gave us a practical prototype, mapped out the actual end-to-end journey, and synthesised complex data into actionable steps that our team can easily implement. His ongoing commitment as an informal adviser shows his genuine dedication to our cause."
"I would highly recommend Tom without hesitation. Any organisation working with him can expect a dedicated professional who listens deeply, analyses sharply, and delivers practical, transformative solutions. He brings both a brilliant strategic mind and a compassionate heart to his work."