Live Q&A: Getting the most out of your volunteers

Volunteers form the backbone of the voluntary sector. They're often the public face of the organisation, interacting with beneficiaries and donors and playing a central role in achieving an organisation's goals. Yet according to the latest Citizenship survey, formal volunteering is falling. Given this trend, and cuts to public funding of charities, it's never been more important to get the most out of your charity's volunteers. Our live Q&A will cover how to get the best from your charity's volunteers – such as how to find the best volunteers for your cause – and how to keep them; best practice on training and managing volunteers; and legal and other issues relating to volunteers – for instance, their status as jobseekers, if they are unemployed, or, as Janet Fielding pointed out in an 'Ask the expert' feature recently - the potential pitfalls of replacing paid staff with volunteers. The Panel Sam Sparrow, Catch22 Sam is the head of the volunteer Unit at Catch22. Catch22 is a local charity with a national reach, working with young people who find themselves in difficult situations. Sam leads the strategy for volunteering, including increasing volunteering in existing services and developing new, innovative ways of including volunteers at Catch22, particularly those considered hard to reach. Ben Matthews, Bright One Ben is a Digital PR consultant, specialising in tech, media and charity sectors. He is the founder of Bright One, a volunteer-run communications agency for the Third Sector, a board member of CharityComms and the founding member of Twestival, a series of fundraising events using the social network Twitter that has raised over $2 million in two years Sophie Livingstone, City Year London Sophie is the chief executive of City Year London, which brings together 18 – 25 year olds from all backgrounds to volunteer for a full time year in primary schools as tutors, mentors and role models. Sophie has over ten years experience working in the charity sector, as well as a background in public affairs and communications. Most recently, she was Deputy CEO of the Private Equity Foundation. Patrick Daniels, YouthNet Patrick is Head of Engagement and Support at YouthNet responsible for volunteer management strategy across the organisation. He also sits on the board of directors of the Association of Volunteer Managers that aims to support and champion volunteer managers across England. Sharon Tynan, TimeBank Sharon got the volunteering bug in her teens, visiting elderly patients in a local hospital. After some years working in the fringes of the film industry she decided to move to the voluntary sector. She has over 15 years experience of working at both a local and a national level. She worked at the National Lottery Charities Board from its inception and has been at TimeBank the national volunteering charity since it was launched undertaking a variety of roles from Head of Marketing to her current role as Development Manager. She sits on the Mayors Volunteering in London group and on the National England Volunteering Development Council. Jackie Nunns, Kids' City Jackie is CEO and one of the founders (1995) of Kids' City, a social enterprise providing play, childcare and activities in disadvantaged areas of south London. Jackie had previously run businesses in the private sector in the areas of entertainment and hospitality, experience which has proved valuable for Kids' City. Patricia Desir, East Living Bio to follow This content is brought to you by Guardian Professional. To find out about forthcoming Q&As, sign up to the voluntary sector network .