Can Do Bristol
A Bristol City Council initiative.
Can Do Bristol is the city's digital home for volunteering, social action and neighbour-to-neighbour kindness. The platform plays a central role in Bristol's ambition to build a more resilient, collaborative and compassionate city.
Bristol is a city rich in community spirit.
But like many urban places, it faces deep inequalities within and between neighbourhoods.
In 2016, Bristol City Council set out to make volunteering more accessible, strengthen collaboration across sectors, and empower communities to mobilise using the assets already around them.
This mission became even more critical during COVID-19, when the city needed to coordinate a volunteer response at an unprecedented scale.
A platform that unlocks the power of community.
Can Do Bristol gives individuals, groups and organisations the tools they need to create positive change.
The platform now supports over 10,000 volunteers and has averaged a volunteering investment of £317,776 per year (source: Innovate UK).
During the pandemic, Can Do Bristol mobilised 4,000 volunteers, supported 8,718 residents and reached more than 15,000 shielding residents - enabling neighbourhood-led action from food deliveries to wellbeing check-ins.
Co-designing community-led recovery.
In 2025, our team worked closely with Bristol's Lived Experience Recovery Organisation (LERO) to explore how the platform could better support people with drug and alcohol addictions.
Via co-design workshops, the LERO group stressed the need for a supportive, non-judgemental space. This shaped the next evolution of the platform: Can Do Recovery - providing a welcoming, stigma-free online community, trusted up-to-date resources, clear signposting to recovery services, and peer-led insight grounded in lived experience.
Building a city where everyone can contribute.
As Can Do Bristol continues to grow, it remains a powerful example of what's possible when a city invests in volunteering, peer support and community-led solutions.
The launch of Can Do Recovery and the "Ask & Offer" exchange for businesses opens a new chapter, expanding the platform and making sure every resident feels supported, no matter their situation.
"Working with you has been a really positive experience. You not only understand the tech side better than we ever could, but you also really get our values and what we're trying to do. It's rare to find a team that’s both technically strong and genuinely aligned with how we want to work - open, honest and human. You've been so patient with all our team changes, and the attention to detail has been incredible. We'd absolutely recommend you."
Ellie Stevens
Community Resources Manager, Bristol City Council
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