Numbers of volunteers
There is a slow increase in the numbers of people volunteering with 44 % of the population having volunteered in 2005, compared with 39% in 2001. Currently 17.9 million people in England volunteer at least once a year and 11.6 million every month. There has also been a shift towards more short term volunteering in recent years. This may be because of increasingly hectic lifestyles, but may also be because six in ten volunteers volunteer in more than one organisation, and over a third volunteer in three or more organisations [1].
What are the implications?
- Continued growth in numbers of volunteers as the sector grows and political parties and policymakers pay more attention to volunteering.
- Increased competition for volunteers across the public and voluntary sectors.
- Increase in policies around active citizenship and volunteering.
- More professional volunteer structures as number of volunteers and political interest around volunteers grow.
- Increased levels of complexity for organisations and particularly volunteer managers.
- Increase in short-term volunteers.
- Difficulty in recruiting volunteers for longer term roles.
Moving forward
With increased interest around volunteering, volunteer numbers are likely to grow across the public and voluntary sectors.
- How can your organisation respond to competition for volunteers?
- Should you invest in volunteer recruitment and management?
A continued shift towards more short term volunteering away from longer term commitments may mean it becomes harder to fill longer term roles.
- Could offering more flexible volunteering opportunities help you keep committed volunteers engaged in your work (e.g. flexible hours or drop-in centres)?
- Do people have to be on-site to volunteer with you? Could they contribute from a distance?
Want to know more?
2005 Citizenship Survey: active communities topic report
Published by: Communities and Local Government – a government department
Date: 2006
Format: PDF
What is it? A report providing detailed information and statistics on volunteering activity and civil renewal.
How useful is this? Data from the Citizenship surveys is used widely by organisations and individuals in publications and reports on the third sector.
Other comments:
Generation V: Young people speak out on volunteering
Published by: Volunteering England -the integrated national volunteer development organisation for England
Date: NA
Format: Web
What is it? A bulletin reporting on key findings from research commissioned by the Home Office to inform the Russell Commission on the attitudes towards volunteering and extent of involvement in voluntary activities of young people in England.
How useful is this? The bulletin provides some insights into young people’s attitudes towards volunteering and looks at how to mobilise volunteers.
Other comments:
Published by: VS Magazine - a monthly magazine for the VCS, published by NCVO
Date: 2004
Format: Web
What is it? An article looking at the growth in volunteers from black and minority ethnic groups, including a number of statistics on volunteering.
How useful is this? A short article which points to a number of large volunteering organisations that have found record numbers of people from black and minority ethnic groups are volunteering.
Other comments:
The UK Civil Society Almanac 2008 - Executive Summary
Published by: NCVO
Date: 2008
Format: Web
What is it?A summary of the key findings from the 2008 Almanac providing an overview of the changing nature of civil society.
How useful is this? A good source of statistics on the voluntary sector including details of large compared to small organisations and discussion of other organisations within civil society.
Other comments: The full 2008 edition with comprehensive statistical analysis of the VCS is available for purchase or NCVO members can download content online.
References
Discuss
How will this affect your organisation? Have you considered it during your strategic planning? Can you share any interesting relevant links? Start the discussion by posting a comment here!
Log in or join for free to comment.
