Do you know that the worth of a single volunteer hour (in response to the profit it produces for a corporation) is estimated to be $29.95? Or that 1000’s of firms supply beneficiant volunteer grant applications to encourage employees to help philanthropic efforts? Volunteer statistics like these ones can shed vital gentle on a useful alternative in your staff.
How? Volunteers are a core a part of your nonprofit, dealing with tasks starting from occasion administration and bookkeeping to on-the-ground work at your program websites. These volunteers assist out for quite a lot of causes, comparable to wanting to assist an excellent trigger or becoming a member of in as a part of their company staff.
When solidifying your volunteer program’s recruitment methods, bear in mind to not look not simply at information from prior years however on the nonprofit panorama as a complete. Bigger traits in volunteer conduct and motivations can instantly affect your means to draw and retain sufficient volunteers to take care of your applications.
To assist your nonprofit perceive your volunteers a bit extra, this information will take a deep dive into important volunteer statistics your staff ought to know.
1) Common Volunteering Statistics
Whereas these statistics may be informative, keep in mind that they rely upon many elements. So much goes into volunteer administration, together with ample appreciation, efficient communication, and provoking advertising and marketing. After all, traits like these are nonetheless helpful for understanding the place your group matches into the broader nonprofit panorama.
Common Volunteerism Statistics
1. About 63 million Individuals volunteer.
For U.S.-based nonprofits, volunteers are all over the place. The truth is, about 63 million Individuals volunteer their time and vitality. For reference, that’s round 25% of the grownup inhabitants. Wanting on the wider world, that quantity solely goes up with a complete of over 1 billion individuals volunteering throughout the globe.
What does this volunteer statistic imply in your nonprofit? Discovering people who find themselves in a position and keen to lend their time is feasible, even when it will probably generally really feel like your stream of volunteer candidates is extra of a trickle than a river. Whereas some people will signal as much as volunteer of their very own volition, others require extra of a push. The truth is, many volunteers simply have to be requested by a nonprofit to assist out just because signing up on their very own hadn’t occurred to them.
2. One-third of the nonprofit workforce is volunteers.
Your nonprofit’s employees are instrumental in offering beneficiaries with the providers and help they want. Nonetheless, most nonprofits have tight budgets and depend on volunteer labor. That is a lot the case that one-third of all nonprofit employees are volunteers.
After all, the ratio of paid staff to volunteers will fluctuate from nonprofit to nonprofit. Many small native organizations do extremely essential work however are totally made up of volunteers or solely have an government director who organizes every thing. In distinction, enterprise-size nonprofits have whole departments of paid staff.
What does this imply in your nonprofit? As a result of a lot labor at nonprofit organizations goes unpaid, calculations of the nonprofit sectors’ financial worth will at all times be off. Don’t let this affect how your nonprofit values your volunteers, nonetheless. Present your appreciation and guarantee they really feel like they’re an actual a part of your staff as a result of, in the end, the numbers present that they’re!
3. 62% of nonprofits state that recruiting volunteers is “an enormous drawback.”
Nonprofits want volunteers to employees occasions, assist throughout fundraisers, and full duties that maintain their applications operating. Nonetheless, discovering sufficient individuals to fill all obtainable volunteer positions isn’t at all times straightforward, and 62% of nonprofit CEOs state that recruiting sufficient volunteers is a matter. This goes hand-in-hand with further information that the demand for a lot of nonprofit providers is up.
What does this volunteer statistic imply in your nonprofit? A variety of causes affect volunteer recruitment, and the nonprofit business as a complete tends to see fluctuations over time relying on international elements out of their management. For instance, volunteer charges are inclined to rise throughout occasions of disaster as people step as much as present group aid.
After all, there are elements your nonprofit can management. Think about what roles you will have open for volunteers and the way you promote them. Are these roles volunteers could be taken with, or are they positions which can be largely rote work? Whereas many people volunteer to present again, bear in mind to emphasise the opposite advantages volunteers can achieve by serving to out.
Moreover, in the event you’re consistently having to seek out new volunteers, that is likely to be an indication to take a step again and assess your volunteer retention technique. Speak with these volunteers about enhancements to your program they’d wish to see and present your appreciation. Even in the event you’re low on employees, be sure that to not overwork them to keep away from burnout, too.
4. 35% of people volunteer to socialize.
Volunteers donate their time to nonprofits for all kinds of causes, however one group to control is the 35% of people who volunteer to socialize. Whereas this group is just not the bulk (that may be the 83% who volunteer to assist a trigger they care about), there are just a few attention-grabbing issues about them.
Particularly, social volunteers volunteer extra often than others and have a tendency to volunteer with multiple group, which as the subsequent few statistics will present, is just not the norm. For these volunteers, the group your nonprofit builds is what issues and what makes them devoted to your trigger.
What does this volunteer statistic imply in your nonprofit? In your recruitment supplies, focus on the work volunteers will do, the {qualifications} they want, and work expectations as regular, however don’t neglect to say all the advantages they will obtain as effectively. Focus on your volunteer group and have photos of volunteers at work so potential recruits can image themselves alongside the remainder of your staff.
5. People who commonly volunteer have a 27% greater likelihood of discovering employment.
Volunteering is sweet for nonprofits and good for volunteers. Together with discovering a group, volunteer alternatives are additionally studying alternatives the place people can study new abilities, make connections, and enhance themselves. Contemplating these advantages, it could not come as a shock that jobseekers who volunteer have a 27% greater price of discovering employment.
What does this volunteer statistic imply in your nonprofit? As mentioned earlier, it’s straightforward to focus solely on how volunteering helps the nonprofit recruit supporters. Nonetheless, whereas volunteers do wish to assist causes they care about, it additionally by no means hurts to say the advantages they will obtain along with making a optimistic affect.
Be upfront in regards to the abilities and expertise supporters can achieve from volunteering. This may embrace something from customer support expertise, information administration, particular labor and technical abilities, or anything associated to your applications that’s additionally relevant within the office.
6.72% of volunteers work with only one group.
Volunteering takes effort and time, which can clarify why it’s not stunning that 72% of volunteers work with just one charitable group and simply 18% are concerned with two.
Most volunteers select which organizations to donate their time to primarily based on their connection to a particular trigger. Logically, if a volunteer finds a nonprofit they really feel does good work for his or her goal challenge, why wouldn’t they keep put? Plus, with the time commitments of simply researching new nonprofits to affix, switching volunteer positions takes effort.
What does this volunteer statistic imply in your nonprofit? Whereas your nonprofit ought to definitely accomplice with different charitable organizations to finish tasks and enhance providers, know that efforts to poach volunteers possible received’t achieve success or appreciated.
As a substitute, deal with the volunteers you will have. These volunteers can turn into deeply loyal to the causes they care about, and in change, all of your nonprofit must do is proceed fulfilling its mission, present volunteers respect and appreciation, and proceed offering worthwhile alternatives to get entangled.
7. Roughly 1 in 3 American volunteers donate their time to spiritual organizations.
Volunteers work for a variety of causes at nonprofits, colleges, church buildings, and different forms of organizations. Nonetheless, the best share of volunteers in America donate their time to spiritual organizations. The share lands at about 32%, which equates to 1 in each 3 American volunteers.
This continues to trace when damaged down on a state degree with Utah having the best % of its inhabitants (51%) volunteer, a lot of whom take part in volunteer alternatives supplied by means of their church buildings.
What does this volunteer statistic imply in your nonprofit? In case your nonprofit isn’t a church, these numbers may not appear to be they matter at first look. Nonetheless, church buildings generally accomplice with or conduct volunteer actions which have little to do with faith. For instance, a church group may volunteer collectively at a meals financial institution, or a church may assist fundraiser for a homeless shelter.
When contemplating organizations your nonprofit can accomplice with, don’t rule out non secular teams as a lot of them have members who’re prepared and desperate to help an excellent trigger.
8. Formal volunteering is declining in most states.
In case your nonprofit has had bother filling volunteer positions, know that you just’re not alone. Nearly all of U.S. states have seen a lower within the share of their inhabitants that formally volunteers. For instance, in Florida, already a state with low volunteering charges, 22.8% of the inhabitants volunteered in 2017. 4 years later, it’s simply 15.9%.
How a lot volunteering has declined varies from state to state, with some following routine ebbs and flows, whereas others have skilled as a lot as a ten% drop.
What does this volunteer statistic imply in your nonprofit? Volunteering percentages are impacted by a number of elements, comparable to extra individuals popping out to volunteer throughout state emergencies like hurricanes or wildfires. Nonetheless, nonprofits ought to take discover when charges are constant throughout the board like they’re for this decline.
What can nonprofits do about declining volunteer charges? For some, this is likely to be an indication that it’s time to transform their recruitment technique to focus on new audiences. Regulate how your nonprofit promotes itself to attach with youthful audiences, or rethink the way you’re positioning your nonprofit’s mission. Do right now’s volunteers care about the identical causes they did ten years in the past, or have their priorities shifted?
Take the time to survey your supporters and conduct viewers analysis to study what potential volunteers in your state are on the lookout for in a nonprofit and how one can attain out to them.
9. Volunteers expertise 38% fewer nights within the hospital.
Volunteering feels good, and analysis has proven that it’s good for you. People who commonly volunteer expertise 38% fewer nights in hospitals on common. Why? Seems that volunteers over the age of fifty are inclined to additionally take higher care of their well being than non-volunteers by being extra diligent about routine check-ups, flu pictures, and different medical checks.
After all, this raises a query: does volunteering instill optimistic well being habits, or are people with wholesome life extra prone to volunteer? This query is difficult to reply, however scientists have noticed that community-minded people are inclined to have larger well being advantages from actions like volunteering.
What does this volunteer statistic imply in your nonprofit? Improved well being is one other profit so as to add to your nonprofit’s rising checklist of causes to volunteer. Present volunteers with alternatives to get lively and invested of their communities by working exterior, speaking with staff members and beneficiaries, and taking part in volunteer duties that contain extra than simply sitting at a desk.
10. Most U.S.-based volunteers are between the ages of 35 and 44.
Hundreds of thousands of individuals volunteer for all kinds of causes and thru varied volunteer applications. However simply who’re these volunteers? Stories present that the typical volunteer is a girl between the ages of 35 and 44, often with a baby beneath 18.
Males and other people of different age teams definitely volunteer, as effectively, however there are just a few assumptions we will draw from analysis in regards to the common volunteer profile. Center-aged moms are prone to volunteer at their kids’s faculty, church, and neighborhood actions. Moreover, this evaluation additionally holds true for stories of casual volunteering, comparable to cooking for neighbors, taking good care of kids, and enhancing the state of their communities.
What does this volunteer statistic imply in your nonprofit? Assess your present volunteer base to see in case your nonprofit matches this profile. Based mostly in your previous recruitment efforts, your typical volunteer may differ from the nationwide common.
Use this info to faucet into audiences your nonprofit could have beforehand uncared for. How are you going to attain extra households? Do you supply volunteer positions which can be handy for working professionals? Assess not simply your volunteer advertising and marketing however how accessible your total volunteer program is for people with completely different life circumstances.
Volunteer Grant Statistics
11. 40% of Fortune 500 firms supply volunteer grants.
Have you ever heard of company volunteer grants earlier than? Sure companies encourage their staff to volunteer by promising to donate to the nonprofits their staff assist out at.
Right here’s a breakdown of how the volunteer grant course of often works:
- An worker volunteers at an eligible nonprofit. Many employers who present volunteer grants have sure necessities for what charitable organizations they’ll help. For instance, many employers exempt non secular organizations from receiving volunteer grants.
- The worker stories their volunteer hours and different wanted info. Most worker volunteer grant applications are primarily based on the hours an worker volunteers. Some present a per-hour price whereas others require a sure hours threshold to be met after which donate a flat quantity. Moreover, employers want details about the nonprofit, like its title, tax ID, and mailing handle.
- The corporate donates to the nonprofit. As soon as a volunteer grant software is submitted, the corporate evaluations it. If the nonprofit and hours necessities have been met, the grant software is improved, and the nonprofit receives a donation.
How widespread are volunteer grant applications? 40% of Fortune 500 firms supply any such company giving. Meaning a number of volunteers who already assist at your nonprofit may qualify for a grant.
What does this volunteer statistic imply in your nonprofit? Begin educating your volunteers in regards to the energy of volunteer grants. Maintain cautious observe of their hours, and assist them uncover in the event that they’re eligible. Most employers can have the related info accessible by means of their CSR portal or of their workplace handbook. Should you can’t discover any info there, it additionally by no means hurts to ask!
12. 80% of firms supply volunteer grants value between $8-$15 per hour volunteered.
Every employer establishes its personal volunteer grant program tips, together with figuring out the suitable thresholds. Nonetheless, the overwhelming majority of taking part firms supply beneficiant quantities of funding as a strategy to incentivize volunteerism amongst their employees.
What does this volunteer statistic imply in your nonprofit?
Your supporters’ time is already a useful useful resource in your group. When you think about that your nonprofit could qualify for grant funding along with the hours volunteers donate, you’re offered with a wonderful alternative to maximise this group’s help.
Which means each hour a volunteer spends together with your group not solely contributes their time and abilities (which is at present value an estimated $29.95) but in addition interprets into direct monetary help.
13. 85% of the highest matching present firms additionally supply volunteer grant applications.
You’ll have heard that greater than 24,000 firms supply matching presents for his or her staff. However do you know that firms contributing matching presents typically overlap considerably with these providing volunteer grant applications?
Philanthropic-minded employers usually supply multiple alternative for employees to get entangled. If you already know an organization matches financial donations, the possibilities are good that it’ll match volunteer time as effectively!
What does this volunteer statistic imply in your nonprofit?
Should you’re on the lookout for volunteer grant alternatives to pursue, figuring out well-known matching present firms may give your group the enhance you want. This may additionally present a good chance to pitch volunteer actions to matching present donors and matching present alternatives to “{Dollars} for Doers” volunteers.
This additionally signifies that a twin method to advertising and marketing can additional amplify fundraising efforts. When partaking with donors, it’s useful to teach them about each matching present and volunteer grant alternatives. You don’t wish to let both program fall by the wayside!
14. Particular person and staff volunteer grants are a few of the most generally obtainable types of company philanthropy for workers.
There are numerous methods for companies to help nonprofit organizations by means of their philanthropy, and lots of of those applications instantly contain the businesses’ staff. Two such methods embrace particular person volunteer grants and team-based volunteer grants—and these are two of the most well-liked types of company philanthropy, too.
What does this volunteer statistic imply in your nonprofit?
Understanding the forms of company giving applications an organization provides is important for tailoring your efforts accordingly. If an employer provides particular person volunteer grants, for instance, your outreach can deal with partaking a single supporter. If an organization solely provides staff volunteer grants, nonetheless, you could wish to think about an alternate method with which to focus on teams of staff.
15. The common worker participation degree for volunteer grants, or {Dollars} for Doers, is a mere 3%.
Like matching presents, there’s a big information hole in the case of eligible volunteers being conscious of the alternatives. And, sadly, volunteers who don’t find out about their firms’ current programming received’t know to request volunteer grant funding in your group’s behalf.
What does this volunteer statistic imply in your nonprofit?
With a mere 3% of qualifying staff taking part in volunteer grants, there stays a considerable quantity of untapped potential surrounding the applications. For nonprofits, a steadily low participation price represents a chance to extend consciousness and, subsequently, engagement within the applications.
By actively selling the advantages of volunteer grants to volunteers, donors, and company companions alike, your nonprofit can encourage greater participation and safe extra worker giving income than earlier than.
Paid Volunteer Time Off Statistics
16. 60% of firms supply paid volunteer day off.
One other approach firms give again to nonprofits is thru volunteer day off (VTO). Round 60% of firms present staff with paid VTO days annually. This perk is rising in reputation, and an extra 21% of firms have ambitions to implement a VTO coverage as early as 2024.
What does this volunteer statistic imply in your nonprofit? Encourage staff to take a better have a look at their employer advantages. If they’ve paid VTO they’re not taking, they’re leaving cash on the desk in your nonprofit and depriving themselves of rightfully earned day off.
17. 49% of people state their greatest impediment to volunteering is figure commitments.
With volunteer charges on the decline, nonprofits must take a tough have a look at why fewer supporters are displaying as much as lend their time. It seems that many supporters simply don’t have the time. An official authorities performed survey in England discovered that 49% of people state work commitments are their greatest impediment to volunteering. Conversely, stories additionally present that 30% of volunteers declare certainly one of their causes for volunteering is that that they had the time to take action.
What does this volunteer statistic imply in your nonprofit? Working with companies to advertise VTO insurance policies is a method nonprofits might help create extra time of their supporters’ schedules to volunteer. Moreover, nonprofits can supply several types of volunteer alternatives, together with on-line actions, which can be simpler for full-time staff to take part in.
Nonprofits must also look to audiences with fewer work necessities. Retirees and school college students alike have extra free time, and varied volunteer advantages will possible enchantment to every group, comparable to group for retirees and work expertise for faculty college students.
Final, do what you’ll be able to to make volunteering a precedence in your supporters, even when their schedules are packed. Exhibiting appreciation and emphasizing the affect their assist has in your mission may be persuasive in convincing volunteers to return to your nonprofit when their work schedules decelerate once more.
18. Firms with paid volunteer day off applications supply a mean of 20 VTO hours per staff member yearly.
When an organization provides VTO, it usually establishes a set variety of hours every worker can request off inside a given time interval. Whereas this determine can fluctuate vastly, an evaluation of firms’ program tips signifies that taking part employers provide a mean of 20 paid volunteer hours. That equates to about 2.5 full days annually!
Moreover, a survey of firms providing VTO signifies that the three mostly provided thresholds are 8 hours (36%), 16 hours (23%), and 40 hours (11%).
What does this volunteer statistic imply in your nonprofit?
Paid Volunteer Time Off applications present staff with the chance to volunteer throughout work hours with out sacrificing their revenue. Check out the supporters in your community, and see if any work for firms that supply these applications. If that’s the case, use the chance to incentivize dependable and constant volunteer help.
19. 67% of survey respondents say that having paid day off work to volunteer would make for a optimistic expertise.
Having paid day off to volunteer permits staff to interact in significant actions with out sacrificing their revenue or private time. This, consequently, enhances their total work-life steadiness and job satisfaction.
When a bunch of nonprofit supporters was requested what would supply an optimum volunteer expertise, greater than 2 in 3 responded with a want for paid day off work. In the meantime, 62% of respondents indicated that the power to volunteer throughout enterprise hours could be the highest issue for a optimistic expertise.
What does this volunteer statistic imply in your nonprofit?
As a nonprofit, you need your volunteers to have persistently optimistic experiences as they contribute to your trigger. In accordance with this discovering, volunteers view paid VTO alternatives as top-of-the-line methods to present again whereas lowering limitations to their help.
For nonprofits like yours, this chance for engagement signifies a fertile floor for recruiting volunteers from the company sector—in the end which means extra, expert volunteer help in your trigger.
Different Company Volunteering Statistics
20. 84% of employers really feel volunteerism is an efficient strategy to have interaction staff.
Volunteering isn’t at all times organized simply between the supporters and a nonprofit group. Traits within the company sector reveal that many companies are getting extra severe about company social accountability (CSR), and volunteer applications are a significant part of that. The truth is, 84% of employers really feel volunteerism is an efficient strategy to have interaction their staff.
Worker engagement applications like volunteer days enable employees to really feel linked to their communities. Quite than simply donating and hoping their cash is put to good use, they will take an lively position in serving to native nonprofits fulfill their missions. This will increase their connection to the causes nonprofits champion and improves their emotions for the employers who put them involved with these charitable organizations.
What does this volunteer statistic imply in your nonprofit? In case your nonprofit hasn’t already reached out to companies to type partnerships, make doing so your new purpose. Lengthy-term nonprofit-corporate partnerships are on the rise and may present quite a few advantages to your nonprofit in the case of volunteer applications.
Particularly, attempt arranging:
- Company volunteer days the place whole groups of staff assist out at your nonprofit collectively. This encourages teamwork amongst staff, which gives worth to the enterprise whereas additionally giving your nonprofit additional arms to work on varied tasks.
- Volunteer grants or “{Dollars} for Doers” are a type of company giving whereby an employer makes a donation primarily based on how lengthy an worker volunteered. Normally, this takes the type of a per-hour price, or staff are required to work a sure variety of hours earlier than the employer makes a flat donation.
- Volunteer day off (VTO) is primarily depending on employers, however nonprofits who’ve shut partnerships with companies can nonetheless advocate for this coverage. VTO offers staff just a few days they will take off annually particularly to volunteer. This frees up time for volunteering that full-time staff could in any other case not have.
You don’t want to choose and select between these applications both. Many firms supply a number of forms of company giving or change their insurance policies primarily based on the expressed wishes of their staff and nonprofit companions.
21. Firms see 52% much less turnover amongst new staff who take part in company giving applications, like volunteer days.
We’ve already seen that extra firms are taken with worker volunteer applications, however what do companies get from making volunteering part of their CSR applications?
Basically, CSR applications make staff really feel extra positively about their employer since they know they’re making a optimistic affect. Whereas many CSR initiatives like sustaining carbon neutrality or sponsoring native nonprofits definitely enhance staff’ opinions, it’s volunteer applications that present the hands-on expertise that lets employees really feel like they, particularly, are contributing to social good.
Analysis backs this up as effectively, with firms seeing 52% much less turnover amongst new staff once they take part in volunteer days.
What does this volunteer statistic imply in your nonprofit? When your nonprofit reaches out to companies to type partnerships, emphasize the advantages for the company. Excessive retention charges specifically may be pricey for employers, and in case your nonprofit can present a solution to recurring issues like this, you’ll be able to type profitable long-term partnerships.
22. The common company volunteer price participation price is 33%.
Even at firms with current volunteer incentive applications (comparable to volunteer grants or paid volunteer day off), not all staff are going to take part. Current research present that the typical company sees an estimated 1 in 3 staff getting concerned.
Nonetheless, completely different companies have a tendency to advertise their applications to qualifying staff in numerous methods. In consequence, the worker participation price at top-quartile volunteer applications has doubled, touchdown at 66%.
It will also be useful to know that firms with fewer than 10,000 staff noticed a higher-than-average participation price of 39%. In the meantime, firms with greater than 50,000 staff had a decreased participation price of 24%.
What does this volunteer statistic imply in your nonprofit?
A 33% volunteer price signifies a considerable degree of worker engagement in volunteer actions. Partaking with these companies and their staff can result in a big enhance in volunteer help in your group. Moreover, taking a proactive method to selling volunteer alternatives inside these firms can additional improve participation.
Wrapping Up: Leveraging Volunteer Statistics to Develop Influence
Statistics don’t at all times inform the entire story, however they will present basic perception which may inform the tales you see play out at your nonprofit. Use these volunteer statistics as a basic information for assessing your volunteer program reasonably than laborious and quick guidelines about how you need to have interaction, recruit, and handle the precise people concerned together with your nonprofit.
To study extra about volunteering and traits within the nonprofit area, take a look at these sources:
