In a recent webinar, Lou Serna, Director of Nonprofit Partnerships at VolunteerMatch, joined our CEO and co-founder Geng to highlight volunteering trends and changes from 2023.

Here are some of the biggest takeaways from the discussion.

VolunteerMatch Stats on the State of Volunteering

• The United States witnessed a remarkable number of volunteers - 77 million in 2019.
• Volunteer interest surged throughout 2023, as communities came out of the pandemic and returned to more normal interactions.
• The pandemic's long arm reshaped how volunteering is perceived and implemented with greater demand for flexibility.

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Lou also highlighted that younger people tend not to volunteer at the same levels as older people, and offered some advice on how to engage younger volunteers:

• Target educational institutions: Reaching out to colleges, universities, young professional groups, and business associations. 
• Offer a variety of opportunities: Provide diverse volunteer opportunities to match their interests, schedules, and commitment levels.
• Leverage informal volunteering: Seek to create opportunities that allow younger individuals to volunteer in less structured, more flexible ways. He specifically mentioned Keep Austin Beautiful, where they started creating kits that people could pick up and take into their community to conduct cleanups on their own. This approach allowed volunteers to organize events informally, without direct coordination by the organization.
• Respond quickly and adapt: Younger volunteers value quick communication and the ability to promptly see how their contributions make an impact.

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Civic Champs Volunteer Trends from 2023

• Volunteer Hours and Impact: In 2023, organizations using volunteer management software saw an average of 6,689 hours volunteered per organization, translating into an estimated impact of $213,000.
• Volunteer Participation Rates: The data revealed an uptick in volunteer participation, with the average number of volunteers per organization and the total number of hours volunteered increasing by approximately 6% from the previous year.
• Volunteer Activity Frequency: On average, volunteers engaged in about six activities per year, contributing around 25.5 hours per volunteer.

Best Practices for Winning Volunteers in 2024

• Flexible Events: Offering versatile roles and time commitments can cater to a broader audience.
• Revolutionize Recruitment: Reimagine the function of outreach and engagement to find new success avenues.
• Create Lasting Memories: Volunteer experiences should be unforgettable, urging higher retention.
• Voice Volunteer Feedback: Constructive feedback is precious, turn it into actionable insights.
• Embrace Technology: Utilize digital platforms to streamline and enhance the volunteering experience.

Additional Recommendations for Nonprofits

• Design volunteer personas to better understand and cater to the motivations of different volunteer groups.
• Capture impactful moments through multimedia tools like videos and photos to tell a powerful story.
• Concentrate on impact metrics to quantify the value of volunteer efforts and create a stronger narrative for prospective volunteers.
• Volunteer rates differ significantly based on the age of the volunteer, so look for ways to engage younger volunteers or extend your volunteer relationships to additional family members.

Takeaways

You can sign up for Civic Champs webinars and find recaps of our past ones on the Webinars page on our website. 

You can find the slides from this webinar here, and the video is below: