Since 2013/14 the Government has published an annual Community Life Community Life Survey, reporting on trends in volunteering and charitable giving by the general public. The 2023/24 survey reveals some worrying issues for volunteering in England.

In short, the decline in numbers of formal and informal volunteers over recent years has continued and volunteering is now at an all time low. Only 33% of adults in England report that they give up their time at least once a month to help someone else and only 54% had volunteered at least once in the last year. This is despite evidence that young people are more willing to volunteer, even in formal roles such as being a Trustee.

Combined with a recruitment crisis for staff in the voluntary sector, this is very worrying indeed. Small charities in particular are highly dependent on volunteers. It seems the spirit of Covid lockdowns, which saw a massive rise in mutual aid volunteering has evaporated.

The main reason why people are volunteering less appears to be work commitments (51%), perhaps unsurprising in challenging economic times. However, a third of people simply say they do other things in their spare time, suggesting an underlying shift in attitudes towards social responsibility.

The key motivators for volunteering remain:

• Wanting to improve things/help people (47%)

• Having spare time (32%)

• The cause is important to the person (30%)

• Wanting to meet people and make friends (25%)

What can be done about this?

In our view, the most important thing is to make your charity stand out:

• Invest in your communications to raise awareness of your cause, the impact you make in your community and why you need volunteers.

• Invest in the volunteers you have to nurture and suport them. Find out what motivates them and try to facilitate more of that. If they love volunteering with your charity they will tell others about it.

• Invest new ways in which people can volunteer, such as virtual volunteering.

• Invest in tools to support volunteer recruitment, development and retention.

• Invest in building partnerships with local employers so that they can support their staff to volunteer with your charity.

It’s tough out there but hidden in the averages of the overall downward trend, there are voluntary sector organisations that are thriving because they invest in the volunteers and the things that matter to them.

If you would like to know more about the services we offer or to discuss your needs further please contact us at julian@almondtreeconsulting.co.uk.