How volunteering will develop in 2023

A volunteer is a person who spends unpaid time carrying out tasks to benefit others. Examples of volunteering include, among many other things, helping out at a local food bank or community garden, campaigning or raising awareness for a good cause, working in a local charity shop or providing administrative support for charities.

 

 

Why are volunteers important for charities?

 

Many charities and non-profit organisations rely on volunteers to keep operating. The benefits of using volunteers are obvious. They are unpaid, increase reach and awareness of your cause, offer additional skills and expertise, and improve overall service delivery.

 

 

How is the cost-of-living crisis affecting volunteering?

 

It is no secret that the cost-of-living crisis is impacting service users. As more and more people struggle with food and energy bills, the charities and organisations that support them risk collapsing under the strain.

 

In December 2022, The Guardian reported that, with councils desperately short of money, “there is no chance of public sector contracts being uprated in line with inflation. Nor will shortfalls be made up by fundraising”. A recent Charities Aid Foundation survey found that around 4.9 million fewer people are donating to charity compared with two years earlier.

 

Volunteers can enable charities to meet rising demand with reduced resources. But the ‘solution’ is not without drawbacks. Volunteers are not immune to the cost-of-living crisis. For starters, charities may find that decreasing disposable income means there will be fewer volunteers in 2023. If charities find they are no longer able to offer reimbursements, it will mean that only those who can afford to be out of pocket will be able to volunteer. 

 

In 2023, as the cost-of-living crisis continues, charities will need to focus on volunteer retention and engagement as well as recruitment. They will need to offer more flexible volunteer programmes and look at the ways virtual volunteering might benefit them.

 

Here are some of the ways we predict volunteering trends will change in 2023.

 

 

Flexible volunteering

 

Flexible volunteering offers a move away from fixed voluntary roles and time commitments. It gives the volunteers greater freedom and choice, allowing them to offer their time as and when they are available. Meaning that they can fit volunteer work in around their full-time jobs and other commitments.

 

Offering flexible volunteering opportunities can increase a charity’s pool of potential volunteers as well as the number of opportunities on offer. Flexible volunteering makes for happier volunteers and can lead to an increased commitment from volunteers overall.

 

Incorporate more flexible volunteer roles into your processes by looking at fixed or traditional roles and breaking them down into smaller tasks. Alternatively, consider designing new types of voluntary roles based on certain requirements, such as project length, time, or task.

 

Communication is key for all volunteer roles, particularly when it comes to flexible volunteering as the amount of time they spend with you varies from week to month to year.

 

Read our advice on how to better manage and communicate with volunteers.

 

 

Virtual volunteering

 

Virtual volunteering covers activities completed, in whole or in part, using the Internet. It’s also known as online volunteering, remote volunteering, or e-volunteering.

 

Virtual volunteering offers greater flexibility and accessibility for the volunteer. It also allows them to volunteer more easily around a full-time job by cutting out the need for travel. For the charity, virtual volunteering offers increased reach on a global scale and the opportunity to incorporate more skills-based volunteers into their operations.

 

From social media marketing to telephone wellbeing ambassadors, skilled volunteers can also be used to support situations that require temporary staffing to address immediate needs, such as crisis response and technology support.

 

Virtual volunteering will become more popular in 2023 because it complements the work from home movement that followed the pandemic.

 

Read more on how to recruit virtual volunteers. Or the ways that micro volunteering could work for your charity.

 

 

Different recruitment methods

 

Tech is driving volunteer recruitment. Platforms like Do IT and Reach Volunteering have experienced a huge increase in demand in recent years (Reach recorded a record number of trustee and volunteering opportunities on their site in 2021). This will only increase throughout 2023.

 

The benefits of using a volunteer recruitment platform are extensive. Not only can they help charities tap into a wider pool of potential volunteers, they can also help with things like volunteer outreach, training, scheduling, automation, and timekeeping.

 

Social media and social media influencers will continue to be main drivers in volunteer recruitment, too. Particularly new social medias, such as TikTok. In November 2020, a volunteer used TikTok to gain 100,000 new volunteers for the Be My Eyes app. As of January 2023, the hashtag #Volunteer has 830.3 million views on TikTok.

 

Read our guidance on TikTok and on the best digital platforms to recruit volunteers.

 

 

Volunteer management

 

Volunteer management is an all-encompassing term for recruiting, tracking, engaging, and communicating with volunteers.

 

As the cost-of-living crisis continues, more and more people are experiencing an impact on their mental health. Additional stresses and worries created by their volunteer commitments will inevitably impact retention and engagement. Therefore, effective volunteer management will be essential in 2023.

 

A volunteer management system is software that helps charities to recruit, train, engage and retain volunteers in one centralised space. They can help to improve efficiency, time management, and help charities harness the best skills of their volunteers. Most importantly, they can be essential in providing the best volunteer experience and directly impact volunteer retention. Read our recommendations of the best volunteer management systems out there.