As nonprofit organizations continue to face an increase in demand, limited resources and reduced staffing capacity in the wake of a global pandemic, new research finds that volunteer engagement has become more–not less–important to advance their work, but volunteers are now harder to find and engage.
As COVID-19’s lasting impact on civic life unfolds, the Do Good Institute survey found more demand for nonprofit services. Nonprofits are challenged by finding and recruiting the right volunteer support as well as by the capacity and infrastructure needed to sustain volunteer engagement. Despite these challenges, nonprofits seem to be more convinced of the benefits of volunteer engagement compared to recent years. However, there is a gap between funders and nonprofits on the value and challenges surrounding strategic volunteerism.
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Highlights from Findings:
- Nearly two-thirds (64.4 percent) of nonprofits reported an increase in demand for their organizational services, with 51.1 percent increasing their delivery of services, and 48.5 percent increasing staff workloads to help meet demand. At the same time, 28.7 percent of nonprofits are operating with less funding and paid staff than they had before the pandemic.
- Nearly half (46.8 percent) of CEOs say that recruiting sufficient volunteers is a big problem for their organization, with many sharing that their volunteers were doing less of any specific organizational activity today (ie. delivery of services, fundraising or advocacy).
- 72.2 percent of nonprofit leaders felt that volunteers improve the quality of services or programs provided to a great extent, but only 25.2 percent of funders agreed.
