Reach Volunteering celebrated Volunteers’ Week at the beginning of June by challenging the widespread story that volunteering is in decline. With figures of growth contrasting starkly with other sector research, they delved deeper into why in a blog, a Third Sector podcast, articles in the sector press and various social media conversations.
Most civic society activity is undertaken voluntarily, and member societies report increased workloads and reducing numbers of active volunteers. So the civic movement needs to ask – why are we not seeing an increase in people involved with our activities at the local community level? What can we learn from the Reach research?
With a fourfold increase in people signing up to volunteer since the pandemic and a surge in grassroots, volunteer-led groups, Reach believe we’re witnessing a profound shift in how and why people volunteer.
A new relational model of volunteering is emerging which invites people in not just to help, but to co-create and the figures indicate that volunteers are highly motivated by this opportunity to make a difference right at the heart of causes they care about.
Civic Voice would like to help members consider the whole volunteer experience. Are those we engage with really made to feel welcome? Are they offered small and manageable volunteering opportunities that suit their lives, or immediately overwhelmed the minute they express any interest? Do civic volunteers feel they have a real impact on their local places, rather than only on the society itself?
Janet Thorne’s blog in particular argues for a new relationship with volunteering.
The volunteer roles in these organisations look very different from the traditional model. They’re often:
● Flexible – designed to fit around people’s lives, rather than requiring fixed hours in a fixed place, and remote or hybrid, removing geographical barriers
● Purpose-led – rooted directly in the organisation’s mission
● Participatory – with volunteers often shaping their own engagement, the work they do and the organisation’s strategy.
These are questions we hope to explore in a series of seminars in due course.