The Volunteer Perspective - Industry Insights 2019 (USA)

18/06/2019

This report provides insights into the motivations, preferences, and experiences of volunteers in the USA. It was based on a survey of over 7,000 volunteers sourced from VolunteerMatch and administered in September/October 2018. Most respondents were female, between the ages of 35 and 64 years, and came from suburban regions.

The purpose of volunteering for most participants was to contribute to a cause that they cared about (83%); 66% volunteered to improve their community; and 63% to spend time doing something that they were interested in.
The average (median) of their time was two to three hours.
84% of respondents volunteered at least a few times a year. More than a quarter volunteered once a week or more frequently.
Most respondents volunteered for several causes (71%). Relatively few (12%) cared deeply about one cause and contributed all their volunteer hours to this.
More respondents preferred digital communications over paper. Mobile phones were increasingly used for web browsing but mainly for the under 35 group.
More than half of the participants wanted to know about volunteer positions were available in their area, but opinions were divided as to whether they would prefer to be notified of positions or would like to search themselves. The most common ways volunteers found opportunities was with an online platform such as VolunteerMatch (57%), through friends (44%), on social media (39%), or via online searches (38%).
Security of data such as background checks was a potential concern.

The authors noted that the volunteers’ input in this study would guide their organisation to develop new tools and processes to support the volunteer community ensuring that the decisions organisations make are motivated by how they could improve the volunteer experience.