Key Insights from 5 Years of Volunteer Management Research
In January 2016, we launched our first global “state of the volunteer industry” report. Now the longest running volunteer management research p[project on the planet.
Our chief aim was to gather and share information related to the infrastructure, practices, challenges, and needs of leaders of volunteers around the world.
We hoped the results would start a conversation about how to best support our field and provide a valuable resource when advocating for volunteerism within and outside organizations. We planned to conduct the survey over a number of years in order to identify and analyze emerging issues and trends.
And we’ve done just that! Now entering our 7th year of conducting the survey and it’s been an honor to help our field grow with practical research, benchmarks, and trends.
Want to take a look back at what we’ve discovered over the years? We’ve compiled our key takeaways from the last 5 surveys we’ve conducted, all in one spot.
Take a look and see if you spot any evolving trends!
2017
Key Takeaway #1 – The relationship between agency support and satisfaction may impact employee retention
How organizations support their volunteer managers may have an effect on employee satisfaction and retention. This year’s report data pointed to relationships between inclusion in the organization’s strategic plan, how respondents graded the level of support they gave their leadership, and satisfaction and the intent to stay working in the field.
While this report only provides a descriptive analysis of this finding, it might be fruitful to dive deeper into this data set in the future.
Key Takeaway #2 – Having sufficient time is a significant challenge for leaders of volunteers
Many leaders of volunteers juggle multiple responsibilities in addition to volunteer administration. In short, they are part-time volunteer managers working in full-time jobs. In addition, most (57%) are responsible for placing volunteers in other departments within their organizations, and 60% have no paid staff that report to them.
Given this result, we asked – with the wide range of tasks necessary to be effective (see the CVA competencies for a full list of responsibilities), has the job become too big for one person? Can comprehensive volunteer administration be effective on a part-time basis?
Key Takeaway #3 – A significant number of respondents have more than 20 years of experience
If the need for volunteers continues to increase (at that time, 71% predicted the need would increase in the next 12 months), then experienced staff will continue to be needed. At the time, we asked whether we had a sufficient pipleline of talent to meet the needs of the sector. Would there be sufficient qualified staff to replace those that will retire soon? Would our field experience a “brain drain” in the next decade?
Key Takeaway #4 –Recruiting the right volunteers and volunteer placement are top challenges
Recruitment challenges were mentioned in 24% of the open-ended comments and was third in professional development needs (28% selected it as a training need). With so many responsible for matching volunteers in departments outside their own, and thus with less knowledge and control over where volunteers are assigned, perhaps this isn’t surprising. High volunteer turnover creates an extra burden for recruiters.
We wondered – does more need to be understood about the disconnect between how volunteers are prepared for and matched with tasks that are both valuable to the organization and satisfying for volunteers?
2018
Key Takeaway #1 — Volunteer retention has risen steadily as a top challenge.
13% of respondents noted volunteer retention as a top challenge, climbing seven percentage points in the past three years. Retention was second only to recruitment as a top challenge, indicating perhaps a symbiotic relationship between the two (as noted on 2017, as well).
Key Takeaway #2 — Volunteer manager salaries remain flat but depend on job title.
For this year, the average salary of US respondents was $45,703 (it was $45,325 in 2017). For Canada the average salary was $56,518 CAD; for Australia it was $64,816 AUD, and for the United Kingdom the average was £27,668 GBP.
Salaries are higher for Directors and Administrators and lower for Coordinators. They also correlated with number of volunteers engaged – in general, the higher the number of volunteers, the higher the salary – as well as other variables.
Key Takeaway #3 — We may have work to do around diversity & inclusion.
Back in 2018, we called this out as an issue for the field. At that time, nearly half (48%) reported that the diversity of their volunteer corps did not matchd the community they serve. Over half (55%) did not have a written inclusion plan for volunteers; another 18% didn’t know whether a plan was in place.
Key Takeaway #4 — Volunteer coordinators manage multiple tasks & priorities.
Staff continued to split their time between volunteer resource management and other duties. Although most (84%) work full-time, only 31% focus entirely on volunteer coordination, despite the fact that large numbers of volunteers were involved.
2019
Key Takeaway #1 – Lagging Social Media Use
At the time, Facebook was the most widely used tool over Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram. A whopping 86% of those surveyed use it, but the majority of users reported posting less than once a month, which is far below best practice for online engagement.
And, while YouTube appeared to be the least used platform by leaders of volunteers, it’s growing user base might be the second most important behind Facebook. Key Takeaway #2 – Voluntyeer manager efficacy is related to available resources
There was a strong correlation between how effective volunteer managers feel and whether they are able to fill more open volunteer opportunities. In addition, correlations appeared between those who feel highly effective, those who use social media at least once a month, and those who have a designated program budget.
Specifically, the higher the budget, the more confident and competent our respondents felt. Of the 20% of respondents who had less than $1000 budget dollars to work with, 85% did not feel effective at all in their work. However, 50% of those who had a budget higher than $10,000, feel extremely effective.
Wondering how to better build buy-in for volunteer services? Check out how we are advocating for your needs and use our talking points.
Key Takeaway #3 – Who are we as a field? Consistent trends over the last four years
Consistent trends in responses and demographics have persisted across four consecutive years of surveys. Year after year, the average volunteer managers are college-educated white women from every age group.
As for biggest obstacles? They remain consistent as well. Year after year, recruitment is the number-one, biggest challenge faced (prior to COVID).
Year after year, issues like respect, buy-in, and reliability from executive leadership and co-workers continued to be your greatest obstacles to success. Yet, year after year, with burnout increasing and these challenges persisting, leaders of volunteers intend to stay in the volunteer management field.
Even in surveying international cohorts, these trends and challenges haven’t changed, demonstrating how much the the global field of volunteer resource managers has in common across countries and cultures.
Leaders of volunteers, while scattered across the globe living within differing societal norms and standards, are all the same, really. We all want the same thing – communities that come together in pursuit of the common good.
2020
Key Takeaway #1 – Volunteer program budgets have an impact on effectiveness
In 2020, nearly 22% of volunteer managers did not know if they had a volunteer program budget. Yet, having access to a program budget makes them more effective at their jobs.
Have access to basic budget numbers? Figure out how to calculate your volunteer program’s ROI and promote your growing needs and impact to your organization’s leadership team.
Volunteer program budgets of $5,001-$10,000 correlated with the highest percentage of respondents who reported filling 71-100% of volunteer roles for this report, up 26% from those with no budget.
Key Takeaway #2 – Nonprofit organizations are maturing in their use of digital tools
Just over half of the survey respondents (51%) reported that their overall digital strategy, as it relates to volunteers, is adapting. This means they achieve goals through moderate use of technology. 85% of organizations reported posting volunteer-focused content on Facebook, which also impacted how effective volunteer managers are at filling open roles.
If you are wondering how to improve your marketing and communications and support volunteers who can help you? Check out our post Virtual Volunteers: The 3 Key Supports for Your Communications Team.
Key Takeaway #3 – Volunteer training is becoming more important for retention
When it comes to volunteer training, we found that less is more. Volunteer managers who offered training annually hadan 8% higher volunteer capacity than those who offer it monthly.
If one of your goals is to revamp your training, make sure you design a volunteer training program that will boost learning, not scare people away.
In addition, blended learning appeared to be a winning strategy. A combination of in-person and online training seemed to correlate with higher capacity levels. 62% of respondents who offer 26-50% of training online reported that they operate their volunteer program at near capacity.
If you are looking to increase your online training options, make sure you craft online training that will capture your audience’s attention and help them learn.
2021
Key Takeaway #1: – A homogenous workforce of volunteer managers
Despite the impact of COVID on the nonprofit sector, one of the volunteer management trends that did not change this year was the demographic makeup of those who lead volunteers. The characteristics of respondents have remained consistent over six years, even with expanded participation from countries outside the US.
Volunteer managers continue to be white (84%) women (88%), a trend that has persisted for six years. The demographics of the US responses represent less diversity than recent data on employees that work in the US nonprofit sector as a whole which, in turn, is less diverse than the general population. While the field continues to be multi-generational, it is also becoming younger over time as professionals age out.
Key Takeaway #2: Evidence that the volunteer manager workforce is still strong
Despite a challenging year and an uncertain economic climate for nonprofits, most volunteer coordinators are still working and contributing to the progress of their organization.
In the age of COVID, 5.1% of all respondents reported they lost their jobs, were furloughed, or took a voluntary leave of absence. 4.0% noted that they were hired by a new employer. That said it’s unclear to what extent unemployed leaders of volunteers were under-represented in the survey results.
Fortunately, 94.5% of volunteer organizations reported that they were still open. However, they may have adjusted their schedules, staffing, or programing.
Key Takeaway #3: Significant impacts on rates of active volunteer participation
Our research demonstrated that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a devasting impact on volunteer activity. Average volunteer hours contributed per month were down by roughly two thirds, from an average of 30 hours per volunteer per month to now 10-20 hours per volunteer per month.
In addition to the amount of time volunteers are contributing, the total number of volunteers per organization had decreased as well. In past surveys, the average number of active volunteers reported by organizations was 101-250. Since COVID, it has dropped to 51-100 on average, with over one-third (36%) reported 25 or less active volunteers currently engaged.
Key Takeaway #4: Evidence of gains in digital maturity in the sector
On a positive note, digital maturity ratings and reported uptake of new technology tools are on the rise over last year. It’s clear that volunteer managers, along with the rest of the workforce, are adapting to the “new normal” of online communications.
The field has shown demonstrated progress in its use of digital tools to engage and support volunteers. This may be the “silver lining” of the COVID pandemic.
Where You Can Read More Volunteer Management Research
Dive into all of the reports here, and take note of what you would like to see happen with your volunteer program.
Perhaps you want access to more digital tools to offer online volunteer orientations. Maybe you have been thinking about going for your CVA, but your boss didn’t think it would increase your skillset enough to be worth the investment. Are you still tracking volunteer hours on an Excel spreadsheet?! Use the report data to show the impact a robust volunteer CRM can have on your program.
This state-of-the0industry research can help you advocate by sharing what others in the field are doing.
At the very least, you can share the relevant information with your leadership, so they are aware of how your organization measures up to others. They just might be inspired by your tenacity and surprise you with the resources you need to meet your professional goals!
Share Your Key Takeaways in the Comments!
As always, we want to hear from you!
Share your thoughts on the survey findings in the comments.
Which volunteer management research takeaways were the most interesting or important for you?
