The New Voluntarism

The patterns of volunteering are changing. We are witnessing:

• declining numbers/availability of volunteers – reported by almost all organizations surveyed in ‘The Capacity to Serve’ and confirmed by the 2000 National Survey on Giving, Volunteering and Participating (27% of Canadians volunteered in 2000 compared to 31.4% in 1997
• increasing dependence on a few with increased danger of overload and burnout: average number of volunteer hours per volunteer increased in to 162 annually in 2000 (from 149 in 1997) - almost ¾ of the volunteer hours come from ¼ of the volunteers
• decreased commitment: declining interest in ongoing roles in favour of short term projects or assignments, often seasonal
• diminished interest in taking on leadership roles, at both operational and governance levels.

An extensive literature review indicates that the most sought after volunteer experiences will be shorter term, personally meaningful AND developmental:

• as mentioned above, teens and the underemployed are looking for opportunities to develop marketable job skills and to build their resume - the volunteer assignment must be meaningful and developmental support available
• the younger baby-boomers are often plateaued and find themselves looking outside of their job for meaningful work, satisfaction and personal growth
• Generation X and the 'baby busters' have reduced their expectations of the educational and employment world and are searching for different ways to 'make their mark' - for many, meaningful volunteer contributions are an answer
• there is a renewed tendency towards isolationist 'close to home' volunteering - making a difference that you can see in your community as opposed to supporting distant groups that have a more diffused impact
• 'episodic volunteering' is the new key - the single parent family, the dual income family, the mobile worker finds it difficult to commit to long term and tightly scheduled assignments - the one time, short term or specialty task is preferred
• those that do have a long term interest in the organization and its mission are demanding significant roles in the planning, development and improvement of programs and services - beyond simply delivery
• many require an enhanced support structure - child care, travel subsidy, flexible hours, short term rewards - and visible evidence that related staff appreciate and celebrate their involvement
• toleration of overuse and 'burnout' is diminishing - we now know too much about life balance, stress management and consumer rights to allow ourselves to be abused in a discretionary situation.

The most likely sources of new volunteer energy in the years ahead include:

• teens and young adults. In 1987 only 18% of Canadians aged 15-24 were active volunteers; by 1997 this had increased to 33%. This increase of 15 percentage points compares to a range in other age groups of increases between 1 and 4 points. Over 50% of this age group report that they volunteer to increase employment opportunities. Schools are also encouraging, if not requiring students to take on volunteer, experiential learning roles.
• unemployed and under-employed are rapidly becoming Canada’s most avid volunteers - often focused on the desire to develop skills and experience that can be transferred to the job market
• special needs volunteers (persons with disabilities) are coming forward in greater numbers than ever - connecting with and contributing to their communities, but also committed to expanding and enhancing their range of employment and life skills.
• employee voluntarism, encouraged by Imagine - in 1997, 27% of volunteers who were employed were allowed to use their employers facilities or equipment in the process, 24% had authorization to take leave or time off to volunteer, and 22% had been given permission to modify their work hours to accommodate volunteer activity.
• Baby Boomers, just now starting to retire - equipped with the skills and health to make a long term contribution to their organization(s) of choice.

We have an opportunity to move beyond 'capacity'building' (the current focus). In many instances, our voluntary organizations are struggling simply to survive and cannot wait for a long term, developmental approach to solve their 'crisis'. They need a strategy that involves immediate insertion of the skills, talent and commitment required to launch a 'turn around' program. The time may have come for 'capacity insertion' - for new, more aggressive approaches. Consider:

• utilizing the United Way ‘loaned executive’ approach in a big way – asking for a key staff person half time for a year to address a critical gap
• leaning on the ‘young retiree’ for a super commitment for a short time
• the fact that our best leaders are spread too thin – volunteers for many organizations. It may be time to ask the most talented for focused commitment (to one organization) to maximize their impact and resource a significant ‘rethink’ or renewal process.
  

The key is for the volunteer-dependent organization or manager is to fully understand what motivates or demotivates today's volunteer. Consider the following table:

DEMOTIVATORS	MOTIVATORS
lack of focus/mission drift lots of activity - little evidence of impact maintenance paradigm organization in trouble but unwilling to change dependence on government weak team (board, staff, volunteer) requirement for long term commitment invisibility/lack of recognition	clear vision, cause, case outcome/results focus - monitoring system s progress paradigm an organization poised for and wanting change balanced investor/donor portfolio some clear HR strengths to build on intensive commitment towards key results visibility/appreciation