Reach Volunteering has seen a surge in applications to volunteer since October 2022, and in March 2023 had the most ever applications for trustee and volunteer roles in one month.
In the first three months of 2023, the organisation reports that 3,635 volunteers signed up, which exceeds numbers reached at the height of the pandemic.
Janet Thorne, chief executive of Reach, said: “This is record breaking – we have never had so many new volunteers or applications in a quarter before.
“So, we know that people are motivated to help, and that they are willing to volunteer for roles with a substantial commitment – not just micro volunteering.”
‘Unexpected climb’ amidst cost-of-living crisis
In its applications for volunteer roles the organisation saw incremental growth through 2018-19, with peaks every January, and then a big surge during the pandemic.
Thorne suggests this pattern is probably similar to the experiences of many civil society organisations.
Since October 2022, as the cost-of-living crisis has intensified, the organisation has seen “a massive and unexpected climb” in applications.
Indeed, in March 2023, Reach Volunteering had the most ever applications for trustee and volunteer roles in one month.
Thorne said the most common way people signed up to volunteer was through LinkedIn, with others applying through organic searches, word of mouth and referrals from other organisations.
“This increase has been across all channels, and the pattern in general seems to follow wider cultural events and trends: every January ‘new year, new me’; pandemic help out; cost-of-living crisis,” Thorne said.
“So the most obvious reason for this current surge is that people want to help others at such a difficult time.”
Thorne said roles are often remote or largely remote, which means that issues like travel costs are not a barrier.
“They are impactful roles, and we get organisations to articulate the potential impact of their roles when they post them, so people can see how they can make a difference,” she added.
‘The key news is that people really do want to help’
In 2022, the total number of new volunteers signing up was 9,359.
Thorne suggested the volunteers who sign up are probably younger than the average, and definitely younger than the average trustee.
In 2022, more than 55% were under the age of 40, with around 22% being 21 to 30 years old.
Thorne said they are also an ethnically diverse group, with 41% identifying as white British.
“The key news is that people really do want to help, and if you can put good opportunities in front of them, they will respond positively. This is really important to the sector because volunteers are so crucial to so many organisations.”
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