The new volunteer ecosystem: what research reveals
Update: 2025-09-03
Description
Between 2018 and 2021, the equivalent of 48 million full-time volunteers vanished from the global workforce - not a typo, a crisis most nonprofits are experiencing in real-time. But here's what the research reveals: we're not actually losing volunteers, we're witnessing a fundamental shift from duty-based volunteering to what researchers call "reflexive volunteering."
Think of it like the difference between your grandmother who volunteered at the same church for 40 years versus today's professional who juggles three different causes based on personal motivations and schedule flexibility.
We unpack why demographics don't predict retention (spoiler: it's about job design, not age), what actually keeps volunteers coming back, and how to build an "engageability ecosystem" that works. Whether you're hemorrhaging volunteers or just starting a program, you'll leave with evidence-based strategies that challenge conventional volunteer management wisdom.
Think of it like the difference between your grandmother who volunteered at the same church for 40 years versus today's professional who juggles three different causes based on personal motivations and schedule flexibility.
We unpack why demographics don't predict retention (spoiler: it's about job design, not age), what actually keeps volunteers coming back, and how to build an "engageability ecosystem" that works. Whether you're hemorrhaging volunteers or just starting a program, you'll leave with evidence-based strategies that challenge conventional volunteer management wisdom.
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