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When the Nation Volunteered (and Then Went Home)
8 May 2023 saw the government unleash ‘The Big Help Out’. With a Coronation weekend time slot, over 6 million people and 100,000 participating charities, community groups and employers, the Big Help Out was designed to have the same feel-good glow and community spirit that we associate with the royal occasion, without the need for rent-free venues, marquees and floral bunting.
Charity managers across the country were understandably upbeat in the lead-up. For one bank holiday weekend at least, volunteering appeared to be back on the UK’s collective agenda. Community groups were packing free First Aid Training events to capacity, and charities were opening their doors to groups of interested volunteers ready to help out.
But fast forward four weeks and the question on every UK charity manager’s lips was, where have all the volunteers gone?
Why finding the volunteers is easy but keeping them is hard
On one level the issue is simple: UK charities aren’t struggling to get people to enquire about volunteering; we’re not even struggling to get people to sign up. Online search volumes for ‘volunteering near me’ have increased by 13%. The barriers to finding the volunteers (once you’ve sorted your online advertising out) are few.
On the other hand, every charity manager is all too aware that formal volunteering figures just don’t match up to the activity level they (rightly) expected to see in the wake of the Big Help Out. The latest ONS figures paint a grim picture. Rates of formal volunteering (where the volunteer role has been discussed and agreed between the volunteer and the organisation) have collapsed to 27% from 37% in 2019/20, with Scotland showing an even more significant drop to 18% from 22% in 2022, according to the latest figures from the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO).
Monthly volunteering is down to 16% from 23% pre-pandemic. The upshot is that even if your last recruitment drive was a raging success, chances are your volunteer programme still isn’t back to full strength yet.
In other words, one-off volunteering jamborees like the Big Help Out may get lots of people to turn up and try out volunteering, but they aren’t, on their own, a very effective tool for rebuilding and maintaining a sustainable UK volunteering strategy.
Understanding the UK volunteering landscape
Before we dive into the strategic detail, let’s recap on where we’re up to as a sector:
The stats on UK volunteering
The real significance of the pandemic wasn’t just that volunteering took a hit in 2020; it’s that it never really recovered. 2021/22 was back to normal but 2022/23 was not. Officially, we’re only just back to 2019 levels, but in reality, it’s nowhere near enough.
Regular or ‘formal’ volunteering rates are down 10 percentage points since 2019/20 and, by any metric, UK volunteering just isn’t as active as it needs to be. Scottish data puts the picture into even starker contrast, with volunteering rates collapsing from 22% to 18% year-on-year.
Frequency of volunteering
In some ways, the drop in how regularly people volunteer is even more concerning than the overall numbers. Volunteering once a month or more is the magic line for charities in terms of sustainable impact.
It’s also down 7 percentage points. That drop may not sound like much until you multiply it out to the number of individuals and volunteers it represents. In short, when people do volunteer, they’re volunteering less often, making it even more difficult to plan around.
The barriers (and they are many)
As noted above, the reasons people don’t volunteer aren’t always as simple as they sound. There’s no single reason for the decline and the fact is that with fewer people volunteering, it’s difficult to put a time-limited cause like the Big Help Out into context.
That said, when we look at the reasons people are giving when they do turn down a volunteering opportunity, we can at least start to put some structures around the problem. Work commitments (51%) and time constraints more generally are huge and it’s easy to see why.
Working hours are up across the UK (by over an hour per week in 2023) and zero-hour contracts more generally have made the ability to set aside specific blocks of time unpredictable for many people. At the same time, the cost-of-living crisis and the mental load of modern life have combined to create a situation where even volunteering with the lightest perceived commitment is often too much of a sacrifice for people to contemplate.
As many charities have discovered to their cost, the upshot of these barriers isn’t just the decline in volunteering—it’s the “failure to recruit” signs and warnings that 4 in 10 charities have had to issue about being unable to recruit the numbers of volunteers needed to deliver their services effectively.
The interest-action gap
Here’s the thing: the barriers are real, but so is the interest. In every sector, organisations that have been paying attention are reporting huge increases in people looking for and searching for volunteering opportunities. As noted above, that 13% increase in online searching alone indicates that people really do want to get involved and are actively looking for opportunities to do so. The question is, what’s stopping them?
The answer is all the things, and every charity manager is all too familiar with them. From transport to time off work, the myriad demands and hoops that people have to jump through to even get to an introductory meeting are, in many ways, the biggest barrier to recruiting volunteers.
Insight from The Big Help Out
If the experience of the Big Help Out has taught the UK volunteering sector one thing, it’s that it can. The 8 May 2023 jamboree wasn’t the largest one-off volunteering event ever (we like to think it was, but in truth the stats on this are sketchy). However, it was an enormously successful recruitment drive in the same league as Jubilee 2002 and Bonhvoir 2012. The numbers alone make that clear. It delivered nearly a million UK volunteers in a single weekend, many of whom had never volunteered before.
Ok, ok, most of those people didn’t become regular volunteers. The issue is not that it’s hard to get people to try out volunteering; it’s that we’re not great at converting that initial interest into a sustained commitment. The key questions for every charity manager therefore aren’t about the volunteers per se. The real opportunities (and challenges) for improving your UK volunteering strategy are what you do with the connections you already have, and especially with the ones you made in May.
Harnessing the Big Help Out Effect: Optimising UK-based recruitment
The overall impact of the Big Help Out and the inescapable conclusion that it drew are not something we in the volunteering sector need to be reminded of. If anything, there’s a danger of people getting fixated on what worked and not realising how many different factors were needed to create that result.
In reality, it’s a bit of a black box, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t useful lessons we can take from it. The biggest one is about building UK-wide volunteer recruitment into your strategy long-term:
Recreating the sense of national occasion
Charity managers aren’t used to thinking about their work in the same league as the royal family. But here’s the deal: The Big Help Out worked not just because the OVP ran a great recruitment drive; it worked because a date in the diary just trumped ‘next month’ every time.
The point is, if your UK volunteering strategy is all year-round local recruitment without some national co-ordinated effort in between, you’ll struggle to get the numbers. In a sense, the lesson is that one-off, national volunteering recruitment events are not, in fact, one-off. To keep the numbers up, we need events like the Big Help Out more frequently. At the same time, we can’t just treat them as on/off switches for UK volunteering activity.
There are a lot of factors at play here. We didn’t have the levels of attrition we’ve seen in recent years in the OVP and we didn’t have the hangover from the cost of living crisis. And when a national event like the Big Help Out takes place without a sustained period of austerity dragging on in the background, it’s only natural that the numbers will be higher.
Working with what you’ve got
Which brings us to follow-up and nurturing the volunteers you already have (whether through local outreach or big events like the Big Help Out) in terms of supporting and communicating. For many organisations, the Big Help Out (and the general recruitment picture post-pandemic) was a baptism of fire.
We were understaffed and not fully prepared. This isn’t a criticism: it was a fantastic and successful recruitment drive, but like all charity management, it required a certain amount of chasing up leads, answering questions and staying top of mind to get the conversion numbers up. The big lesson we can take from this period is that if you don’t have the systems in place to service existing volunteers, you’re not going to crack repeat volunteering this year, either. The volunteer journey starts when someone clicks on your advert, not when they leave your office.
The short-term volunteering factor
One of the most counterintuitive and valuable insights that the Big Help Out gave us was the extent to which people were choosing to participate precisely because it was time-limited, one-off and (relatively) low-commitment.
This is a game changer in terms of UK volunteering strategy, because as noted above, if your idea of recruitment success is getting lots of people to sign up for your more traditional volunteering roles, you’re probably not going to hit your numbers this year. The majority of people who are currently volunteering are doing so through opportunities that require low commitment, according to the latest volunteering figures, and the indications are that if you want to turn 13% increases in search volumes into actual volunteers, micro or one-off opportunities are going to be increasingly important as a part of your UK volunteering strategy.
Building a UK Volunteering Strategy to Convert “Warm Feelings” to Action
Alright, let’s get down to business. Here’s a roadmap for developing a UK volunteering strategy that transforms those warm fuzzy feelings from the big days or from your charity promotion efforts into actual volunteering action.
Design for the Volunteer Journey, Not Just the Role
Shift mindset from recruitment to relationship-building. The key is to think about the volunteer journey as a whole from first awareness through to retention.
Map the journey
Map out the entire volunteer journey from first hearing about you, expressing interest, first volunteering experience, deeper involvement, retention, and becoming an advocate for your cause.
Attention to touchpoints
Consider each touchpoint along the way. How do people first hear about you? How can they easily express interest? Can they do that on their phone at 11pm as they are lying in bed thinking about being a better person? Their first experience should be low-barrier, high-impact, and make them feel good. Make sure there’s a clear signpost for what to do if they want to get involved again.
Build the ladder of engagement
Create a clear ladder of involvement. If someone comes to help at one of your events then they should get a personalised invitation to the next most appropriate opportunity rather than a generic newsletter. Remember, people often only commit for as long as they can see a reason to.
Recognition and community
Find opportunities for recognition and volunteer community. People want to feel appreciated and part of something. Build in recognition touchpoints and create opportunities for volunteers to connect with each other, not just with staff.
Embrace Flexible Volunteering Models
Traditional weekly commitment doesn’t work for many people anymore. If your recruitment strategy doesn’t accommodate that then it will struggle.
Micro-volunteering
Consider breaking down opportunities into meaningful tasks that can be done in under an hour. This could be things like making phone calls, sorting donations, helping with a specific event set-up, etc.
Episodic volunteering
Structure some opportunities around specific projects or events rather than weekly/monthly commitments. Someone might not be able to volunteer every week but could volunteer every other week or commit to a month-long campaign.
Remote volunteering
Open up remote opportunities too. Not everything needs to be on-site. Administrative tasks, social media support, research, even some befriending services can be done remotely. This removes the barrier of travel time.
Skills-based volunteering
Finally, offer skills-based volunteering opportunities. Professionals who can’t commit regular time but might be able to offer specific expertise for defined projects. Think: a lawyer reviewing policies, a marketer developing a campaign, an accountant sorting out your bookkeeping.
Create a portfolio of opportunities that meet people where they are, not an expectation they should contort their lives around your organisational needs.
Reduce Friction at Every Stage
Audit your recruitment process ruthlessly:
Can someone express interest in under 60 seconds? Is your application process proportionate to the role? You probably don’t need a 10-page form for someone helping at a coffee morning. How long is it between someone expressing interest and getting a response? Hint: if it’s more than 48 hours you’re losing people. How is your induction process? Efficient and welcoming or bureaucratic and off-putting? Can people easily see what opportunities are available and when?
Invest in Onboarding and Training
The charities who invest most heavily in volunteer onboarding and training have the best retention rates. People need to feel competent, confident, and clear about their role to stay.
Good onboarding should be:
Thorough: Volunteers should know:
– The mission of your organisation and how their role helps with that
– What exactly is expected of them
– Who to contact if they have questions or problems
– How to keep themselves and others safe
– What support and recognition they can expect
Role-specific: Consider creating role-specific induction materials that volunteers can read before their first session. Make the in-person induction more about making the personal connection and answering questions rather than dumping info.
Build a Recognition Culture
Volunteers need to feel valued in non-financial ways because, let’s face it, that’s why they’re volunteering.
Regular, specific thank-you’s. Not just generic “thanks for coming”, but “because of your work today, we were able to serve 50 meals”. Showing people the impact they’re making, opportunities to see the difference, and genuine interest in them as people all make them feel valued.
Create multiple recognition touchpoints: immediate thanks after each session, periodic impact updates, annual celebrations, personal milestones (volunteering anniversaries, hours contributed, etc).
Communicate Strategically
Volunteer communication needs to be purposeful, personalised, and proportionate. This is what that looks like in practice:
Segmentation: Not all volunteers need the same information. Segment your volunteers based on their level of involvement, interests, or other criteria.
Personalisation: Use names, reference their specific contributions, and tailor opportunities to their expressed interests and availability.
Clarity: Every communication should have a clear purpose. Are you thanking them? Inviting them to something? Updating them on impact? Don’t bury the lead in a wall of text.
Consistency: Regular communication (monthly for active volunteers, quarterly for those less engaged) keeps your organisation top of mind without being overwhelming.
The Role of Technology: How CRM Systems Support Volunteer Strategy
Too many charities have brilliant strategies on paper but no systems to enable them at scale. You can’t deliver personalised, timely, segmented communication to hundreds of volunteers with a spreadsheet and good intentions.
This is where a proper volunteer management system becomes not a luxury but a necessity. The best CRM for charities UK organisations should use isn’t just a database, it’s the infrastructure that makes your entire UK volunteering strategy possible.
What a Good CRM Should Do for Volunteer Management
Track the volunteer journey
A proper charity CRM should allow you to track the entire volunteer journey from first enquiry through all subsequent interactions, training completed, roles undertaken, and hours contributed. This longitudinal view of the relationship allows you to personalise engagement.
Segment and communicate
Send targeted messages to specific segments of your volunteer base (everyone who volunteered at last month’s event, people who have expressed interest but not yet attended, volunteers with specific skills, etc.) without manual list-building every time.
Manage opportunities
Ideally, volunteers should be able to see what opportunities are available and self-sign up easily. You should be able to see at a glance how well staffed you are or where you need to recruit more help.
Automate routine comms
Welcome emails, reminders, thank-you’s, and follow-ups can all be automated whilst still feeling personal. This frees up staff time for building and maintaining relationships.
Reporting and measurement
Finally, the system should let you report on the data. How many volunteers do you have? How many hours have they contributed? What’s your retention rate? Which recruitment channels work best? You need data to know whether your strategy is working and how to improve it.
Why infoodle Charity CRM Works for UK Charities
infoodle Charity CRM has been specifically designed with UK charities in mind. Unlike generic CRM systems built for sales teams or large corporations, infoodle speaks your language and solves your problems.
The volunteer management features allow you to track every interaction, manage complex scheduling, and communicate without needing a computer science degree. The system grows with you, so whether you have 20 volunteers or 2,000, the infrastructure remains manageable.
The difference is it integrates volunteer management with your broader supporter database. Someone might start as a volunteer, become a donor, then go on to attend your events and advocate for your cause—and you can see that entire relationship in one place. This enables much more sophisticated engagement strategies.
The reporting capabilities mean you can actually measure your UK volunteering strategy. Track conversion rates from enquiry to active volunteer, which opportunities have the best retention, identify patterns that can inform future planning.
Most importantly for resource-stretched charities, infoodle is intuitive enough that staff actually use it. The most sophisticated system in the world is worthless if it sits unused because it’s too complicated or time-consuming.
UK volunteering strategies must understand real people’s needs. If you create good opportunities for real people to participate, they will want to take part. However, this means finding out what real people want. This does not come easily, and it is a process of asking, listening and learning.
The way that you manage your volunteers will have to change. The old method of meeting once a week is not going to work as well for new volunteers. A flexible volunteering strategy will have to be employed. You will need to invest in systems so that you can manage volunteer communications, keep track of them and have processes in place.
However, the challenge is not just short-term, it is long-term. You need to start now to recruit volunteers, and it’s possible that the initial rush of volunteers will decline, just as it did in 2020. You will need a volunteer management system that enables you to retain the people you do recruit.
This is an overview of what’s going on in volunteering in the UK. We want to offer charities some practical advice on how to move from those one-off moments to sustained movements of support.
If you want to take action on this now, here are some practical next steps:
Immediate Actions (This Week)
1. Audit your current volunteer journey: Walkthrough the entire volunteer process as if you were a potential volunteer. Identify pain points, confusion, and time-consuming steps.
2. Review your follow-up process: Evaluate what happens after someone volunteers for the first time. Is it organized or haphazard? If not, create a standard follow-up sequence.
3. Check your response times: Establish a target response time for volunteer inquiries (aim for 24-48 hours max) and set up systems (e.g., ticketing, alerts) to ensure timely follow-ups.
Short-Term Actions (This Month)
1. Create flexible opportunities: Identify at least three ways people can help that don’t require a weekly commitment. Consider remote tasks, short-duration projects, and project-based opportunities.
2. Improve your onboarding: Assess your current volunteer induction process. Is it welcoming, efficient, and does it leave volunteers feeling prepared? Revise as necessary.
3. Set up basic segmentation: Even in a simple system, start segmenting volunteers by engagement level, interests, and availability to communicate more relevantly.
Medium-Term Actions (Next Quarter)
1. Invest in proper systems: If you’re using spreadsheets or inadequate tools, research and implement a volunteer management system (VMS), like infoodle Charity CRM. Get demos and budget for the investment.
2. Develop a recognition program: Create a system for thanking and recognizing volunteers. Consider regular impact updates, annual celebrations, milestone acknowledgments, and personal touches.
3. Build your volunteer pipeline: Don’t wait to recruit until you’re in need. Maintain awareness of volunteering opportunities through your website, social media, and community connections, making it easy for people to express interest year-round.
Long-Term Actions (Next Year)
1. Measure and refine: Track key metrics (enquiry-to-volunteer conversion, retention rate, volunteer satisfaction, hours contributed) and use data to continuously improve your strategy and processes.
2. Build volunteer leadership: Identify volunteers who could take on coordination or mentoring roles to create a more sustainable model that’s not solely dependent on paid staff.
3. Create a volunteer advisory group: Involve volunteers in shaping your volunteer program. They have insights you may not, and their involvement increases their investment in your organisation.
Conclusion: From Moments to Movements
The Big Help Out made one thing clear: people are waiting to help. People are sitting on an immense wave of goodwill to contribute to their communities, to make a difference in areas they care about, and to be part of something that means something to them.
The challenge for charity managers and fundraisers is not finding those people or getting them to want to help. It’s building the infrastructure, systems, and strategy to turn that wave into ongoing, sustained movement.
Your UK volunteering strategy needs three foundations: 1) A deep understanding of the real barriers to getting people to act on their desire to help. 2) Flexible and varied opportunities that take into account people’s different lifestyles, schedules, and the simple fact that modern people don’t have the same amounts of free time they once did. 3) Systems in place to do the heavy lifting of managing relationships at scale.
Events like the Big Help Out, and the next national moment (you know there’s one coming) are great recruitment opportunities, but they’re only valuable if you have the systems and strategy to turn that initial surge of goodwill into ongoing commitment.
The trends we’ve seen from our own data and what was shared publicly in the wake of Big Help Out give a clear indication of what’s going on in volunteering right now. Volunteering is at a tipping point. Formal volunteering is down, but there’s more interest than ever. Old models are starting to break, but new ones are emerging.
Charities that are able to meet new volunteers where they are, create frictionless ways for them to engage, and use tech intelligently to deliver real, personalized and meaningful communications will be the ones that thrive. If this is where we’re going, then charity managers and fundraisers need to be on that bus at the front, not scraping it together from the back.