Volunteering is at a historic low in England, with two different pieces of research revealing the damaging, long-term effect the pandemic has had.
There is just one week to go before the Big Help Out, an official part of the coronation weekend designed to create one of the biggest community activations in British history.
But the Time Well Spent 2023 report from National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO), which surveyed 7,000 adults, found that those raising money or taking part in sponsored events has fallen by 48%, from 11% to 6%, since 2018.
The report also found that those organising or helping to run an activity has fallen by 52%, from 14% to 7%, and those campaigning on behalf of a charity has gone down by 49%, from 8% to 4%.
“The impact of Covid on volunteering has been profound,” said Sarah Vibert, CEO of NCVO.
“People who were lifelong volunteers broke their habit during the pandemic and haven’t yet got back to it. Millions more who would have committed to longer-term volunteering didn’t have the chance.”
More data from the Charities Aid Foundation’s (CAF) UK Giving report found that only 13% of people said they volunteered in the last year, compared with 17% pre-pandemic, representing about 1.6 million fewer people volunteering over the past five years.
CAF’s report also reveals that volunteering is overwhelmingly the preserve of elderly people: only 6% to 7% of people aged 16 to 44 had volunteered in the past year, and just 5% of 45- to 54-year-olds. At least 10% of those aged 65 and older, in contrast, had volunteered.
But some experts and grassroots organisations have warned that the goal of the Big Help Out to inspire the next generation of volunteers is compromised by its explicit links to the monarchy.
“I would have liked to volunteer but by making the event part of the coronation, I can’t do it,” said Quamina, founder of Dope Black Queers.
“The monarchy is the very antithesis of what my charity is about – many of the difficulties we face in society are a direct result of colonialism and the monarchy, both historically and how they operate now.”
Shanelle Webb, who runs the Soul Shack, a Black and youth-led social enterprise in the London borough of Lambeth, agreed that linking the Big Help Out to the drive to find more volunteers was problematic.
“I think a lot of my service users would be disappointed in my charity if we took part,” she said.
“The fact the coronation is costing so much money is an issue: that makes its call for volunteers to work for free to help people struggling with the cost of living look like it’s not really about people: it’s just about making the coronation look good.”
The Time Well Spent survey also revealed the positive impact that volunteering has on people’s mental and physical wellbeing.
Vibert said: “Given how important volunteering is to our social fabric – and how much people get out of it – we need an urgent focus on helping people find opportunities that suit them.”
But Ed Mayo, chief executive of Pilotlight, which assists charities to succeed, questioned whether a short-term drive like the Big Help Out could turn the volunteering crisis around.
“We need to change the social norm around volunteering,” he said. “Research proves that a one-off event can’t do that: it requires long-term targeting of the public over many years.”
Prof Matthew Flinders from the University of Sheffield’s politics department agreed. “The challenge is to sustain the energy, the positive heat that is generated for the longer term,” he said. “Otherwise the Big Help Out will just be a flash in the pan.”
