Volunteers' Week begins!

With Volunteers’ Week starting today, celebrating the positive impact people have through volunteering across the UK, we wanted to poll Brits to learn more about their experience and motivations when it comes to volunteering.

Almost a fifth (18%) of Brits said they currently volunteer and, on average, spend seven hours a week volunteering. Gen Z (26%) and Millennials (22%) are most likely to currently volunteer, while Baby Boomers (14%) are least likely. Looking across regions, 3 in 10 (30%) Brits from Greater London said they currently volunteer, the highest proportion across the UK, meanwhile Brits from the North East (10%) are least likely to.

Although the majority (82%) of Brits said they do not¹ currently volunteer, over 2 in 5 (46%) said they are likely² to consider volunteering in the future. This positive outlook means we might see a growth of volunteering. In addition, we are most likely to see this increase from Gen Z (63%) and Millennials (62%) with over 3 in 5 saying they are likely² to consider volunteering.

In terms of the types of volunteering Brits are currently involved in, Brits are most likely to volunteer for a community project (e.g., food bank) (29%), followed by volunteering in hospitals (22%), volunteering with animals (e.g., animal shelter) (21%), sports volunteering (e.g., kids sports club) (21%) and, finally, green volunteering (e.g., wildlife conservation) (21%). The largest generational differences are shown with Gen Z (28%) and Millennials (28%) being much more likely than Baby Boomers (6%) to say they volunteer in hospitals.

Contributing to the community (34%) and helping others (34%) are the most common motivations for Brits volunteering, closely followed by wanting to make a positive difference (33%), the cause being important to them (33%) and giving back to a cause that has positively impacted themselves/friends/family (27%). Women surveyed are much more likely than men surveyed to say their motivation is that the cause is important to them (42% vs 26%) and helping others ( 42% vs 28%). Stark generational differences are also present, with Baby boomers being much more likely than Gen Z to say contributing to the community (48% vs 21%) is their motivation. In a different pattern, Gen Z are more likely than Baby Boomers to say giving back to a cause that has positively impacted themselves/friends/family is their motivation (32% vs 12%).

Not only do the causes benefit from volunteers but the individual is also likely to benefit from volunteering, with almost all (97%) Brits saying they personally experience at least one benefit from volunteering. In more detail Brits said volunteering makes them feel like they are making a positive difference (40%), it keeps them occupied (31%), they see first-hand the positive impact of their work/contributions (31%), they make friends and connecting with others (30%) and they get more involved in their community (30%).

The positive impact from volunteering is clear and encouragingly, it seems set to grow. If you do any volunteer work, let us know if the comments!

¹’No, but I have in the past’ and ‘No, never’ responses combined

²’Very likely’ and ‘Somewhat likely’ responses combined