New research by Pro Bono Economics (PBE) shows charities could benefit from up to 2.5 million new volunteers, aged 18-34, across the UK next year.
Polling for PBE, carried out by Opinium, found that one in six from this younger cohort plan to start volunteering in 2023.
Meanwhile, one in five social sector organisations are expecting their volunteer numbers to rise over the coming months, according to a separate PBE study carried out with Nottingham Trent University (NTU).
It follows a stagnation in formal volunteering in recent years which was pushed into a sharp decline by the pandemic. The restrictions on normal life meant volunteering in formal groups, clubs and charities was curtailed as social distancing shut down many opportunities, older volunteers were fearful of going out, and events were cancelled.
You can read the full report in the link below:
https://www.probonoeconomics.com/Handlers/Download.ashx?IDMF=8cbe598c-8788-4fad-a554-721965404e37
Key findings:
- Charities had to cope with surging demand and falling income in 2022
- But organisations set for support in 2023 from a wave of new volunteers
- 1 in 6 young people, aged 18-34, plan to start volunteering
- Meanwhile, 1 in 5 charities expect to see an increase in volunteers
- Expected spike in volunteering follows years of declining support
Nicole Sykes, Policy and Communications Director at Pro Bono Economics, said: “Encouragingly, a new generation of young volunteers appear to have been galvanised and are keen to donate some of their time in 2023.”
