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Introduction
Accomplishing United Way of King County’s impact goals
requires a strong community in which residents are engaged in
and supportive of the work needed to make our region a better
place to live for all people.
Volunteers have always been a necessary and critical resource
for healthy communities. However as the economy slows and
nonprofit organizations struggle to provide services on smaller
budgets, the role of volunteerism as more than a feel-good
activity is becoming clear. It is a strategic tool that,
invested wisely, provides an enormous advantage to our community
and greatly increases our impact on the challenges that face us.
United Way of King County intends to build on its long history
of mobilizing volunteers by providing a multi-pronged strategy
to strengthen service in King County:
Strengthen volunteer management in the community.
Promote and recognize the power of volunteerism
throughout the community.
Mobilize volunteers strategically for community impact
and leadership.
Connect all people to volunteering.
Read
more about United Way of King County's Volunteer resources
Volunteer Statistics
- Volunteerism is high in the U.S. and in Seattle/King
County
- In 2009, 63.4 million Americans contributed 8.1 billion
hours of volunteer service.
- In 2009, Seattle was ranked 4th within large cities,
having an average volunteer rate of 34.9%, a 0.6% increase
from 2008.
- Washington state ranked 11th for volunteer hours per
capita, with an average of 42.9 volunteer hours per year.
That is a 4.5 hour per capita decrease from 2008.
- Between 2007 and 2009, Seattle ranked 3rd for young
adult volunteers (31.3%), 4th for millennial volunteers born
after 1982 (30.1%), and 4th for Baby Boomers (39.4%).
- Nationally, volunteerism in communities of color is
reported as lower, however Seattle’s rate of volunteerism is
much higher than the national average and cities of similar
size and diversity[1]
Source:
Corporation for National & Community Service2]
Source:
Corporation for National & Community Service[3]
Source:
Corporation for National & Community Service 2009[4]
The Importance and Benefits of Volunteering
Why Now?
As the economy slows volunteers become more
vital to the health of our nation’s communities. Increases in
area unemployment and poverty have been correlated with
decreases in volunteerism in that same area. So, as the need for
volunteers grows in the current economic climate the
volunteerism rate falls. Despite the economic conditions of the
last year Seattle has increased their volunteerism rate by 0.6%,
but the volunteer hours per resident has fallen by 4.5. More
Seattleites are volunteering, but for fewer hours per year.
Increasing volunteerism is vital to meeting the growing needs of
King County residents.
-
Volunteerism addresses social ills that
otherwise would not be met.
-
Volunteerism addresses critical connections
needed to fill gaps.
-
Volunteerism expands capacity of service
providers to address gaps.
-
Volunteerism helps businesses become part of
the solution.
-
Volunteerism provides funders with assurance
that dollars are being utilized effectively.
-
Volunteerism provides esteem-building,
life-changing experiences for individuals.
-
Volunteerism helps sustain community quality
of life.
We also know that volunteers:
-
Live longer
-
Have greater functional ability
-
Have lower depression rates later in life
-
Are healthier overall
-
Create healthier communities
The Changing Landscape of
Volunteerism
Unique visitors to UWKC’s
volunteer referral website have shown a steady decline over the
past few years and our volunteer connections have remained flat
at around 25,000.
- Volunteers’ expectations
are changing - whether efforts are focused on attracting
baby boomers or millennials, research shows to successfully
engage volunteers today requires nonprofits to develop
volunteer roles very different from those currently offered
by most human services organizations.
- Companies increasingly want
volunteer opportunities that:
1. Align with their corporate giving
2. Effectively utilize the professional skills of their
employees (skills-based volunteering).
All of the issues noted above have serious implications for
the field of volunteer management and building the capacity for
volunteerism; locally, we have only anecdotal information on the
degree to which nonprofits use volunteer management best
practices, but nationally an Urban Institute study showed few practices are incorporated to a high
degree.[5] Of the
management practices that have been implemented widely several
have demonstrated positive influences on volunteer retention:
- Screening procedures to identify suitable volunteers
- Recognition activities, such as award ceremonies, for
volunteers
- Training and professional development opportunities for
volunteers
- Using volunteers to recruit other volunteers one-on-one
Resources
Footnotes
[1]
"Seattle Profile." Volunteering in America. 2010.
Web. 23 June 2010. <http://www.volunteeringinamerica.gov/WA/Seattle>.
[2]
Ibid.
[3]
Ibid.
[4]
Ibid.
[5] Hager, M.A.. and
Brudney, J.L. (2004) Volunteer Management and Retention Capacity
Study. Urban Institute Downloasded November 9, 2009 from:
http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/411005_VolunteerManagement.pdf
Updated
June 2010
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