Volunteering NZ Research

Published in September 2024, the State of Volunteering report marks the sixth edition in Volunteering New Zealand’s ongoing series.

SOV Key findings at a glance

• The state of volunteering is fairly positive, though the recent Covid-19 pandemic, and the emerging cost-of-living situation, cast a long shadow over some aspects of volunteering.
• Volunteers are re-evaluating their priorities and expect volunteering to be values-driven.
• Most volunteers enjoy their volunteering work and are treated fairly and respectfully, although there are some disparities across age and ethnic groups.
• Key motivations for volunteering include a desire to give back to the community, to make friends or form social connections, to learn new skills, and for mental health and wellbeing.
• Key barriers to volunteering include being time poor and needing to prioritise paid employment, health and safety concerns, onerous training requirements, and lack of reimbursement and recognition.
• Regional variations in volunteering statistics persist, with different turnover rates and challenges experienced across the regions.

Māori are amongst the highest likely to volunteer yet their contributions are under-represented in volunteering research. This gap has been filled by this important work stemming from focus group and surveys of volunteers as part of the State of Volunteering research 2021-22.

Grouped around five themes, the report has recommendations for organisations engaging with Māori, and commitments for Volunteering New Zealand to advocate for support for Tūao Māori.

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Volunteering in Aotearoa New Zealand remains strong, yet the volunteering experience can differ across regions. This report provides a finer-grained account of how volunteering practices and challenges differ across regions.

It focuses on key parameters in volunteering, including turnover rates, attitudes to the state of volunteering and volunteers’ subjective experience ratings (among other indicators), and how these differ across regions.

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The 2022 State of Volunteering report published in December 2022 is the fifth in Volunteering New Zealand’s series.

These flagship reports provide an overview of the state of volunteering in Aotearoa New Zealand and recommendations for improvement.

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Volunteer Managers and Leaders were surveyed in June 2024 about their roles, what training they had received, and what support they need.

Volunteer Managers are getting more support, compared to 2022, through online tools, VNZ website, and professional networks.

It was part of a broader evaluation of our Mentoring and Peer support programmes by Allen & Clarke.

A report from a Volunteer Managers and Leaders survey in late 2022. Provides information on the experience of those involved in managing and supporting volunteers.

As countries and regions faced enormous challenges during 2021, the 2022 State of the World’s Volunteerism Report (SWVR) highlights the vital role of partnerships to address the most pressing challenges.

The SWVR explores how volunteers collaborate with state authorities, and how volunteers play a significant and diverse role in decision making, producing services, and developing innovative solutions. The report sheds light on the new ground of volunteerism and provides insights on volunteerism are linked to human rights.

See more at UN Volunteers: https://swvr2022.unv.org/

The 2020 State of Volunteering Survey, published in June 2020, is the fourth in VNZ’s series of regular surveys.

The 2017 State of Volunteering Survey published in 2018 is the third in VNZ’s series of regular surveys.

The second State of Volunteering in New Zealand report, released in early 2017, provides insights from 1260 registered charities in New Zealand and an update on overall findings for the volunteering sector in New Zealand.

The first State of Volunteering in New Zealand report was released in early 2016. This is the first report of its kind in New Zealand, and with responses from 1500 registered charities.