The Changing Currency of Volunteering: Why It’s Time to Talk About Investment

Why Would a Volunteer Invest in You?

Volunteering has changed. It’s moving fast, and while people inside the sector feel the shift, it’s potentially catching some traditional organisations completely off guard.

A decade ago, volunteering ran on a sense of duty. You cared about a cause, you showed up, you helped. Recruitment looked and felt a lot like those old military posters: “Your community needs YOU”.
It worked. For a while. But that world is gone. Volunteering now is more of a considered choice rather than an act of duty.

The New Landscape

The pandemic fast-tracked changes that were already quietly happening.
Who volunteers, why they do it, how long they stay, and the flexibility expected – all of it has shifted.

The most switched-on organisations already know this. We are seeing Directors of Volunteering join leadership teams. Just last week, I came across a job title I’d never seen before: Communications Manager for Volunteers – what a brilliant role.

This is a massive step forward. Volunteers certainly aren’t staff who work for free, and they aren’t standard donors. They need their own voice, their own messaging, and their own distinct conversation.

Last year, I spoke much about “volunteer value” – not what the charity gains, but what the volunteer gets back. Now, it’s time to take that a step further and talk about volunteer investment.

The Unpaid Job Experiment

Think back over your career. Have you ever felt genuinely invested in a role? Most of us are lucky enough to say “Yes”.

Now, ask yourself: Would you have stayed invested if that job became unpaid?

For most, the answer is “No”. And there’s nothing wrong with that. A paid job is a clear agreement: your time and skills in exchange for a financial reward, fair treatment, and development. When that agreement isn’t honoured, we disengage. Often, we leave.

Look at it from another angle. Most of us put our money in a bank. When choosing an account, we look at interest rates because we want a return. If a bank offered 0% interest and zero benefits beyond “the pride of banking with them,” you’d move your money without a second thought. (I’ve actually had similar to this happen for real – one bank offered a lower interest rate than others, but tried to save themselves by saying it was OK as they now sponsored the premiership!! Safe to say I left that bank sharpish and have never returned).

Additionally we choose a bank account not just because of how well they market those rates and benefits, but also often because of ease of application and often now also because of ethical approaches.

Volunteering works the same way. Clarity and fairness right from the start is important; there has to be good alignment in ethics, ambitions and skills needed; and the potential returns for both sides must be evident.

A Chocolate Box of Opportunities

As of January 2026, there were over 170,000 registered charities in the UK, the majority of which involve volunteers in some form. Add in community groups, social enterprises and voluntary organisations and the sheer volume of opportunities is enormous. In addition to the range of roles available there is an ever expanding view of how to better fit roles to volunteer availability, as such many organisations now offer roles which are: home-based, short-term micro-volunteering, long-term commitments, specialist projects, the choices are endless. And volunteers, particularly skilled ones, know this. They know their worth, and they have many options.

While post-pandemic numbers are recovering, the real challenge in numbers has shifted. One in three charities now report difficulties with volunteer retention, and filling board vacancies remains a constant struggle across the sector.

What is the Volunteer Return on Investment?

This is where we have to look back at the bank story we considered earlier. Different accounts offer different terms and different returns. Charities must start viewing volunteer relationships through that exact lens.

As a trustee and an active volunteer myself, I see this from both sides. People looking to invest their time are weighing up the market. They want to know:

– Impact: Will I make a tangible difference here?
– Growth: Will this improve my skills or employability?
– Connection: Will I build meaningful social bonds?
– Purpose: Does this alignment feel worthwhile?

Evidencing that Return on Investment

We spend a lot of strategic energy and time asking, “Do we have enough volunteers?” and that question is vital. But if we want to fix retention problems and stabilise the sector, every leadership team needs to ask tougher questions:

1) Why would a volunteer choose to invest their finite time in us, and what are we giving them back?
2) Where and how are we shouting about what a great volunteer investment choice we are?
3) Where and how are we reporting on the long term social and organisational impact of volunteers?

A final thought for Volunteers’ Week

NOTHING holds greater return on a volunteer’s investment than a timely, authentic thank you. But when you couple that thank you with stories of real impact, stories that evidence a thriving community and evoke genuine pride, that’s where the real magic happens. That’s volunteer management gold.