The Impact Of COVID-19 On Volunteering

The Impact of COVID-19on VolunteeringA Two-Month Comparison

IntroductionSince the very start of the COVID-19 pandemic, VolunteerMatchhas remained as committed as ever to ensuring communitiesaround the U.S. get the support they need.The series of surveys conducted byof questions centered around howVolunteerMatch are designed tocurrent environmental, economic, andbetter inform your decision-makingsocial conditions were influencing theirand encourage collaborative problemattitudes and behaviors.solving.Here are some interesting trendsThe results of those surveys—that have come to light as people’sconducted in March and May ofresponses to the pandemic have2020—have provided valuable dataevolved.on the state of volunteering duringCOVID-19. In both surveys, participantsranging from nonprofit programdirectors to CSR practitioners togovernment officials to volunteersthemselves were asked the same seriesThe Impact of COVID-19 on Volunteering2

Concerns AboutExecuting AgainstCurrent Budget inThis ClimateSimilarly to the last question, whensurveying nonprofit organizations andCSR leaders,over half ofrespondents toldus they werevery concernedabout theirability to executeagainst theirTwo months later,the number ofthose who werevery concernedhad fallen from53% to 39%current budgetsin this climate. When asked the samequestion two months later, the numberhad fallen to 39%.On the plus side, the number ofrespondents who indicated that theywere not concerned about executingagainst their budget nearly doubled from6% in March 2020 at the beginning of thepandemic to 11% in May 2020.MARCH 2020How concernedare you about yourability to executeagainst yourcurrent budgetin the contextof the currentenvironmental,economic, andsocial conditions?MAY 20206040206%11%41% 50%53% 39%SOMEWHAT CONCERNEDVERY CONCERNED0NOT AT ALL CONCERNEDThe Impact of COVID-19 on Volunteering4

Impact on Volunteer AttendanceThe number of nonprofit representatives and CSR practitioners who shared that they wereseeing heavy cancellations in volunteer attendance decreased from over two-thirds inMarch 2020 to just about half by May 2020, indicating that greater numbers of volunteers arebecoming more comfortable getting back out into their communities.In both surveys, around a quarter of respondents answered that they were seeing at leastsome cancellations. An increase in volunteering from before the pandemic is by far the leastpopular answer, but it more than doubled to 7% in May.MARCH 2020MAY 202068%WE’RE SEEING HEAVYCANCELLATIONSHow have the currentenvironmental,economic, and socialconditions impactedyour volunteerattendance?53%25%26%WE’RE SEEING SOMECANCELLATIONS4%MINIMAL ORNO IMPACT14%3%7%WE’RE SEEING HIGHERVOLUNTEER TURNOUTTHAN NORMAL02040The Impact of COVID-19 on Volunteering60805

Adjustments to VolunteerEngagement StrategyWith shelter-in-place orders and the emerging need to make volunteering environmentssafe and sterile, many nonprofits have had to make significant adjustments to their volunteerengagement strategies.The number oforganizations who hadn’tmade any adjustments atthe start of the pandemicshowed a marked decreaseafter nearly 3 months.The number of organizations who hadn’t made anyadjustments at the start of the pandemic showeda marked decrease after nearly 3 months in, andthe popularity of virtual volunteering opportunitiesincreased from under one-third to almost half inthe same time frame. For many nonprofits, makingadjustments has been an absolute necessity formaintaining their volunteer force.Unfortunately, for many organizations, indicated in their “Other” selection were writtenresponses about how they’ve suspended all volunteering activities until further notice.In what ways have you adjusted your volunteer engagement strategy givencurrent environmental, economic, and social conditions?MARCH 2020MAY 202026%WE HAVE NOT MADE ANYADJUSTMENTS TO OURVOLUNTEER ENGAGEMENTSTRATEGY20%32%WE HAVE BEGUN CREATINGMORE VIRTUAL VOLUNTEEROPPORTUNITIES45%2%WE HAVE BEGUN CREATINGMORE IN-PERSONVOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES4%40%OTHER31%02040The Impact of COVID-19 on Volunteering606

Organization’s Current StatusWhen asking nonprofits about their current operating status, nearly a quarter of them havetemporarily halted their operations and over half have been challenged to operate withreduced resources.Nearly 1 in 5 have been fortunate to be able to operate with either the same or more resourcesas they had access to before March 2020, and a full 1% indicated that they had permanentlyhalted their operations.What is the current status of your organization?57%OPERATING WITH REDUCEDRESOURCES COMPAREDTO PRE-COVID-1919% 23%OPERATING WITHSAME OR MORERESOURCES ASPRE-COVID-19TEMPORARILY HALTEDOPERATIONS DUETO COVID-191%PERMANENTLY HALTEDOPERATIONSDUE TO COVID-19The Impact of COVID-19 on Volunteering7

Current Conditions ImpactingDecisions Around Investmentsin Workplace VolunteerismFor those who manage corporate social responsibility programs, there were three areas ofCSR initiatives for respondents to consider—corporate giving, employee fundraising, andworkplace volunteeringBy and large, investment into employee fundraising and matchingprograms remained relatively stable. However, investments intocorporate giving programs and workplace volunteering both sawsignificant decreases, unfortunately at a time when the nonprofitsector has not only made considerable progress in rethinkingtheir volunteer engagement strategies to be accommodating ofthe current environment, but also happens to be under existentialthreat from the lack of adequate funding to meet the needs oftheir communities.By and large,investmentinto employeefundraisingand matchingprogramsremainedrelatively stable.The Impact of COVID-19 on Volunteering8

Thoughts Around Volunteering and EmployeeEngagement in the Current ContextAs more time has passed, CSR leaders have been able to explore options, so the portionof those who replied that they were uncertain and looking for ideas or awaiting for moreinformation before making a decision decreased from nearly half in March to roughly a thirdby May. While the number of respondents who indicated that they were moving all volunteerengagement to virtual fell by half between March and May, virtual volunteering on the wholedid show a significant increase.Between March and May of 2020, those that replied have had the time to react to currentevents and make more informed decisions. As a result, fewer of them are continuing to puttheir workplace volunteerism programs on hold.How are you thinking about volunteering and employee engagement inthe current context?MARCH 2020MAY UNCERTAIN —LOOKING FOR IDEASOR WAITING FORMORE INFORMATIONBEFORE MAKINGA DECISIONMOVING ALLVOLUNTEERENGAGEMENTTO VIRTUALOPPORTUNITIESMOVING SOMEVOLUNTEERENGAGEMENTTO VIRTUALOPPORTUNITIES& ALSO FINDINGWAYS TO CONTINUEIN-PERSONOPPORTUNITIESCANCELING ALLSCHEDULED GROUPVOLUNTEERINGACTIVITIES FOR NOWPUTTING WORKPLACEVOLUNTEERISMPROGRAM ON HOLDFOR THE TIME BEINGOTHERRespondents were able to select more than 1 answerThe Impact of COVID-19 on Volunteering9

How are the current environmental, economic, and social conditionsimpacting how you make decisions around investments in workplacevolunteerism or other CSR initiatives?EMPLOYEE FUNDRAISING AND MATCHINGMARCH 2020MAY 20208067%605060%403031%2010013%21%9%INVESTING MORETHAN USUALNO CHANGE ININVESTMENTINVESTING LESSTHAN USUALWORKPLACE VOLUNTEERISM80MARCH2020MAY 20206054%5054%4035%302028%10018%11%INVESTING MORETHAN USUALNO CHANGE ININVESTMENTINVESTING LESSTHAN USUALCORPORATE DONATIONS AND CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS80MARCH2020MAY 20206060%58%5046%40302010028%26%31%11%INVESTING MORETHAN USUALNO CHANGE ININVESTMENTINVESTING LESSTHAN USUALThe Impact of COVID-19 on Volunteering10

Barriers toVolunteeringCommitmentDuring This TimeWhen asked of volunteers about thebarriers that may be getting in the wayof giving their time, the fear of beingexposed to illness remained the singlegreatest concern. Interestingly, concernaround spreading illness droppedby roughly a quarter from March toMay, and financial concerns likewisedecreased by nearly half.What barriers might get in the way of your volunteering commitmentduring this time?MARCH 2020MAY 20205046% 47%44%42%403031%35%29%28%2016%1019%16% 16%13%8%0FEAR OFBEING EXPOSEDTO ILLNESSFEAR OFEXPOSINGOTHERS TOILLNESSREGULATIONS ORRECOMMENDATIONSGOVERNING LARGEGATHERINGSMONEY/INCOMECONCERNSADDITIONALTIME CONSTRAINTS6%5%FEAR OF SOCIALSTIGMANOTHING—I'M CLEAR ONHOW I CANSTILL GIVEOF MY TIMEOTHERRespondents were able to select more than 1 answerThe Impact of COVID-19 on Volunteering11

ConclusionThe pandemic has changed the way people volunteer and run their volunteering programs.It’s encouraging to see a 15% drop in nonprofits reporting volunteering cancellations from theprevious survey conducted in March, and to see the number of survey respondents that wereseeing an increase in volunteering from before the pandemic double. What are ways each ofus can contribute to continuing this trend?Even as the number of cancellations and the concerns over the impact of COVID-19 seem tobe decreasing, a large portion of nonprofits have suspended all volunteering activities untilfurther notice. Additionally, CSR leaders are investing significantly less in their corporategiving and workplace volunteering programs. The nonprofit sector has made considerableprogress in rethinking their volunteer engagement strategies to be accommodating of thecurrent environment. And the number of people needing their services is growing. Now isthe time to come together to support the nonprofit community and combat the increasingchallenges we are facing.Making it Easier toEngage VolunteersVolunteerMatch is committed to the resiliency and recoveryof our nonprofits and the constituents we serve. Weconnect passionate people with meaningful volunteeropportunities in their communities. In fact, we have ways toget involved in every city, state, and zip code across the U.S.If you’re at a company, you can connect with usto help you: Implement an employee volunteering programin your workplace Use technology to provide more volunteeringopportunities for employees Provide your network or community with a technology solution to help them getinvolved with causes that are meaningful to themIf you’re at a nonprofit, be sure you’ve registered your organization on VolunteerMatch.orgto start recruiting great volunteers right away. We can help you reach individual volunteers aswell as volunteers giving their time from within a wide range of corporations.And if you’re an individual volunteer, make sure you’ve registered at VolunteerMatch.org,so you can learn about causes that need your help and get involved in your community.The Impact of COVID-19 on Volunteering12

The Impact of COVID-19 on Volunteering 2 Introduction The series of surveys conducted by VolunteerMatch are designed to better inform your decision-making and encourage collaborative problem solving. The results of those surveys— conducted in March and May of 2020—have provided valuable data on the state of volunteering during COVID-19.