Benevity releases data showing significant increase in volunteers, volunteer hours

Corporate volunteering is on the upswing, according to a new report released by Benevity, a Calgary-based company providing donation, volunteer and grant management platforms.

Volunteer participation facilitated by Benevity’s corporate purpose platforms increased 57 per cent year-over-year — over the last three years — while the total number of volunteers increased by 41 per cent, said the company’s chief impact officer, Sona Khosla.

“We have witnessed a massive surge in corporate volunteering, with 94 per cent of Benevity’s clients with employee engagement programs now running volunteering initiatives,” she said.

The most surprising finding in the company’s recently released State of Corporate Volunteering report was that 65 per cent of volunteers logged their first hours in 2023, said Khosla.

“This is a result of so many companies actively promoting volunteering in the last few years as a way to connect with colleagues and communities and to bring people together as we transitioned back to the office,” she said, adding it’s vital to keep new volunteers engaged. 

Since the onset of the pandemic, there’s been a 15 per cent increase in the prevalence of companies running volunteering initiatives as part of their employee engagement programs, according to Benevity data.

However, generational shifts are influencing how people volunteer, Khosla said.

While Gen X is more likely to engage in traditional types of volunteer work, Gen Z and Millennial workers are leaning towards what Benevity calls volunteer acts of kindness, positive social actions not tied to a specific non-profit, like attending community learning sessions or participating in a park clean-up.

“(Volunteer acts of kindness) have become a vital part of companies’ volunteering programs over the past few years and can act as an entry point for social action,” Khosla said. 

“Eighty per cent of companies now allow volunteer acts of kindness, which make up 35 per cent of total volunteer hours, which blew us away.” 

Additionally, the report found 31 per cent of all volunteers using the Benevity platform only engage in volunteer acts of kindness.

“This is very telling about the need for fast and easy ways to do good,” she said. 

Participation was also found to be 50 per cent higher at companies that offered employees volunteer incentives or rewards, something practiced at 60 per cent of companies with volunteer programs.

Additionally, companies promoting corporate and user-created volunteer opportunities had higher staff participation rates than those focused solely on corporate-led volunteer initiatives.

“The jump in volunteer hours cannot be attributed solely to one cause. Rather, it is the result of a number of factors that came together to create this positive change,” said Khosla.

While the peak years of the pandemic significantly and negatively impacted volunteering, the impact officer said that a shared experience of adversity has inspired a collective desire to give back and make a difference.

“When the world began re-opening … many loyal volunteers resumed their commitments, which caused a surge in volunteer hours,” she said. 

“This also prompted companies to use volunteering as a way to stay purpose-driven while creating more connectedness and meaning for employees at work.”

According to Statistics Canada data, more than 65 per cent of non-profits experienced a volunteer shortage in 2022, while a report by the Ontario Nonprofit Network found that 62 per cent of non-profits in that province lost volunteers that year. 

Charity Insights Canada also identified severe issues in the voluntary sector, noting 57 per cent of organizations they surveyed were having difficulty recruiting new volunteers during that period.

Benevity members have bucked that trend.

Khosla said Benevity members are driving volunteerism, in part, by embracing expanded definitions of community involvement.

“Companies (are) offering more opportunities to get involved with planned company events, team events and user-generated opportunities where employees can invite their colleagues to volunteer with them,” she said. 

“With more volunteering options comes more inclusion, which drives greater impact–for all.”

Companies have effectively pivoted to offer volunteer options to remote workers as well, said Khosla, adding that location-based volunteering through Benevity is 3.6 times what it was in 2022 and 2023.

“We also saw 51 per cent of hours associated with virtual volunteer opportunities on the Benevity platform — compared to 23 per cent before the pandemic — allowing remote or hybrid employees to participate,” she said.

“(And) we truly believe that the next evolution will see more companies focusing on deepening the impact their volunteering programs are having on the non-profits.”