News

Volunteerism Falls Sharply Amid Covid, Study Says

By Dan Parks

November 11, 2020

A voter grabs a bag of free snacks and coffee distributed by volunteers from World Central Kitchen after casting his ballot at Berkeley High School in Berkeley, Calif. on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020.

Sixty-six percent of donors say they have stopped or decreased their volunteering activities during the pandemic, while 11 percent have increased their volunteer work, according to a new study from Fidelity Charitable.

However, 73 percent of people who volunteer say they plan to return to their previous levels of volunteer work after the pandemic ends.

Of those who continued to volunteer, two thirds took advantage of virtual or remote opportunities. Before the pandemic, 81 percent of those who volunteered did so in person.

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However, 73 percent of people who volunteer say they plan to return to their previous levels of volunteer work after the pandemic ends.

Of those who continued to volunteer, two thirds took advantage of virtual or remote opportunities. Before the pandemic, 81 percent of those who volunteered did so in person.

Other findings:

Of those who hadn’t tried virtual or remote volunteer activities, 64 percent weren’t sure how to find them.
33 percent of millennials said they give more to the nonprofit they volunteer for than they would have if they didn’t volunteer, compared with 21 percent of Generation X and 12 percent of baby boomers.
35 percent of millennials recently volunteered for three or more organizations, compared with 22 percent each of Generation X and baby boomers.
Pre-pandemic, nearly half of younger donors said the amount of time they volunteered increased in the previous two years, compared with a quarter of boomers and 29 percent of Generation X.
65 percent of millennials prefer skills-based volunteer opportunities, while 63 percent of Generation X and baby boomers each prefer to serve in less skilled roles, such as serving in a food kitchen.
69 percent of people who volunteer do so for 10 hours or less per month; 30 percent volunteer for 11 hours or more.

The study, from Fidelity Charitable, the nation’s largest donor-advised fund sponsor, is based on two surveys. The first was conducted in March by Artemis Strategy Group. The results were drawn from responses by 1,842 adults in the United States who donated at least $1,000 to charity last year. That data has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points. The second survey was conducted in August by Fidelity Charitable and is based on responses from 491 of its donor-advised-fund account holders. That data has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.