Good News and Bad News in Volunteer Management
From the 2024 VolunteerPro Volunteer Management Progress Report.
The Good News
- Volunteer managers are able to devote more of their time to that job, even though they also wear other hats. Of the 747 volunteer managers responding to the survey, 56% reported that they can devote at least two-thirds of their time to volunteer engagement – up nine percent from 2023.
- Slightly more than half reported that their number of volunteers has grown in 2024 (20.3% said the number has stayed the same.) The average number of volunteers has returned to pre-COVID levels.
- Nearly half of volunteer managers report to the CEO or a program/department head in the organization.
The Not-so-good News
- Although volunteer managers are moving closer to the top of organization management, the survey shows a continuing concern about a lack of internal buy-in and support for volunteer engagement. (For tips on how to tell a great story about volunteers’ contribution to the organization, see our blog post from last October.)
- 43% reported that attracting and retaining good volunteers is a major challenge.
- Good volunteers are underutilized; it is not common for volunteers to be given leadership responsibilities in the organization.
- Fewer than half of the survey respondents said that volunteer engagement is included in their organization’s strategic plans.
Other Findings
- 26.1% of volunteer managers are a “department of one.”
- Three-quarters of respondents have these responsibilities: recruitment, management of volunteer data, development of volunteer training programs, orientation and training of volunteers, and evaluation of volunteer engagement.
- 62% have direct supervisory responsibility for volunteer activity.
The report also includes findings on job satisfaction among volunteer managers.
The complete report is available as a download from VolunteerPro.
