5 trends in volunteering you can't ignore in 2024

Volunteer programs have an immense impact on organisations and communities, but in the face of rising living costs, fierce competition for attention, and the constant need for innovation and improvement, charities and nonprofits are facing a significant challenge in 2024.

In their latest webinar the Charity Retail Association of the UK interviewed Rosterfy's Sam Bennett on what he believes will be the trends you can't ignore in 2024.

Rosterfy is in a unique position to share a view on the challenges facing volunteer programs. Through our platform 3 million volunteers helped organisations care for more people, fill charity store positions, provide support at major events and more.

Over 10 million hours were recorded on Rosterfy providing the appetite for people to offer their skills and times see's no slowing and more charities are looking towards highly configurable and innovative solutions to manage volunteers at scale.

Challenges are on the horizon for volunteer programs

Despite the positive outlook for most charities, especially in the charity retail sector where sales targets are being exceeded and significant growth is being achieved, the recruitment of a workforce and volunteers remains a challenging aspect. While there is no shortage of demand for services and products in stores, finding and retaining volunteers proves to be a constant struggle.

Filling volunteering positions with paid workforce is unsustainable

Number of volunteers in charity shops in the UK is down 25%. Yet that isn't a reflection of demand its often operational reasons stores can't remain open. The costs associated when filling stores with paid workers makes them untenable. 

Increased demand for services

One of the outcomes of a struggling global economy is the increased demand for social and family support. Often this is in the form of food banks, clothing, therapy and care.  

Two in three charities have seen an increase in the demand for their services, yet many of those organisations are struggling to find the people to provide those services.

Volunteers expect a seamless recruitment and onboarding experience

A shift towards a younger demographic of volunteer has resulted in the expectation they will get a seamless experience from the moment they find a volunteer opportunity to the start of their first shift.

To achieve that organisations have turned to volunteer management software to provide the perfect platform to showcase their opportunities and automate messages to both the volunteer and the coordinating teams.

Volunteers expect to be able to instantly view their next opportunity, remind themselves of training or details outstanding and view their complete volunteering history with an organisation. 

Read more: How to create a culture that volunteers can't ignore

5 trends in volunteering you can't ignore in 2024

The Charity Retail Association helps charities to run a more successful, sustainable operation. They are a champion for Charity Retail, they help these organisations by building a community of charity retailers, share innovative new ways of working and put them in touch with partners such as Rosterfy to improve the effectiveness of their operation.

Rosterfy Sales Lead for the UK and Europe, Sam Bennett was interviewed recently in the latest of their series of interviews. You can see Sam present his top five trends in volunteering for 2024 in the video below.

What makes a sustainable volunteer program in charity retail stores

Your volunteers and support team are the life blood of your charity retail operation. To create a sustainable, enjoyable and successful volunteer program you'll need to streamline your recruitment processes and gather insights that inspire support.

It all starts with the platform you use to manage your volunteer program. To run an efficient and effective operation you need to use a Volunteer Management Software (VMS), needs to manage the onboarding process at each step.

• Showcase all your opportunities and shifts
• Checkpoints that collect all the details and documents you need
• Automated emails that confirm each step
• In-built online training creation tools with the ability to import SCORM files
• Integrations with business critical applications already in play such as CRM systems
• A robust reward and recognition system to keep volunteer engaged

Once you have implemented the appropriate system, you can guarantee that all the necessary details are in order. By prioritising these five aspects of a volunteer program, you can consistently attract new volunteers and provide them with an enriching and fulfilling experience.

5 key ways to improve your volunteer program

1. Align your cause to your recruitment message
2. Aim for a broad demographic to reach as many people as possible
3. Streamline your communication to reduce no-shows and attendance issues
4. Use a VMS platform that allow you to group volunteers by availability, skills and credentials
5. Capture data from your program to inspire support from more people