Cost of living | Volunteering loss of speed

Volunteer engagement has been falling in the country for a few years. Meanwhile, according to a new study by Statistics Canada, which shows the perverse effects of the pandemic and inflation. Consequently, In Montreal, organizations admit that some things have to change, but believe that “social fiber is not extinguished”.

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5 to 4 billion hours – Cost living | volunteering loss

In total, the number of hours devoted to volunteering increased from 5 billion in 2018 to 4.1 billion in 2023. In addition, This represents a drop of 18 % over five years. Moreover, The decline is even stronger when you only look at cost living | volunteering loss volunteering supervised. Similarly, that is to say within organizations: the time spent helping its community has dropped by more than 40 % in a decade. Meanwhile, On average, people who volunteered devoted 173 hours there two years ago, when it was more than 200 before. Furthermore, For the time being. However, 73 % of Canadians offer their time at one time or another; They were eight out of ten to do so in 2018. Furthermore, It is mainly among women that this drop is felt, with a fall of 21 % in a few years.

Covid-19th. Inflation – Cost living | volunteering loss

As an explanation, the authors of the report note that “the last years have been marked cost living | volunteering loss by unprecedented challenges” for the entire volunteer sector. They recall. for example, that the “repercussions arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, among which is an increase in the demand for services, have contributed to the pressures exerted in this sector, just like inflation and the shortage of labor”. It is among 25-34 year olds-in other words. young professionals and students-that the number of hours of volunteer has dropped the most, with a fall of 42 % of the annual number of hours.

Commitment is transformed

At the Montreal Volunteer Center (CABM). the general manager Geneviève Fecteau says above all to feel a “transformation of commitment”. “We really see less long term. Whether it is young people. people at the start of their retirement, it is often more paid work that is prioritized if finances are tight, ”she says. According to her, “social cost living | volunteering loss fiber is not extinguished.” “We still have lots of people who are committed. but the needs are perhaps more specific than before, […] So we should also go a little more to volunteers, understand their issues, their realities. People do not necessarily need big galas to feel recognized. they especially want to feel that they are a difference, that they are part of a team. »»

“Competition form”

In eastern Montreal. the director general of Access Volunteer, Daniel Duranleau, has also noticed a drop in long -term commitment for a few years. “The pandemic has cut certain impulses. it is certain, but there is also the fact that the organizations have greatly developed their volunteer search in a direct manner, on their site or their newsletter, so there is a form of competition that has settled, with certain forms of volunteering cost living | volunteering loss more sought after than others,” he noted. His group says working to “find the right twinning for each person”. “The challenge is no longer just to recruit is to retain volunteers in a world where commitment is less strong than in the past. ” he notes.

The “big volunteers” always present

One thing remains certain nevertheless: the “big volunteers”. the 10 % which contribute the most in terms of number of hours, are always there. In 2023, they alone carried out more than half (61 %) of commitment to Canada. Their number of hours has not decreased significantly, unlike the majority of other categories of volunteers. Same story on the side of the big donors, who paid $ 9.5 billion to charity according to the most recent data, or 71 % of the total, a proportion which remained stable compared to cost living | volunteering loss 2018. In the general population, donations, however, displayed a decrease in a few percentage points.