A presentation to the Toronto Association of Volunteer Administrators Annual Conference from February 2012. This presentation shows original data from the 2007 Canada Survey of Giving, Volunteering, and Participating about the extent and types of group volunteering in Canada.

1. GROUP
VOLUNTEERING
STEVEN AYER

2. ABOUT ME
• Steven Ayer (steve@goodstrategy.ca)
• President, Common Good Strategies
• Previously, Senior Research Associate at Imagine Canada
• Research
• Employee volunteering
• Overall volunteering
• High-skill volunteering
• Volunteering experience
• Consulting

3. TRENDS IN VOLUNTEERING FROM
VOLUNTEERING CANADA
• “Many people are looking for group activities BUT few
organizations have the capacity to offer them”
• “Many organizations want long-term commitment BUT more
volunteers want shorter-term opportunities”
• “Volunteering in Groups Appeals to All Ages”
“Respondents in all age groups noted the appeal of
opportunities to volunteer as part of a group, especially
among those who fell in the youth, family and employer-
supporter volunteer categories. The benefits of group
volunteering include the chance to engage in a social
activity and expand business networks.”

4. LACK OF RESEARCH ON
GROUP VOLUNTEERING

5. CSGVP
• Canada Survey of Giving, Volunteering, and Participating
• Data in this presentation is from the 2007 CSGVP
• Survey of the giving and volunteering habits of more than
20,000 Canadians
• Two questions were asked concerning group volunteering
and family volunteering

6. QUESTIONS ASKED
In the past 12 months, have you done any unpaid activities
on behalf of a group or an organization as part of a group
project with members of your immediate family?
In the past 12 months, have you done any unpaid activities
on behalf of a group or an organization as part of a group
project with others, such as friends, neighbours or
colleagues?
THESE QUESTIONS WERE ONLY ASKED TO CURRENT
VOLUNTEERS!

7. RATES OF GROUP
VOLUNTEERING
FAMILY OTHER GROUP
VOLUNTEERING VOLUNTEERING
26%
43%
57%
74%
Involved Not-involved Involved Not-involved

8. IMPACT OF CHILDREN
AT HOME
Who do you think has a higher rate of family volunteering?
a) Those with no children at home
b) Those with children from 0-5
c) Those with children from 6-17?
Who do you think has the highest rate of group
volunteering?
a) Those with no children at home
b) Those with children from 0-5
c) Those with children from 6-17?

9. IMPACT OF CHILDREN
AT HOME
50%
44% 43% 43%
45%
39%
40%
35% 32%
29%
30% 26%
25% 22%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Children from 0 No children Children from 6 No children
to 5 in home from 0 to 5 in to 17 in home from 6 to 17 in
home home
Family Group

10. EXAMPLES OF FAMILY
VOLUNTEERING BY
EACH DEMOGRAPHIC

11. IMPACT OF SIZE OF
HOUSEHOLD
Who do you think has a higher rate of family volunteering?
a) Smaller households
b) Larger households
c) Same rate
Who do you think has the highest rate of group
volunteering?
a) Smaller households
b) Larger households
c) Same rate

12. GROUP VOLUNTEERING BY
SIZE OF HOUSEHOLD
50% 46%
45% 43% 42% 42% 42%
40%
35%
30% 32%
25% 29% 29%
20% 23%
15%
10%
12%
5%
0%
1 2 3 4 5+
Family Volunteering Group Volunteering

13. GROUP
VOLUNTEERING
How many family members do you typically see in a family
volunteering experience?
How do you design effectively for younger children?

14. IMPACT OF GENDER
Who do you think has a higher rate of family volunteering?
a) Males
b) Females
c) Same rate
Who do you think has the highest rate of group
volunteering?
a) Males
b) Females
c) Same rate

15. GROUP VOLUNTEERING:
MALE VS FEMALE
50%
45% 43% 44%
40%
35%
30% 26% 26%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Family Volunteering Group Volunteering
Male Female

16. YOUR EXPERIENCES
• Do most of your group volunteers tend to be male or
female?
• Do they differ from the typical experience?
• Do you find that males and females have different
expectations from a group or family volunteering
experience?

17. WHICH AGE GROUP
VOLUNTEERS THE
MOST?
For family volunteering (not counting children)?
a) Those under 35 volunteer the most
b) Those from 35 to 55 do the most
c) Those older than 55 do the most
For group volunteering?
a) Those under 35 volunteer the most
b) Those from 35 to 55 do the most
c) Those older than 55 do the most

18. GROUP VOLUNTEERING
BY AGE GROUP
60%
49%
50% 44%
41% 41% 42%
40% 37%
30% 33%
32%
20% 26%
23%
20% 19%
10%
0%
15-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65 years
years years years years years and over
Family Volunteering Group Volunteering

19. WHICH AGE GROUPS VOLUNTEER
THE MOST WITH YOUR
ORGANIZATION?
How do you design volunteer experiences for different age
groups at the same time?

20. HOW DO YOU THINK ONTARIO STACKS
UP AGAINST OTHER PROVINCES IN
GROUP VOLUNTEERING?

21. FAMILY VOLUNTEERING
BY PROVINCE
Province Rate of family volunteering
Alberta 32.5%
Saskatchewan 32.4%
British Columbia 29.7%
New Brunswick 29.7%
Manitoba 29.5%
Nova Scotia 28.9%
PEI 28.4%
NF& Labrador 25.8%
Ontario 25.1%
Quebec 18.4%

22. GROUP VOLUNTEERING BY
PROVINCE
Province Rate of group volunteering
New Brunswick 52.7%
Saskatchewan 49.5%
Nova Scotia 48.8%
Alberta 48.3%
NF& Labrador 47.8%
Manitoba 47.1%
British Columbia 47.1%
PEI 44.5%
Ontario 41.6%
Quebec 35.2%

23. WHY ARE WE SO
LOW?
What can we do to get more group and family volunteering in
our province?

24. GROUP VOLUNTEERING BY
TYPICAL HOURS WORKED PER
WEEK
50%
45% 47% 46%
40% 44%
35% 39%
30%
31%
25% 28%
27% 26%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Less than 30 30 to < 40 hrs 40 to < 50 hrs 50 hrs +
hrs
Family Group

25. GROUP VOLUNTEERING
BY PERSONAL INCOME
50%
43% 44% 44%
45% 41%
40%
35% 30%
30% 27% 27%
25% 23%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Family Group
<$20,000 $20,000 to <$40,000
$40,000 to <$60,000 $60,000 +

26. GROUP VOLUNTEERING
OF IMMIGRANTS AND
THE CANADIAN-BORN
Do immigrants or people born in Canada have higher rates of
family volunteering?
a) Immigrants higher
b) Canadian-born higher
Do immigrants or people born in Canada have higher rates of
family volunteering?
a) Immigrants higher
b) Canadian-born higher

27. GROUP VOLUNTEERING
BY IMMIGRANTS
50%
45% 43% 42%
40%
35%
30% 26% 26%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Family Group
Born in Canada Born Outside Canada

28. WHAT SORT OF EXPERIENCE DO
YOU HAVE IN YOUR
ORGANIZATION?
Do expectations for volunteer experiences differ between
those who are immigrants versus the Canadian-born?
What difference does it make in terms of how long they’ve
been in Canada?
What about by age?

29. GROUP VOLUNTEERING
BY LENGTH OF TIME IN
THE COMMUNITY
Who do you think has higher rates of group and family
volunteering?
a) Those who have been in the community for less than 3
years
b) Those who have been in the community for 3 to 10 years
c) Those who have been there for more than 10 years

30. GROUP VOLUNTEERING BY
LENGTH OF TIME RESIDING IN
THE COMMUNITY
50%
45% 44% 43% 43% 43%
40%
35%
30% 26% 27% 26%
24%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Family Group
< 3 yrs 3 to < 5 yrs 5 to < 10 yrs 10 yrs +

31. GROUP VOLUNTEERING BY
FREQUENCY OF RELIGIOUS
ATTENDANCE
60%
50%
50% 45%
42%
39% 38%
40%
33% 32%
30% 26%
21% 21%
20%
10%
0%
Family Group
Once a week Once a month 3 or 4 times a year
1 or 2 times a year Not at all

32. FAMILY VOLUNTEERING
(ASSOCIATIONS WITH TYPES OF
VOLUNTEERING)
MOST ASSOCIATED LEAST ASSOCIATED
Volunteer: driving Volunteer:
committee/board
Volunteer: member
fundraising Volunteer:
Volunteer: organize office/bookkeeping/ad
min work
activities, events
Volunteer:
Volunteer: coach, referee, officiat
maintain, build e
facilities Volunteer: canvassing
Volunteer: Volunteer: other
collect/deliver goods unpaid activities

33. GROUP VOLUNTEERING
(ASSOCIATIONS WITH TYPES OF
VOLUNTEERING)
MOST ASSOCIATED LEAST ASSOCIATED
Volunteer: organize Volunteer:
activities, events office/bookkeeping/ad
min work
Volunteer: fundraising
Volunteer: driving
Volunteer:
maintain, build Volunteer:
facilities coach, referee, officiat
e
Volunteer: protect
wildlife/conservation Volunteer: canvassing
Volunteer: health Volunteer: other
care, support unpaid activities

34. SHORT-TERM
VOLUNTEERING
52% of people do not volunteer more because they are
unable to make a long-term commitment
62% of non-volunteers indicate that they did not volunteer
more because they are unable to make a long-term
commitment

35. FAMILY VOLUNTEERING
RECOMMENDATIONS
• “Find ways to make volunteering more family friendly and consider
each member of the family and their specific needs
• Be sensitive to gender, culture, language and age
• Introduce volunteer opportunities during retirement seminars
• Provide casual opportunities for potential volunteers so they can
test the waters before committing to an organization
• Assign economic value to volunteer activities; chart and calculate
volunteer time.
• Provide greater online engagement and virtual communication
options for volunteers
• Avoid excessive downloading of staff responsibility to
volunteers, and be aware of potential competitiveness and power
dynamics between them”
Source http://volunteer.ca/files/BTG-Final.pdf (page iv)

36. EMPLOYER SUPPORT FOR
VOLUNTEERING IN CANADA (2004)
57% of volunteers with an employer reported receiving
support from their employer for volunteering
40%
33% 32%
30% 28%
23%
20%
10%
0%
Change or Use work Paid time off or Received
reduce work facilities or volunteered on recognition
schedule equipment job
Imagine Canada 2006

37. SHORT-TERM
VOLUNTEERING
• “Many organizations still want long-term commitment, but
many more volunteers are looking for shorter term
opportunities. Organizations are catching on, with a quarter of
them having reduced the minimum time commitment
requirement in the past 5 years - average now is 3-6 months”
• http://volunteer.ca/files/BTG-Final.pdf (page 5)
• From the 2007 CSGVP highlights report, we found that the
number one reason that people did not volunteer more was
insufficient time and the number two was that they were unable
to make a long-term commitment.

38. NOT ENOUGH
VOLUNTEERS

39. TOO MANY
VOLUNTEERS

40. TECHNOLOGY