Have you taken stock of your achievements for the past year?

Alongside the successes volunteering brings to people and organisations, Volunteering New Zealand advocates for nationwide goals to improve volunteering for all. Before 2023 accelerates much faster, we’d like to share five wins for volunteering for 2022.

 

1. One in two people volunteer, and we’re doing more hours than before. In 2021, 50.7 percent of people had volunteered in the previous month (a 0.9% increase from 2016). This includes people who volunteer for an organization, and those who volunteer directly for another person. Total volunteering equates to 9 million hours a week! This data comes from Statistics New Zealand’s General Social Survey, issued in September 2022, from population representative diary entries.

2. Volunteers rate the state of volunteering in 2022 as almost the same as pre-Covid (6.7 out of 10), and over 80% intend to continue volunteering long-term. Their primary motivation is to contribute to their communities. Volunteering New Zealand’s State of Volunteering report for 2022 shows the state of volunteering is generally in good health!

3. A cross-government group on supporting and strengthening volunteering has been formed, as an outcome of the DIA’s Strengthening our Approach to Volunteering It recognizes the need for a more strategic approach to volunteering across 30 government agencies, and the role of government in supporting volunteering role and infrastructure. The group, which includes Volunteering New Zealand Chief Executive Michelle Kitney, has agreed to focus on reducing the compliance burden for volunteer organisations and investment in volunteering infrastructure and diversity.

4. Volunteers and volunteer managers will have better access to training, because of the Vocational Education Reforms. Volunteers can now access funded vocational training – a change Volunteering New Zealand advocated for in 2019. The formation of six new Workforce Development Councils / Ohu Mahi provide an opportunity for new qualifications relevant to managing volunteers. Volunteering New Zealand is discussing what these could look like with two of the Councils.

5. Volunteers’ contribution to the wellbeing of New Zealand is now being measured and valued. The Government’s Living Standard Framework now includes indicators of volunteering – including participation in volunteering and informal volunteering by young people.

 

Woop, woop! Looking forward to what we can achieve together with the sector in 2023!