The Volunteer Quandary

Earlier this week I attended a koala forum where representatives from local and state government, natural resource management organisations, universities and other community groups associated with advocating, rescuing and protecting koala and restoring their habitat gathered. Having enough and suitable staff and volunteers was raised by many, as well as the linked topic of funding necessary to carry out activities in this space. All of these topics are worthy of discussion; here I’ll be considering the quandary of volunteer contributions to not for profit (NFP) organisations.

The 3.5 million (plus) volunteers in Australia contribute hugely to delivering outcomes for NFPs and indeed to the social, economic and environmental foundation of communities across the country. Volunteering Australia reports that being on boards or committees, assisting with accounting/finance/administration/management and fundraising/sales/events are the most common activities that volunteers carry out on behalf of NFPs.

With plentiful benefits to individuals, organisations and broader society, volunteers help sustain many organisations. Volunteering can provide people with opportunities to learn new skills, enabling them to contribute to an organisation, their community or foster a particular passion. Meaning, social connection and purpose can all be acquired while applying each individual’s talents to help address social and environmental challenges and contribute to the greater good. Through volunteering, people gain experiences that they might not otherwise have access to through their school, workplace or other institutions. Volunteering with a diversity of NFPs has helped me gain valuable practical experience and feel connected to communities I’ve lived and worked in. Often I have sought to support NFPs in order to have a meaningful impact that I wasn’t getting from my professional work.

As worthy recipients of volunteer labour, many NFPs would not survive without volunteer’s critical input. Volunteers can possess skills and experience not available within the often-limited number of paid staff or core volunteers such as management committees. Vollies, as they are sometimes referred to, help get specific tasks done, particularly with events and fundraising missions, think Christmas fundraising drives, tree planting events, etc. They may also be involved in specialist tasks like writing grants, website and graphic design, education and providing legal advice.

Aside from the obvious advantage that such skills and knowledge contribute to the running of organisations, the ‘free’ labour that volunteers bring often financially underpins NFPs, with many being reliant on volunteers to deliver services. In the latest Health of Landcare report, Queensland Water and Land Carers, who represent 496 landcare groups throughout Queensland, equate the financial benefit from over 62,000 volunteers, who contributed 2.1 million hours in 2023-24, to over $89 million in financial value. These landcare organisations delivered vital on-ground environmental projects, ran educational events, controlled feral animals, managed wildlife and conducted scientific research, with 79% of organisations run entirely by volunteers! The astronomical economic contribution of volunteers is underpinning both the social fabric of the country as well as tending to many of the pressing issues we are faced with.

Despite the obvious value that volunteers bring to NFPs, there are also challenges with relying on volunteer labour to undertake an NFP’s essential activities. Volunteers, as unpaid contributors, usually have other important tasks in their life to attend to, such as work, study and family commitments. As such, their contributions may be ad-hoc and their availability to assist, inconsistent. For paid NFP staff trying to deliver projects and programs to timeframes and report to funding bodies, the uncertainty of volunteer availability can be problematic. Many volunteers commit to organisations over the long term, but others assist when they are available, which can result in issues with volunteer retention and the requirement to continually replenish and train volunteers. Moreover, volunteers may not possess skills that paid staff could provide, potentially creating more work for paid staff to complete or fix incomplete tasks. There may be concerns about volunteer behaviour and compliance to codes of conduct, which can be more difficult to enforce than with paid employees. This may lead to negative implications for the organisation’s brand and reputation.

NFPs are always going to be semi-reliant on volunteers, particularly as the majority are governed by volunteer management committees and boards. Aside from this obvious and critical function, I argue that relying on volunteers to deliver core business functions of NFPs is unsustainable. As discussed above, many NFPs would not be financially sustainable without volunteer input. However, if organisations cannot implement their core mission without the support of volunteers, then the breadth of what they can achieve will be limited. Volunteers should be used to enrich and expand the potential of organisations and to diversify capability, without being solely dependent upon their input.

The multi-dimensional value that NFPs provide communities and country is considerable. Until the value of NFPs, volunteers and staff is realised more broadly in society, many organisations will struggle to run effectively. It is evident that without volunteer input, some the NFP sector would cease to exist. Is being so dependent upon unpaid volunteers the best way to deliver the important services and outcomes that NFPs provide? Outcomes that are arguably central to addressing interconnected social, environmental and economic challenges such as diverting food waste to deliver meals to those in need, monitoring sea turtle nests, rescuing injured koalas, providing education and supporting at risk or marginalised people and communities.

This issue of value is of course intricately linked to the quantity and availability of funding and connecting funders with NFPs who can effectively utilise funds to create better outcomes for people and the earth we inhabit. How can we sufficiently honour the significant dedication, passion and commitment of volunteers while also directing funds to adequately value the services that these critical organisations are providing?