With the number of volunteers in the USA hitting an all-time low and volunteering in Australia dropping for the first time since the ABS started recording the data in 1995, it is more important than ever to find out why people keep volunteering. And, more importantly, what makes some volunteers do it again, while others give up after their first volunteering experience.

This post, based on a survey by The Able Altruist, will give you three reasons why people keep volunteering (or why they don’t), and will help you find out what to do if your charity needs more helping hands.

Reason 1: Scheduling

One of the reason why volunteers stopped helping their charity of choice, or why they returned after trying once, was the flexibility of scheduling. It was noted that, with all the pressure coming from a regular job and social life, people can’t really commit to a very strict schedule that requires them to spend a great amount of time with the charity. On the other hand, many volunteers appreciated that their charity offers the option of drop-in schedules or short work shifts, which would be easier to fit in a busy daily routine. According to some volunteers, being able to select online when they would be able to work and what they would do, as well as taking their orientation and training programme in front of the screens, was extremely helpful.

Reason 2: The Social Side

One of the main reason why many people start volunteering is because they want to meet new people and improve their social life. Therefore, it is important that your charity offers this option to your volunteers. Moreover, your recruitment campaign should really make use of the excellent opportunities to make new friends at your charity. Don’t take it for granted that people will know how many cool and like-minded people they will meet if they come along. Instead, show it on your advertising materials, talk about it, and represent it with images. Then observe the magic happening.

Reason 3: Making a difference

For volunteers, it is really important that they see the change they make in the world. What you need to make sure that even if a volunteer is helping with something small, they feel appreciated and know how important they are for your organisation. Make sure you explain to them that every task they undertake will help the organisation exist, develop and prosper, and that their efforts are significant and contribute to the big cause. This will make them come back and help more. Do not neglect your volunteers, make everyone feel special, because this is one of the main reasons why they came to you in the first place.

Of course, there are many other reasons why people may start or stop volunteering. Sometimes it has nothing to do with you and the organisation, and change in personal circumstances is often a reason for someone to give up on volunteering. However, there certainly are aspects of your organisation that you need to take in mind – like scheduling, socialising and showing everyone how important they are – if you want to preserve your current volunteers and make them come along again.