Report outlines 'crisis' of volunteer participation in Scotland
/This article was featured in the SCDC Weekly - 16th April 2025
Volunteer Scotland have published a new report setting out the significant challenges facing volunteering across the country.
According to the report, 18% of Scottish adults volunteered formally with a group in 2022/23. This is the lowest rate recorded in Scottish Household Survey data, and means there has been a decline of 335,000 volunteers between 2019 and 2023.
"Not only does this have ramifications for the delivery of services by volunteer-involving organisations (VIOs)," the report notes, "but it also means that 335,000 fewer Scottish adults are deriving the many varied benefits of volunteering."
This reduction in adults volunteering means that there have been 28 million few hours volunteer between 2018 and 2022, equivalent to 18,000 fewer full time equivalent roles annually.
The gap between volunteer participation in Scotland's least and most deprived area has reduced, but Volunteer Scotland suggest that this could be due reductions in statutory services - meaning more people having to step up. It could also be that initiatives to reduce barriers to volunteering in deprived areas are working.
These declines have occurred in time of increased demand for the support third sector organisations provide, meaning these organisations will struggle to maintain vital services. "Therefore, our research shows that volunteer participation in Scotland is in crisis," the report concludes.
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