What the Data Tells Us About Volunteer Recruitment — and Why Planning Can’t Wait

Nonprofit organizations today face a paradox: the demand for their services is rising, yet volunteers — once a dependable workforce — are harder than ever to engage. This isn’t conjecture; it’s a central finding in The State of Volunteer Engagement: Insights from Nonprofit Leaders and Funders, an enlightening study by the University of Maryland’s Do Good Institute. (Do Good Institute)

Volunteer Recruitment: A Persistent Challenge

According to the study, nearly half of nonprofit CEOs (46.8%) say recruiting sufficient volunteers is a big problem — and that figure has grown substantially over time.

But the challenges go beyond simple numbers. Leaders report difficulty recruiting volunteers who:

• Have the availability needed for critical service hours (especially outside traditional workdays).

• Bring the skills and expertise nonprofits need most (from specialized roles to high-impact positions).

These are not small roadblocks — they are structural gaps that ripple across recruitment, deployment, retention, and ultimately, mission delivery.

“Nearly half (46.8 percent) of CEOs say that recruiting sufficient volunteers is a big problem for their organization, with many saying it’s a ‘big problem’ to find volunteers who are available during the traditional workday and who have the necessary skills.” (p. 4)

Why These Recruitment Problems Matter

Recruitment challenges aren’t simply a staffing issue; they directly influence an organization’s ability to respond to community needs:

• When nonprofits can’t recruit enough volunteers, they struggle to meet rising service demands. In 2022, 64.4% of nonprofits reported increased demand for services.

• When volunteers aren’t available when needed or don’t have required skills, nonprofits are forced to underutilize community support or shift paid staff to fill gaps, which increases costs and reduces capacity.

The study makes clear: volunteers deliver tangible value, but recruiting and engaging them effectively is harder than ever. (Do Good Institute)

The Root Causes: Funding + Staffing for Strategic Recruitment

So why is volunteer recruitment such a persistent problem? The research points to two major systemic issues:

1. Lack of Dedicated Funding for Volunteer Programs

Philanthropic funders and nonprofits don’t always share the same understanding of the value and challenges of volunteer engagement. The study shows funders generally agree that volunteer engagement is important, and many even support it through training, funding preference, and reporting requirements, but most nonprofits rarely ask for specific funding for volunteer programs. (Do Good Institute)

This mismatch means that volunteer program budgets remain small or nonexistent — and without dedicated funding, nonprofits lack the resources to invest in:

• Strategic recruitment campaigns

• Technology that supports recruitment (e.g., volunteer databases, online applications)

• Training for staff on volunteer engagement strategy

Funders want nonprofits to invest more in volunteer engagement, but too few nonprofits are positioning volunteer recruitment as a fundable priority in their proposals. (Do Good Institute)

2. Staffing Constraints and Lack of Dedicated Roles

Even when funding exists, nonprofit staff often wear multiple hats. Without a dedicated Volunteer Engagement Specialist, the work of recruiting falls to already stretched teams with other responsibilities.

The study highlights that while many organizations have someone responsible for volunteer engagement, those professionals still juggle numerous duties and often spend only part of their time on volunteer recruitment.

This staffing reality makes it harder to:

• Build intentional recruitment strategies

• Tailor outreach to specific community segments

• Cultivate volunteer cohorts that meet real organizational needs

“This gap in funding and staffing makes volunteers even more important for many mission-driven organizations. Nonprofits will likely face staff burnout or service delivery issues if this continues.” — Nathan Dietz, Senior Researcher, Do Good Institute.

What Funders Wish Nonprofits Would Do

Table 10 from the study shows a striking gap between what nonprofits actually did during the pandemic and what funders want to see — especially when it comes to investment in volunteer engagement.

For example:

• Only 21.6% of nonprofits reported investing more resources into volunteer engagement, while 56.7% of funders wanted to see that investment. 

• Many funders also want to see nonprofits use technology to support volunteers, train staff, evaluate volunteer impact, and recruit from new communities — areas that all tie directly into stronger recruitment outcomes.

This tells us something important: funders are ready to support strategic volunteer work — but nonprofits must articulate and plan for that investment.

Planning Matters: From Reactive to Strategic Recruitment

The consequences of poor recruitment are clear: lost service capacity, overstretched staff, and missed opportunities to build deeper community support. But there’s good news — addressing these challenges starts with strategic planning.

When recruitment is planned intentionally:

• Organizations reach more volunteers with the right availability and skills

• Recruitment becomes measurable and tied to impact goals

• Volunteer roles align with organizational needs

• Communications resonate with diverse audience segments

This is why strategic investment — in both time and resources — isn’t optional. It’s essential for any organization that wants to grow its volunteer base and create sustained impact.

Your Next Step: Build a Strong Volunteer Recruitment Strategy for 2026

If your organization is ready to transform volunteer recruitment from an afterthought into a strategic priority, join us on:

👉 January 29, 2026 for a virtual workshop: Build Your 2026 Volunteer Recruitment Strategy. Learn practical, research-informed tools to turn insights like those in The State of Volunteer Engagement into action.

Sign up for workhop here!

Let’s close the gap between challenge and capacity. Together, we can build volunteer recruitment strategies that expand reach, strengthen impact, and elevate communities.

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