In America today, we’re facing big problems like homelessness and disaster recovery. But oddly, fewer people are stepping up to help out as volunteers.

According to AmeriCorps and the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of volunteers for charities and local groups has dropped for the first time in years. In 2019, 30% of people volunteered, but by 2021, it was down to 23%.

Some new research from Texas McCombs has suggestions for turning this trend around, and it all comes down to connections. They say that to boost volunteering, organizations need to focus on building stronger networks among people. So, instead of just relying on individuals, we need to work together more closely to tackle these challenges.

“Volunteers are like trees with deep roots in their nonprofit organizations,” the researchers explain. “The more connections or ‘roots’ volunteers have with each other in different social layers, like communities and schools, the more likely they are to continue volunteering.”

What motivates volunteers

They looked at the records of 827,260 people in Beijing who volunteered between 2011 and 2019. These records were gathered from a Chinese online platform managed by the Beijing Volunteer Service Federation. This platform links volunteers with nonprofit groups. Similar platforms like VolunteerMatch and Catchafire are also popular in the United States, according to Yu.

By examining these logs, they were able to figure out what things motivated volunteers to stick around or call it quits.

“Our study takes a close look at why people decide to volunteer, why they keep doing it, and why they choose to move to a new nonprofit organization,” the authors explain.

The key discovery was that social ties strongly influenced volunteer behavior. Here are some other notable findings:

• Volunteers tended to stick with nonprofit organizations and volunteer more frequently if they had pre-existing connections with individuals there.
• Those with multiple connections, like overlapping work, neighborhood, or educational affiliations, were 27% more inclined to stay engaged compared to those with only one connection.
• The stronger the volunteer’s ties within an organization, the less likely they were to seek opportunities elsewhere. Having multiple connections decreased the likelihood of leaving by 9%, particularly beneficial for newer organizations vying for support against more established counterparts.

These insights offer potential for nonprofits to anticipate volunteer patterns and craft strategies to maintain their involvement. For instance, a volunteer at risk of disengagement could be paired with a neighbor or colleague on a project.

Moreover, crowdsourcing platforms could leverage another discovery: Volunteers who have engaged with various types of organizations are more open to trying out new ones.

“Personalized recommendations can help,” the authors conclude. “Managers can recommend volunteering opportunities at newer, small, and less well-known nonprofits.”