Charities are being urged to expand micro and one-off volunteering opportunities to ensure the sector can better "meet the needs of modern communities" and attract those who have previously not given up their time for good causes.

The call has been made at the inaugural Volunteering Davos summit this week, which was attended by 50 charity chief executives.

Practical priorities established at the event include widening the array of opportunities, to offer volunteering options for those who can only spare a small amount of time or support charities on a single occasion.

A focus of speeches at the event was that “volunteering must be made more visible, flexible and accessible if it is to meet the needs of modern communities and reach people who have not traditionally seen a route into civic participation”, say organisers.

Opportunities to volunteer also need to be “more family friendly”, they add.

“Held in the UN Year of Volunteering, the intention is for every delegate CEO to walk away with renewed commitment to working together to establish an approach to shared goals and action,” said Jez Hughes, convener at summit organiser Shaping the Future with Volunteering.

Royal Voluntary Services chief executive Catherine Johnstone added: “Volunteering is not a nice-to-have; it is an essential civic cornerstone. It strengthens communities, supports public services and creates the human connections no technology can replace.

“By unlocking people’s time and talents, we can build stronger communities and a more resilient society.”

Measuring impact

Other priorities flagged up include boosting youth volunteering and establishing common measures of the economic and social value of volunteering, including its impact on people’s wellbeing.

Analysis compiled ahead of the summer found that almost two in three volunteers feel optimistic about the future, compared to just one in four among those who have never given up their time for a good cause.

Speakers at the event included Joy Johnston, director of the Prime Minister’s Partnership Unit, Maddy Mills, chief executive of Family Volunteering Club, Alex Hughes, who leads Citizen Hub and Henry Hughes, Co-Chair #iWill Movement co-chair Henry Hughes.

Last month Johnstone warned there is "still a long way to go before volunteering becomes the norm" despite an upturn in recent figures.

The government’s latest Community and Engagement Survey figures show that the proportion of people aged over 16 who formally volunteered at least once a month has increased from 17% to 18% over the last year in the 12 months to March this year.

The proportion engaged in informal volunteering at least a month has also increased from 24% to 25% over the same period.

But the rate of volunteering is still behind figures released before the Covid pandemic when social distancing rules led to a slump in the numbers supporting charities in this way.

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