Volunteer Arlington Shares Points of Light Report Urging Greater Investment in Volunteer Engagement
New research from Points of Light emphasizes the essential role of volunteers and calls for bold action to increase support of volunteering
Arlington, VA – Volunteer Arlington, a program of Leadership Center of Arlington and a member of the Points of Light’s Global Network, shares the organization’s recent release of a new report, “From Nice to Necessary: Unleashing the Impact of Volunteering Through Transformative Investment,” informed with research conducted by The Bridgespan Group, a global nonprofit advisory firm. The report challenges long-standing misconceptions and urges investment in volunteer engagement.
Volunteers are central to delivering community services and addressing urgent needs. Yet, as the report reveals, investment in volunteer infrastructure has long been insufficient. Only 0.19 percent of foundation giving over the past decade has gone toward volunteer engagement.
“For too long, volunteering has been seen as a ‘nice-to-have’ rather than a necessity for meeting our biggest challenges,” said Jennifer Sirangelo, President and CEO of Points of Light. “Volunteers make up a third of the nonprofit workforce and provide essential people power to causes, yet investment in the infrastructure to support nonprofit volunteers has remained critically low. This report is a wake-up call. We must shift our perspective and recognize that funding volunteer engagement is critical to the well-being of individuals, organizations, communities, and society itself.”
Key findings include:
- Volunteer Impact is Undervalued. While volunteers significantly enhance nonprofit services, their broader community and societal impact remains largely unmeasured.
- Costs Aren’t Fully Captured. Nonprofits lack resources to track the true costs of volunteer engagement – recruitment, training, retention and recognition – making strategic investment difficult.
- Funders & Nonprofits Aren’t Fully Aligned. Only 25 percent of funders recognize the value volunteers bring, despite 72 percent of nonprofits reporting improved service quality due to volunteer support.
- Funding is Minimal. The top 10 U.S. foundations allocate only 0.07 percent of their grant portfolios to support volunteer engagement, severely limiting impact.
- Corporations Invest More, but Gaps Remain. Corporate funders give more to volunteer engagement, mainly to boost employee engagement; but often underfund the infrastructure needed for lasting impact.
“Volunteer Arlington serves as a community hub for civic engagement, connecting hundreds of individuals, groups, and businesses each month to a variety of opportunities that offer substantial and meaningful impact,” said Lisa Fikes, President and CEO of the Leadership Center of Arlington. “This report gives language to the reality we see across Arlington and our region on a daily basis,” added Fikes. “Volunteer engagement is a representation of community health and vitality as well as a powerful tool for solving community issues, but it doesn’t happen by accident. It takes intention, investment, resources, and support.”
The full report is available for download at pointsoflight.org/report-on-volunteering.
About Leadership Center of Arlington and Volunteer Arlington
The mission of the Leadership Center of Arlington is to connect, develop, and inspire leaders for personal growth, civic engagement, and community impact. Volunteer Arlington is a public-private partnership between the Leadership Center of Arlington and Arlington County that connects individuals, groups, and businesses with volunteer opportunities. Volunteer Arlington is a member of the Points of Light Global Network. For more information, visit leadercenter.org and volunteerarlington.org or call (703) 528-2522.
About Points of Light
Points of Light is a nonpartisan, global nonprofit organization that inspires, equips, and mobilizes millions of people to create positive change through volunteering and civic engagement. Through work with nonprofits, companies and social impact leaders, the organization galvanizes volunteers to meet critical needs in communities. As the world’s largest organization dedicated to increasing volunteer service, Points of Light engages more than 3.8 million volunteers across 32 countries. For more information, visit pointsoflight.org.
Media Contact
Lisa Fikes
(703) 528-2522
lfikes@leadercenter.org