It’s National Volunteer Week, and I’m feeling nostalgic. Thirty years in professional fundraising has taught me a thing or two—mainly that I couldn’t have survived this long without the amazing volunteers who’ve kept me sane and our mission moving forward.
The Silent Superheroes
When I started in this field back in the ’90s (when fax machines were cutting-edge technology), I thought my job was all about the money. Boy, was I wrong! Turns out, many of the real MVPs aren’t on the payroll—they’re the folks who show up because they want to, not because they have to.
In Canada, these silent superheroes are everywhere. According to Statistics Canada, about 12.7 million Canadians volunteer their time. That’s 41% of people aged 15 and older—apparently the other 59% are too busy watching Big Bang reruns. Collectively, these volunteers contribute approximately 1.7 billion hours annually, equivalent to almost 880,000 full-time jobs (Volunteer Canada, “The Value of Volunteering in Canada,” 2022). That’s enough people to populate a decent-sized Canadian city—except this city actually gets things done!
From Boardroom Bigwigs to Fearless Volunteer Fundraisers
One of the joys of my career has been watching volunteers in action across the spectrum. I’ve worked with corporate executives who bring their boardroom tenacity to strategic planning—meticulously analyzing the financials with the same intensity they bring to their day jobs. One board chair once told me, “I scrutinize this nonprofit’s budget more carefully than my own company’s—my CFO would be jealous of the attention I give your spreadsheets.” He wasn’t kidding—he could spot a misplaced decimal point faster than I could say “restricted funds.”
But then there are the volunteers who brave the fundraising frontlines—making those phone calls, hosting events in their homes, and tapping their networks for donations. According to Imagine Canada’s “The Giving Report 2023,” peer-to-peer fundraising generates 3.4 times more revenue than when organizations do the asking themselves. Why? Because when a friend shares a cause that’s meaningful to them, the connection is personal. There’s something powerful about hearing, “This organization has made a difference in something I care deeply about—I thought you might want to learn more about their work.”
The Canadian Context
Canadians are a special breed when it comes to volunteering. Breaking it down by sector reveals some interesting patterns, according to the 2018 General Social Survey (Statistics Canada) and “The State of Volunteering in Canada” (Volunteer Canada, 2020):
- Religious organizations claim 29% of volunteer hours, representing the largest single sector of volunteer engagement
- Social services organizations get 19% of volunteer time, supporting vulnerable populations through various community programs
- Education institutions receive 17% of volunteer hours, enhancing learning experiences beyond what’s possible with staff alone
- Arts and culture volunteers contribute 11% of hours, helping sustain Canada’s vibrant cultural landscape despite funding challenges
- Healthcare volunteers dedicate 10% of hours, providing essential support services in hospitals and care facilities
The Canadian Association of Healthcare Volunteers reports that hospital volunteers contribute an average of 70+ hours annually per person. That’s a lot of directing lost visitors and pretending the hospital gift shop has exactly what everyone needs.
When Everything Changed for the Volunteer (Thanks, COVID)
Just when we thought we had this volunteer engagement thing figured out, along came a global pandemic to flip the script. COVID-19 hit volunteerism like a Canadian winter—suddenly and without mercy.
According to Volunteer Canada’s “Volunteering in the Pandemic Era” (2022), 65% of nonprofits reported fewer volunteers during 2020-2021, with in-person volunteering dropping by nearly 80%. Suddenly, our reliable Tuesday morning envelope-stuffing crew was replaced with Zoom calls featuring unflattering camera angles and the infamous “You’re on mute, Barbara!”
Virtual volunteering increased by 57% during this period (CanadaHelps, 2022), proving that Canadians will find a way to help even when stuck at home in their pajama bottoms with professional tops. Post-pandemic board recruitment has become even more challenging—the average search now takes 6-8 months longer than when I started. Turns out “Want to join another Zoom meeting?” isn’t the compelling recruitment pitch we thought it was.
The Power of Relationships: What Volunteers Have Taught Me
The biggest revelation from my three decades in this field isn’t about strategic plans or donor databases—it’s about relationships. And boy, have volunteers taught me about relationships.
“You bring structure and strategy; I bring community connections and personal stories,” a board member once told me after helping secure a major gift I’d been cultivating for months. “Together we make a pretty great team.” The Philanthropic Foundations of Canada’s “Volunteer Impact Study” (2022) confirms this—organizations with strong staff-volunteer connections report 47% higher donor acquisition rates.
What truly amazes me is watching professional relationships evolve into genuine friendships built on shared purpose. Some of my closest friends started as volunteers I was supposedly “managing.” Now they manage me, mostly by reminding me not to take myself too seriously and occasionally helping me with some sage advice.
Looking Forward
As National Volunteer Week rolls around again, I’m thinking not just about appreciation certificates and recognition pins (though I’ve seen collections that rival an Olympic medalist’s), but about how we can better support volunteers in this changing world?
The data tells us that 68% of Canadian volunteers would give more time if the experience better fit their lives (Volunteer Canada, 2021). That’s a lot of untapped potential—millions of hours that could be directed toward community good if we stopped scheduling mandatory orientation sessions at 2 PM on Wednesdays.
The pandemic forced us to rethink everything, and maybe that’s not entirely bad. Virtual volunteering opened doors for people with mobility challenges. Flexible hours helped parents and caregivers contribute. Technology connected volunteers across vast geographic distances—turns out you can ask a Foundation for financial consideration in Vancouver without leaving your living room in Ottawa.
Beyond Thank You to the Volunteer
After thirty years, I’ve learned that volunteers don’t just want our gratitude—they want impact. They don’t serve for the free coffee and branded tote bags (though they’ll definitely take them), but to create meaningful change.
To every volunteer who’s shared this journey—from the board members who’ve survived budget presentations to the fundraising volunteers who’ve braved rejection with remarkable cheer—thank you for showing us what commitment really looks like.
You haven’t just supported our work—you’ve defined it, shaped it, and reminded us why it matters on days when grant rejections and spreadsheet errors had me contemplating a career change to something less stressful, like lion taming.
For that, mere gratitude seems insufficient. But it’s deeply felt nonetheless, along with my eternal promise to improve the quality of the volunteer appreciation lunch sandwiches. You deserve better than mystery tuna.
I raise my glass and say l’chaim to you all.
jack
