Organized and informal, there is no competition in volunteering: according to Istat

Liquid, disintermediated, informal volunteering... At a certain point, the label "involuntary volunteer" was even used to describe it. For a long time, organizations viewed direct volunteering with suspicion, almost as if it were a "competitor" to the organized volunteering that comes through them. Or perhaps even as "second-rate" volunteering.

Now Istat certifies that there is no competition: the novelty of the recently presented survey ( here is Francesco Dente's article ) is precisely the marked increase in hybrid participation, that is, those who do both direct volunteering and volunteering in an organization. "Over the last 10 years, participation patterns have undergone significant changes. Among volunteers, those active only in organized forms dropped from 54.3% to 46.1%, and those offering only direct assistance also increased from 37.6% to 32.2%. On the contrary, hybrid participation increased markedly: from 8.1% to 21.7% (+13.6 percentage points)," the report states. Organized volunteering, that is, volunteering carried out through groups, associations, or organizations, involves 6.2% of the population (3.2 million people), while non-organized volunteering, which consists of direct assistance offered to people outside one's family, community, or environment, concerns 4.9% (2.5 million people). Around a million people combine the two modalities."

The average overall time spent by all volunteers decreased slightly, from 19 to 18 hours per month, and the decline was more pronounced in unorganized activities (from 16 to 11 hours), while organized activities remained relatively stable (from 18 hours and 42 minutes to 17 hours and 48 minutes). The commitment exceeded 28 hours and 50 minutes for those who combined both modes of commitment: "This latter group, which has grown over the last decade, shows more intense and structured participation, characterized by greater dedication and a variety of tasks," Istat notes.

Riccardo Bonacina had already taken the issue to heart in May 2023, when Istat—releasing the first results of the Nonprofit Census—recorded a 15.7% drop in volunteers as of December 31, 2021, compared to 2015: "The Istat survey probably doesn't capture temporary and individual volunteering, which experienced a real boom in 2020, continuing into 2021 (the year of the survey) ," he wrote . "Volunteers are no longer the exclusive property of an association." We published an issue, Volunteer Where Are You? (subscribers can retrieve and reread it in the VITA archive at this link ), where many warned against the temptation to view organized volunteering and fluid volunteering as contradictory. If only because—many argued—informal action can be a way to encourage young people to explore new avenues and engage them.

"The data released by Istat in the past few hours on volunteering offer us new and interesting insights into a phenomenon that can reveal much about our country, the ongoing social transformations, and an irrepressible drive for solidarity among Italians that challenges indifference and individualism, even finding new ways to express itself to changing contexts. While the survey confirms the decline in the number of volunteers over the last decade, compared to the data released in 2023 and referring to 2021, it also tells us that we are now in a phase of stabilization, if not even a timid recovery, in voluntary commitment," comments Vanessa Pallucchi , spokesperson for the Third Sector Forum. "Elements such as the growth in forms of volunteering that combine direct aid and commitment to organizations, as well as the increase in volunteers in cultural and welfare activities, highlight the emergence of new social needs that require new types of responses."

Elements such as the growth of forms of volunteering that combine direct aid and commitment in organizations, but also the increase in volunteers in cultural and welfare activities, highlight the emergence of new social needs that require new types of responses.

Vanessa Pallucchi, spokesperson for the Third Sector Forum

So, what does this data tell organizations? "From this perspective, organizations are directly challenged to make progress in understanding and adapting to a changing reality. This requires not losing, but rather strengthening, what distinguishes them: first and foremost, the ability to build a social network, to offer a framework of shared values within which to operate, to foster the acquisition of skills, and, finally, to act as facilitators between the desire and the actual possibility of implementing concrete actions of active citizenship. This evolution on the part of organizations is all the more necessary to tap into that desire—which ISTAT indicates is sharply increasing—to direct their contribution toward collective, environmental, and civic causes rather than direct relationships. This desire is a sign that, faced with a humanity increasingly showing signs of crisis, the awareness of the importance of the common good is growing stronger," he concludes.

Ennio Ripamonti , a sociologist, professor of social networking at the Catholic University of Milan, and president of Metodi, stated in VITA in 2023 that "my belief is that there is a certain level of prosocial behavior and peer solidarity that cannot be recorded under the heading of 'active volunteers' in an organization. However, these behaviors do exist. If I look at the twenty-year-olds I meet at university or who do internships with us, it's not that there are no forms of social engagement, but this engagement is characterized by intermittency, nomadism, and discontinuity." Today, he emphasizes even more strongly that "the numbers, but above all the observations in the field and in the local communities, show there is no competition between two worlds that are stealing people from each other. Rather, those who display prosocial behavior and social engagement 'carry this attitude around' in both structured and more fluid contexts: we all have experience of the fact that it often happens that we see the same person in multiple service settings, wearing multiple 't-shirts'." From a statistical standpoint, there's also the risk that they'll be counted multiple times. The same person who's active in one organization might also be active informally in the neighborhood, even in very different areas.

In an age of intense loneliness, volunteering today, more than ever before, encompasses not only social commitment for solidarity purposes, but also a quest for existential fulfillment, socialization, and meaning. I'm thinking especially of older volunteers, post-retirement.

Ennio Ripamonti, psychosociologist

She emphasizes two aspects: "Volunteering today is a form of prosociality that also encompasses aspects of socialization and meaning. In an era of intense loneliness, volunteering today more than ever before isn't just about social commitment for solidarity purposes, but also about an existential question. It's not that someone "sacrifices" themselves by volunteering in multiple settings, it's that they likely find answers that address their own quest for meaning. I'm thinking especially of the older age bracket of volunteers, post-retirement."

From the organizational perspective, "we must understand that this behavior doesn't disqualify or devalue volunteering; it's simply a sign of the times. Organizations continue to be essential for building an active citizenry that doesn't evaporate in a single event, but those who lead them today certainly can't expect the model to remain the same as they once experienced. I still see too much "nostalgia for the good old days," and that's unhealthy. Twentieth-century forms of volunteering, where someone comes and stays with you for life, aren't exactly gone... but they're certainly fewer. Also because, in the meantime, associations have multiplied exponentially. Morin says something very beautiful, true, and powerful: "What doesn't regenerate, degenerates ." That's the risk. Every era and every society has its own ways, even in volunteering: we must learn to historicize volunteering a little, placing it in today's times, times in which many things that happen perhaps escape us and perhaps are incomprehensible to us, but they happen nonetheless. I am very optimistic because I sense a great vital energy in the communities."

Photos of Lav volunteers

Tags:
• activism
• ISTAT
• Non-profit
• Volunteering