April 16, 2026

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Reimagining Service: How can nonprofits improve the volunteer experience?

by Jennifer Sirangelo

A poor volunteer experience results in nonprofits losing the people they need most. New survey data reveals what they need to engage, retain, and invest in volunteers long-term.

Ann arrives every Monday afternoon at her local food pantry, putting together snack bags for students. The food bank serves more than 800 youth a week in the rural counties of their state. Ann’s volunteer role and her personal commitment are essential for the food bank to achieve their mission of ensuring every child is fed and set up for success.

Volunteers like Ann are critical to nonprofit program delivery. Yet, chronic underinvestment in volunteer infrastructure—including volunteer engagement staffing and the data and technology needed to measure outcomes—combined with changing interests in how people want to volunteer, has created a difficult landscape for nonprofits trying to meet growing community needs.

Between 2016 and 2025, the largest 10 independent and operating foundations allocated only 0.07% of funding specifically to volunteer engagement, even as the demand for nonprofit services increases.

To shift this dynamic, last September Points of Light set a bold goal: to double the number of people who volunteer in the United States from 75 million to 150 million by 2035. Reimagining Service 2035 will launch a national volunteer strategy for more effective volunteer engagement. As part of strategic planning, Points of Light recently surveyed more than 2,200 nonprofits and volunteers. Here’s what the new data, shared in the National Volunteer Strategy Survey Progress Report, revealed, confirming what many nonprofit leaders and volunteer managers knew.

1. Volunteers are crucial to program delivery, and nonprofits need to invest accordingly

As demand for nonprofit services rises, so does the need for strong volunteer involvement. Nonprofits say volunteers are essential for operations. And when organizations can’t engage volunteers in a way that gives them a sense of purpose, connects them with the mission, and retains them long-term, those volunteers often leave, and that significantly disrupts program delivery.

Points of Light’s survey found 52% of nonprofits said volunteers are necessary to meet their mission, while another 26% said they play “a big role.” This is an increase from other studies, including a 2025 Urban Institute study that found 23% of organizations depend entirely on volunteers and another 23% rely on volunteers for several key tasks.

These numbers reflect services to real people. One in three local Meals on Wheels organizations has a waitlist averaging four months. Big Brothers Big Sisters reports over 30,000 youth are waiting to be connected to a mentor—all of whom are volunteers.

2. Nonprofits need stronger infrastructure to engage and retain volunteers

Engaging volunteers well requires expertise, leadership, resources, and people power, just like every other aspect of nonprofit operations. That means dedicated staffing, training, and measurement, along with communication of volunteer value and outcomes, as well as funding to support volunteer engagement—all of which are lacking.

Last year, we shared how the lack of investment creates cyclical challenges. This year, we’re seeing this continuing trend, with 54% of nonprofits saying their volunteer efforts are “somewhat” or “very underfunded.”

And funding impacts the volunteer experience. Over three-quarters (76%) of volunteers said knowing they had a genuine impact is what made a volunteer experience feel meaningful. Yet, 54% of nonprofits identified training on measuring volunteer impact and communicating that value as a major gap in their work, even while agreeing it would benefit their staff.

3. The volunteer experience matters to engagement and retention

Creating a sense of belonging is one of the most important strategies for retaining volunteers and creating lifelong impact. Providing proper training, offering a welcoming environment, and helping volunteers understand not only what they’re doing but why it matters to the community all contribute to volunteers staying with an organization and volunteering more often.

Points of Light data clearly reflects the importance of improving the volunteer experience: 45% of organizations said they need to integrate more community building into volunteer programming to support belonging. That sense of belonging isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s an essential part of engaging and retaining volunteers: 44% of volunteers said they decided not to volunteer at a nonprofit because they weren’t sure they would belong, and 43% said they quit because they felt they didn’t belong.

Together, these findings show improving volunteer retention is not only about recruitment but about investing in the infrastructure and experience that make people feel connected, valued, and impactful.

What can nonprofits do to improve the volunteer experience?

The Reimagining Service 2035 initiative seeks to grow and equip the nonprofit sector so that volunteers are supported with staff, strategies, and impact measurement to engage them. The national volunteer strategy will create a roadmap for stronger engagement and investment. Funders can support volunteer infrastructure, including investing in volunteer training and support. Nonprofit leaders can use the statistics in our new findings to advocate for the importance of these items. After all, volunteers are not just an extra pair of hands. They’re the heartbeat of nonprofit services.

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

After two decades of leadership, mentorship and hands-on work, Chris Miday is stepping down as Deconstruction Manager at Building Value.

Dawn Bailey (L) and Ebony Washington (R) have been appointed to the Board of Lincoln Heights Outreach, Inc.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

Beech Acres Parenting Center has been recognized with seven 2026 National Top Workplaces awards from TopWorkplaces.com and USA Today, including the Nonprofit Industry Award and awards in six Culture Excellence categories. These awards, which result from feedback from Beech Acres employees, highlight Beech Acres as a great place to work and build a career.

The Flying Pig Community Scholars Program awarded $20,000 scholarships to 24 area high school athletes who compete in track and field or cross country for their schools. The student-athletes were honored at the annual Flying Pig Community Scholars breakfast at Music Hall.

Neighborhood Housing Services of Hamilton is grateful for its recent Women's Fund grant from the Hamilton Community Foundation. This grant is supporting the organization's transitional housing at The Dream Center in Hamilton.

Join Price Hill Will to break ground on a new greenspace at End Of The Line Park (4522 W. 8th St.) in West Price Hill. 11:30am–1:00pm: live music by Cincy native Jim Conway, kids' activities, food from local restaurants, and a raffle. End Of The Line Park will have a gateway, a paved walking path, native plants, and a food truck space — a place to gather, relax, and celebrate Price Hill. We've raised over $435,000 in grant funding and are almost at our goal. Let's build it together.

The Flying Pig Marathon today announced that Chiquita® will serve as the Official Banana Sponsor of the 2026 race weekend, with full category exclusivity in bananas. Chiquita will also be the presenting sponsor of the Youth Program and the 26th Mile, reinforcing its commitment to nutrition, community engagement, and supporting the next generation of runners.

Adventure Crew, the organizer of Ohio River Paddlefest, is teaming up with Great Parks to bring the Paddling Film Festival to Cincinnati. The local World Tour screening will take place on Friday, April 24 at The Banquet Room at the Mill Course in Winton Woods, 1515 W. Sharon Road. Social hour will run from 6:00pm-7:00pm., with the films beginning at 7:00pm.

Springer School and Center is honored to receive a $400,000 grant from the Millstone Fund. This grant will be used to support Springer's Diagnostic Center Financial Aid Fund, focused on dyslexia screenings and comprehensive psychoeducational evaluations. With help from the Millstone Fund, Springer Diagnostic Center is proud to expand community access with free dyslexia screeners at partnering schools and financial assistance towards onsite full diagnostic evaluations.

Easterseals Redwood will receive a $1.75 million appropriation from the Kentucky General Assembly to expand its services with a new campus in Campbell County, increasing access to critical care for children and adults with disabilities.

Tour de CROWN r egistration is open, and early-bird pricing is available through June 6. Organized by Tri-State Trails and presented by Great Parks, this community bike ride is open to all abilities and highlights both existing and future trails in the expanding Cincinnati Riding or Walking Network (CROWN). It's a vision for Cincinnati's first-ever urban trail loop, one that connects neighborhoods, strengthens communities, and brings people together across the region.

The YMCA of Greater Cincinnati is putting families at the center of Flying Pig Marathon weekend as the presenting sponsor of the Flying Pig Family Fun Festival, Saturday, May 2, 7:30am – 2:00pm at Smale Riverfront Park. Open to all runners, families and fans, the festival creates a space where kids, parents and supporters can be part of the race-day experience, not just spectators.

Cincinnati Therapeutic Riding & Horsemanship (CTRH) is honored to announce a generous $50,000 grant from the Stillson Foundation in support of its equine-assisted services programs. This gift will help CTRH expand access to its life-changing programs for children and adults with disabilities across the Greater Cincinnati region.

Cincinnati Therapeutic Riding & Horsemanship (CTRH) is proud to announce it has received a generous $30,000 grant from the Millstone Fund in support of its equine-assisted services programs. This significant investment will help CTRH continue to provide high-quality therapeutic riding and equine-assisted services to children and adults with disabilities throughout the Greater Cincinnati community.

Bethany House Services has selected SIMPYS Playhouse and Learning Center as the inaugural operator of a new on-site childcare program at its family homeless shelter. This partnership marks a major milestone in expanding comprehensive, family-centered support for parents and children experiencing homelessness in Cincinnati. Access to reliable, high-quality childcare is one of the most significant barriers for families working toward employment, education, and long-term housing stability.

FUNDING AND RESOURCE OPPORTUNITIES

ArtsWave and MeetNKY have opened applications for the 2026 Northern Kentucky Creative Placemaking Grant, a program supporting arts and cultural heritage projects that activate public spaces, strengthen neighborhoods and contribute to Northern Kentucky’s cultural identity and visitor appeal. The competitive grant program provides up to $10,000 per project, or up to 50% of total project expenses, to nonprofit organizations proposing arts-driven initiatives that contribute to community development across Northern Kentucky. Funded projects will take place between June 1, 2026, and May 31, 2027. Find full grant guidelines and apply here.

OneSource Center created the Emerging Leader Award to recognize talented nonprofit professionals who demonstrate exceptional promise and a commitment to strengthening the nonprofit sector. The Award provides a full scholarship for the selected honoree to participate in the EXCEL Executive Leadership Program, including one year of executive coaching. Find more information and nomination form here.

A Spring 2026 class at NKU will look at occupational therapy intervention and program planning for group and activity development. We are looking for community partners to help us teach our students. We would like to invite applications from nonprofits (or programs within nonprofits) that are focused on supporting psychosocial support and group opportunities towards building a stronger community. One agency will be selected by the students to receive a $2,000 grant to support the implementation of an occupational therapy-psychosocial health and wellness site objectives. Find more information here or contact Angela Boyd at boyda9@nku.edu.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Interact for Health is offering a free, hands-on workshop—AI Simplified for Nonprofits—at the Grant County Library, May 6, 1:00pm-3:00pm. This session is a great opportunity to gain practical experience using AI tools to support your work and mission. While the workshop is designed with nonprofits in mind, all community members are welcome to attend. We’d love to see a wide mix of participants. Find additional information and register here.

Nonprofits are increasingly being targeted for cyber incidents and data-related risks. Join Dean Dorton, Oswald Companies, and Bricker Graydon Wyatt for Strengthening Your Nonprofit’s Defense Against Cyber & Data Risk, April 21, 8:00am-10:00am, a practical, real-world conversation on the gaps organizations don’t always see until it’s too late—and how to close them. Register now.

The City of Cincinnati - Office of Environment & Sustainability and Donovan Energy will be presenting an Energy Smart Workshop Series in the month of April. These workshops will help residents, community organizations, developers and more reduce energy costs of their homes and buildings through energy efficiency measures and clean energy, and will include practical guidance on low-cost financing, incentives, key technologies, and local resources. Find more information and register here.

MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Sierra Club Ohio is seeking a volunteer bookkeeper a few hours a month to manage the Chapter's Quickbooks account, to reconcile the Quickbooks account with bank statements and the National Sierra Club's Chapter revenue reports, to enter donations into the Sierra Club database, and to update donor records in the database. This position requires Ohio residency. Find information here.

Does AI belong in your grantwriting process?

It may be worth pondering if the “artificial” will be evident, and muddy the appeal.

What nonprofit leaders should know about mergers and partnerships For many nonprofit leaders, the word “merger” feels heavy. It is often viewed as a last resort, to be considered when other options are exhausted.

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