The warning comes as new data shows a decline in volunteer numbers in 2024.
A Scottish armed forces charity has warned other organisations against complacency amid a decline in volunteer numbers across Scotland.
Amy Bartlett, head of volunteering at the armed forces charity, SSAFA, wrote in the Herald about the charity’s efforts to remove barriers to volunteering.
Quoting data from Volunteer Scotland on the continued decline in volunteer numbers across Scotland last year, the SSAFA encouraged individuals to take up volunteering if they can.
The SSAFA also said the pandemic may have “expedited” a decline in volunteering numbers, with the pandemic causing “a real shift toward people wanting to support the causes on their doorsteps”.
Pressures like the cost of living crisis may also affect someone’s ability to volunteer their time, they added.
Amy Bartlett also said a “combination of national and global events over recent years has made balancing organisational, beneficiary and volunteer needs increasingly complex”.
She wrote: Our volunteering data points to time pressures amongst our volunteers as they balance multiple commitments. As a result, we must do more to create flexibility in our roles – including remote and short-term opportunities.
“However, the nature of our work means that we often provide welfare and wellbeing support to vulnerable people, requiring more structured volunteering. We are constantly looking at how to balance making volunteer roles accessible, easy to navigate and supportive, whilst ensuring volunteers meet specific requirements and can provide consistency to the individuals we help.
“Aside from flexibility and adaptability, volunteer communication is becoming increasingly important, because it helps to recognise and demonstrate the impact volunteers have on beneficiaries, charities and society.
“Ultimately, we must remember that volunteers are not free labour: they bring a huge value to society that requires investment and planning. We wouldn’t have the reach we have without volunteers who support thousands of serving Armed Forces personnel, veterans and their families every year.
“So, while we provide that sense of local community to our volunteers, and most feel a sense of purpose for contributing to the cause, like most charities, we are exploring how we can make improvements to attract and retain our volunteers.
No charity in Scotland can afford complacency. With four in five Scottish households using a voluntary service in a typical year, a continued decline could leave most Scots without critical lifelines.
“We must understand volunteer motivations and use that information to design opportunities that will appeal to a broader range of people and, importantly, retain their support.
“If the decline is not stopped, prospective volunteers will also miss out on the feelings of purpose and community that motivate them to give their time. Lastly, to anyone thinking about volunteering: reach out to a cause that you want to support, because even a little time can make a difference.”
