As we jump into 2025 and start to prepare for the new financial year in April, budgets are taking center stage on everyone’s to-do list. Often, it seems like the easiest area to cut is the budget for volunteering. However, we know it’s our volunteers who keep our organisations going week in and week out. So, how can we demonstrate to budget holders that investing in the volunteer experience is a worthwhile use of resources?
Firstly, while budgets may be shrinking, the target headcount for volunteers often remains the same—or even grows. This leads to a crucial question: What is more cost-efficient—spending modestly to keep our current community of volunteers engaged and satisfied, or spending significantly more to constantly recruit and onboard replacements?
The NCVO 2023 Time Well Spent report sheds light on this. It found that the primary reason volunteers plan to continue in the next 12 months is “The group/club/organization itself (e.g., the people, setup, etc.).” Additionally, 25% cited the people they volunteer with, and 12% mentioned the skills and experience they gain as motivators for staying on.
These factors all tie into the broader volunteer experience: fostering networking and peer bonding opportunities, building meaningful connections, and enhancing skills through volunteer roles. Of course, creating such an environment incurs costs—but these costs should be seen as an investment.
Quantifying how much money volunteers save an organisation can be challenging. According to a report by ThirdSector, volunteers contribute an estimated £324 billion annually across England and Wales, but that’s hard for us to bottle down to each individual. While you may not have all the data to measure this impact precisely, you likely know how much your organisation spends per volunteer.
To explain my approach, I’ve created a spreadsheet to calculate the cost of onboarding a new volunteer. While the specific items will vary by organisation, the maths should be pretty similar.
Steps to Calculate:
The formulas in the image may be difficult to see so I have detailed below.
Item Cost =Total budget/how many volunteers recruited
Cost=((((Responsible staff member salary/52)/35))*C2)+B2
The cost column figures out the hourly cost of the member of staff, then multiplies that by hours spent completing tasks and ads in the item cost. You may want to consider instead of using the salary to include the total cost of the employee including NI and pensions.
Once you’ve filled in the details, you might be surprised by how much it costs to onboard a single volunteer. When you multiply that figure by dozens—or even hundreds—of new recruits annually, the total could be staggering.
If you want to calculate the total cost of a volunteer over their tenure, consider adding costs for ongoing management, training, and development.
To make your report even more compelling, try adding more national context with organisational data:
Investing in the volunteer experience ensures volunteers continue to develop, grow, and deepen their connection to your organisation. High retention means maintaining talent and expertise, which is often more valuable than constantly recruiting new volunteers in more ways than just the finances. While it’s essential to bring in fresh faces, nurturing your current community is the key to long-term success.