Shifting Landscapes for Non-profits and Staffing

Stats NZ shows that in 2018, 115,770 registered non-profit institutions were serving New Zealand households. The overwhelming majority (89.2%) did not have any paid employees — they were staffed entirely by volunteers. Approximately 21.5% of New Zealanders undertook volunteer work at that time — that's over 1.1 million Kiwis.

Organisations in the Culture, Sport and Recreation category accounted for 44.8% of all community organisations, meaning around 51,833 organisations had approximately 466,502 volunteers.

Unfortunately, updated statistics are not currently accessible. However, the number of underutilised people increased by 52,000 to 337,000 over the past year (Stats NZ, Household Labour Force Survey December 2023).

Based on this, it's reasonable to infer that the landscape for non-profits and volunteering may have shifted, especially considering COVID-19, demographic changes, political shifts, and economic conditions.

Potential implications include:

-A potential decrease in volunteering due to economic pressures and health concerns

-Fewer paid employees in non-profit organisations due to funding changes

-Increased strain on organisations with fewer resources

-Shifts in the types of services provided by non-profits

-Limitations in data making it challenging to assess full trends

Further research and updated data are needed to confirm these trends and understand their full impact.

One effective way to prevent volunteer burnout is by offloading administrative tasks to professionals like Mursetter. By outsourcing these duties, you allow your volunteers to concentrate on what they do best. Talk to Jo today — jo@mursetter.co.nz