About This Series
This post is the first in a three-part learning series exploring the insights from our national volunteer participation research conducted in partnership with Volunteer Canada. Over the coming weeks, we’ll share findings on how people engage, the impact volunteering has on their lives, and what makes for meaningful experiences. A full insight report will be published at the end of the series, offering a deeper dive for practitioners, community leaders, and anyone interested in learning more about what makes volunteering meaningful.
In this first post, we focus on how people define volunteering. Their reflections reveal that volunteering is a deeply personal way of expressing care, connection, and contribution.
Volunteering as Care, Connection, and Contribution
Insights from 839 survey respondents on volunteer participation.
Why do people volunteer? In what ways do they contribute their time and care? And what challenges might they face along the way?
These questions guided our national research project, facilitated in collaboration with Volunteer Canada. We wanted to understand not just how much people volunteer, but why, and what it means to them.
“Volunteering, in the words of those who do it, is both an act of service and an act of care.”
Who We Heard From
We received 839 responses, with most participants based in Alberta. Many were highly engaged volunteers, contributing their time, care, and leadership across multiple roles and causes.
Key facts:
- 92% volunteered through organizations in the past year
- Nearly half volunteered weekly, and 13% volunteered almost daily
- 56% volunteered more than 50 hours in the past year
- 87% of respondents also reported providing informal care or support—such as cooking, emotional support, and transportation—to family members, friends, neighbours, or members of their cultural or identity-based communities.
This sample reflects a specific slice of the volunteer landscape that is predominantly older (53% were over age 55), white (77%), highly engaged, and primarily residing in Alberta (66%).
While this group does not reflect the full diversity of volunteer experiences in Canada, the study offers critical insight into how a specific segment of highly engaged volunteers understands and lives out their contributions. The data shows what people do, what it means to them, and why they choose to give their time, care, and energy. Their experiences offer depth and clarity, even if they do not reflect every possible volunteer story.
A Key Insight: How People Define Volunteering
We learned that for many people, volunteering is more than a task: it’s a story of finding community, a relationship, or a way of being in the world.
When asked to define volunteering, survey participants offered layered and often deeply personal insights. Their answers expressed not just their perspectives on what volunteers do, but what volunteering means to them, to others, and to the communities they serve.
The definitions we heard developed into two themes:
1. Acts of Volunteering – What it looks like in practice.
Across the board, respondents emphasized freely giving their time, energy, and skill without expecting financial reward.
“Helping people, organizations, or communities without expecting anything in return.”
“Offering time and talents without remuneration.”
“Contributing to the wellbeing and growth of my community.”
In short: Volunteering is the intentional offering of service for the good of others, usually through a cause, community, or organization.
2. The Heart of Volunteering – Why people contribute their time and energy.
This is where the responses got most personal. People spoke of:
Fulfillment – “Finding purpose,” “Learning and growing as a person”
Connection – “Belonging to something bigger than myself,” “Creating bonds of friendship”
Joy – “Feeling pride,” “Receiving smiles and gratitude”
Identity – “It reflects who I am,” “It’s part of my life purpose”
Responsibility – “Using my opportunities to help others”
In short: Volunteering is considered meaningful because it allows people to connect, contribute, and live out their values in deeply personal ways.
In their words:
Volunteering is…
“Offering your time willingly at no cost to help out with a cause, some initiative(s), or general tasks.”
“The act of offering time, skills, or resources to help others or contribute to a cause without expecting financial compensation.”
Volunteering looks like…
“Helping animals find forever homes.”
“Having a desire to help others less fortunate or those in serious need of community assistance.”
Volunteering leads to…
“a sense of purpose, it builds connections, and strengthens communities.”
“Meeting others, growing together with the country, and feeling joy through contribution.”
Together, these reflections refer to volunteerism as more than unpaid service. Volunteering is a way to connect with people, animals, the environment, community, and self: it is service, care, contribution, identity, and fulfillment all at once.
What’s Next
In our next post, we’ll explore the many forms of engagement volunteers take on, from formal roles in nonprofits to everyday acts of care in homes and communities. We’ll also share how people find opportunities and navigate the barriers they face.
Whether you’re a volunteer, nonprofit leader, policymaker, or curious about what volunteering looks like today, we invite you to follow along. As we continue this journey, we invite you to reflect with us on the many ways people volunteer and show up for their communities.