Nonprofits take different paths to restoring volunteer hours

Lanette Taylor-Sherman packs a meal kit for the Food Bank of Delaware’s Backpack Program

By Shannon Simcox

Organizations providing basic necessities like food, shelter, and complex therapeutic needs have long learned how to extend a dollar for their communities. But the pandemic also strained volunteer hours, exacerbating an already declining resource.

Area nonprofit leaders say they are seeing community members return to donating their time, though for some, efforts are ongoing.

According to the Volunteering and Civic Life in America report from AmeriCorps and the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Americans volunteered at a rate more than six percentage points lower in 2021 (23.2%) than in 2019 (30%) and lower still than in 2015 (24.9%).

“Just by the very nature of the state of emergency, a lot of people could no longer even volunteer,” said Sheila Bravo, president and CEO of the Delaware Alliance of Nonprofit Advancement (DANA).

This hit DANA members in the areas of basic needs particularly hard, including organizations providing food and shelter to Delawareans. Bravo said: “We had many organizations that had to redeploy staff into roles that had been done by volunteers, which really also speaks to the value of volunteers.”

Prior to this, Bravo described her member organizations’ volunteer programs as robust and diverse, with the backing of companies and schools encouraging their employees and students to volunteer within their communities.

During COVID, Habitat for Humanity New Castle County brought back retirees and shifted to hiring more subcontractors to keep up with demand while suspending volunteering. Overall, volunteer numbers continue to be lower than they used to be, said CEO Kevin L. Smith.

“The corporate piece has continued to be strong,” Smith said, explaining that the organization historically draws a wealth of corporate volunteers to fill time during the week. The Saturday piece, however, is taking a minute. Smith attributes this weekend lag to aging faith groups, declining membership in social clubs, and lack of time for young families.

“People just find it hard to find free time to say, come out and volunteer on a Saturday, he said.”

To recoup weekend volunteers, Smith said that Habitat for Humanity is attempting to engage more faith groups. They’ve also identified the rigid structure of the volunteer’s day, from 8 to 3 where training happens in the morning and work on the project in the afternoon, as an inhibitor to interested volunteers. Smith said he and his staff may have to consider the possibility of other options to boost the numbers.

Jim Murphy, executive director of the American Heart Association of Delaware, said the chapter also saw a decrease in volunteers, 150 in 2020, that has rebounded to about 350 today. He credits much of the organization’s continued success on the resumption of in-person events and face-to-face interactions within the community.

Phil Williamson volunteers for the Food Bank’s Milford facility

Food Bank of DE sees spike in volunteers

The Food Bank of Delaware actually saw an increase in volunteer hours from 2019 to 2020, going from 15,947 volunteer visits to 17,166 volunteer visits, said Vice President of Communications Kim Turner. The Food Bank saw a downturn in volunteer visits in 2021 during the height of the pandemic to 14,912 visits, but has seen an increase in its number of volunteer visits (which can include an individual volunteering multiple times throughout the year) each year since, with 21,490 for its 2024 fiscal year that ended June 30.

“At the start of March 2020, a lot of nonprofit agencies had to shut their doors and go to a remote format. Here at the Food Bank of Delaware, we were considered essential, and our doors remained open,” said Turner. Those doors include two pantries, in Newark and Milford, the latter of which includes a 3.5-acre community garden.

Turner credits the uptick in hours during the pandemic to the organization’s pivot to monthly mass drive-through distributions that took place outdoors and heightened awareness around food insecurity at the time, which resulted in the Food Bank being the recipient of people’s generosity.

However, the Food Bank’s need for volunteers remains in Milford, where volunteers are more likely to donate their time individually.

“It’s typically very hard to get a volunteer shift at our Newark facility, because corporate presence is so strong in New Castle County,” Turner said. “We have a lot of banks and large corporations that come here as part of team-building activities, and our volunteer room in Newark stays consistently busy.”

To fill this gap, which includes staffing at the healthy pantry, the Food Bank has started hosting open houses at which community members may gain a greater understanding of volunteering at the organization.

Monthly orientations help SDTR increase volunteers

Similarly, Southern Delaware Therapeutic Riding (SDTR) hosts monthly orientations that educate interested volunteers for two hours on the organization, its roles, and what volunteering entails, explains Executive Director Jo Allegro-Smith. In 2019, SDTR logged more than 8,800 volunteer hours; to date, in 2024, STR has logged 11,000 volunteer hours.

“We have a regular focus on volunteerism and we’re always looking to bring on new volunteers who are going to be passionate about our mission and happy to be here,” said Allegro-Smith. “A big factor in a successful volunteerism program is having meaningful work. If a volunteer’s time and talent is treasured and they feel they are making a meaningful contribution, it’s an easy sell to attract and retain volunteers.”