Time Well Spent 2023: Volunteering among the global majority

In this report, we use the term ‘global majority’ to refer to all ethnic groups except white British and other white groups, including white minorities.

Learn more in the language and definitions section.

After analysing overall satisfaction and the specific aspects of the volunteer experience, we wanted to explore the factors affecting volunteer satisfaction.

For this, we undertook a key driver analysis (KDA). A KDA looks at a group of factors and helps rank their importance in predicting an outcome (see the appendix for more information).

In this case, we wanted to see how factors related to volunteer experience and demographics influence volunteer satisfaction.

A number of key factors in the volunteer experience influence volunteer satisfaction.

A positive volunteering culture of respect, trust, and appreciation is key to volunteer satisfaction.

Global majority volunteers who agree with the following statements are more likely to be satisfied overall.

• I feel recognised enough for the help I’m giving.
• There is a culture of respect and trust.
• I feel I belong to the group, club or organisation.
• I know how to raise an issue within the group, club or organisation if needed
• I feel well supported.

Global majority volunteers who agree with the following statements are less likely to be satisfied overall.

• I feel the group is not really going anywhere.
• The group has unreasonable expectations of how much I do
• There are tensions or conflict between people in the group, club or organisation

These ‘negative’ statements are a less strong indicator of satisfaction compared to positive factors.

Out of all these factors, recognition of the help volunteers give is most likely to influence satisfaction. A culture of respect and trust is the second strongest factor. For the full data, see the appendix.

This supports our findings which show cultural factors are particularly important to global majority volunteers (see motivations and values section). This is also supported by a sense of belonging and having a wide range of backgrounds and cultures in the group being associated with satisfaction.

Beyond cultural aspects, feeling well supported and knowing how to raise an issue are also important.

We can conclude that most global majority volunteers feel positive about the different aspects of their volunteer experience. The only exception is perceptions of tensions or conflicts, as over half (54%) agree there are tensions or conflicts in their volunteering organisation.

Comparison between global majority volunteers and volunteers overall

As discussed in the volunteer satisfaction and impact section, levels of satisfaction are lower among global majority volunteers compared with volunteers overall.

When we compare what experience factors influence satisfaction, we find similar factors among global majority volunteers and volunteers overall. The top three factors for both are:

1. feeling recognised enough
2. a culture of respect and trust
3. feeling they belong to the group.

However, there are some notable points of difference.

• Volunteering alongside people from a wide range of backgrounds ranks higher as a factor influencing satisfaction for the global majority than the overall population. This highlights how important diversity is for global majority volunteers to have a positive experience.
• The feeling that the organisation is ‘not going anywhere’, and tensions and conflicts in the group, are stronger as factors influencing satisfaction in a negative way for the global majority than for volunteers overall.

Factors relating to volunteer experience have a stronger influence on overall satisfaction than demographic factors.

However, satisfaction does vary by demographic, and several demographic factors are associated with being satisfied or dissatisfied with volunteering.

Age and disability are the demographic factors most likely to influence satisfaction.

The older a volunteer is, the more satisfied they are likely to be with volunteering. Those who are disabled are also less likely to be satisfied with volunteering.

Age and disability interact differently among global majority volunteers compared to volunteers overall. This is because more 18‒34-year-olds in the global majority population are disabled compared to the overall population (39% vs. 26%).

This interaction of age and disability may also explain lower levels of satisfaction in public sector volunteers compared to their civil society counterparts. Public sector volunteers are younger and more likely to be disabled compared with volunteers overall. See the overall satisfaction section for more on this.

Comparison between global majority volunteers and volunteers overall

• Age is a stronger factor influencing satisfaction for global majority volunteers. We see the same trend for both global majority volunteers and volunteers overall: the older they are, the higher their satisfaction. But this affects global majority volunteers more strongly as they are younger on average.
• Disability is a stronger factor influencing satisfaction for global majority volunteers. Volunteers from the global majority are more likely to be disabled, and disability is more likely to have a negative impact on their satisfaction levels.