Toward the end of 2024, Volunteer Scotland released its analysis of the 2023 Scottish Housing Survey, showing a continuation of the post-pandemic decline in volunteering. The analysis suggests the cost-of-living crisis is one potential cause, because people now have less time to commit to a formal volunteer-based role.

However, I believe that the pandemic and cost of living crisis merely expedited, rather than caused, the decline. Yes, the pandemic caused a real shift toward people wanting to support the causes on their doorsteps, and that shift has stuck to some extent. Pressures like the cost of living crisis may also affect someone’s ability to volunteer their time. But, while charities are used to remaining alert and agile to evolving ways of life, a combination of national and global events over recent years has made balancing organisational, beneficiary and volunteer needs increasingly complex.........

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