More than half of adult New Zealanders volunteer — one of the highest rates anywhere in the world. But the shape of that volunteering is shifting, and organisations that don't adapt are feeling it.
What the numbers show
The latest Stats NZ figures tell a clear story. The share of people volunteering through an organisation has fallen — from 30.2% in 2021 to 27.6% — while volunteering directly for someone outside your own household has risen, from 36% to 40.8%.
In plain terms: people are still helping, but more of them are doing it informally. Dropping a meal to a neighbour. Coaching a kids' team. Driving someone to an appointment. Fewer are signing up to a roster.
Why it's happening
Life is busier and less predictable than it used to be. A fixed weekly commitment is a hard ask. The volunteering that's growing is the kind that fits around people — one-off, flexible, "come when you can."
Organisations that still recruit only for regular, rostered roles are fishing in a shrinking pond.
What it means for organisations
The answer isn't to mourn the decline of the committed weekly volunteer. It's to design roles for how people actually live now: short shifts, one-off events, remote tasks, and team days that companies can book in a block.
It's also why we built a way to log informal volunteering. The hours you give directly — outside any organisation — are real, and they belong in the picture of what volunteering in Aotearoa actually looks like.