The United Nations General Assembly has declared 2026 the International Year of Volunteers — IVY 2026. It's only the second time in history this declaration has been made, twenty-five years after the original International Year of Volunteers in 2001.
The 2026 State of the World's Volunteerism Report estimates that 2.1 billion working-age people volunteer every month globally. That's 34.5% of the world's working-age population. In New Zealand, volunteering is woven even more deeply into community life — from rural fire brigades to urban food banks, from beach cleanups to disaster response.
Why this year matters
IVY 2026 isn't just symbolic. The UN's new GIVE framework — the Global Index of Volunteer Engagement — introduces a way to measure volunteering beyond just counting hours. It looks at four dimensions: individual value (what volunteers gain personally), societal value (community cohesion and trust), economic value (the contribution to local economies), and enabling environment (the systems that support volunteering).
For New Zealand, the timing is significant. Our charity sector relies heavily on volunteers, but the infrastructure to connect people with opportunities has lagged behind. Most organisations still recruit through word of mouth, Facebook posts, or outdated listings on international platforms.
What you can do
Start small. A one-off beach cleanup, a few hours at a food bank, helping at a community event. Every hour matters — not just to the cause, but to you. Research consistently shows that volunteering improves wellbeing, builds social connections, and develops skills that transfer to every part of life.
This year, we're building the infrastructure to make that easier. Free, open, and designed for Aotearoa.