Finding and engaging volunteers - results 2024

Many volunteers are active throughout the Netherlands. We should all be very proud of that! Despite the amount of volunteers, it is a challenge for many organisations to find and keep enough volunteers. This national trend can also be seen in the municipality of Leeuwarden. To gain a better understanding of what works well and what does not, we, Amaryllis Vrijwilligerswerk, conducted a survey among volunteer organisations again this year. The questions in the online questionnaire covered 2024. You can find the results of the survey below.

Happy reading!
Amaryllis Volunteering
June 2025

Table of contents

  • General information
  • Satisfaction with the number of volunteers
  • Finding volunteers
  • Binding volunteers
  • Amaryllis Volunteering & golden tips

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General information

The survey was distributed by Amaryllis Volunteering to volunteer organisations through newsletters, networking and social media.
76 organisations completed the questionnaires. Most organisations operate within the welfare or culture sector. However, organisations from care, sports, nature and several village halls, among others, also completed the questionnaire.

The size of the organisations ranges from small (less than 10 volunteers employed) to large (more than 90 volunteers employed). Almost half of the organisations employ only volunteers, while the others also employ paid staff. Among the organisations, volunteers aged 55 to 70 years are most strongly represented.

Satisfaction with the number of volunteers

Many organisations struggle to find enough volunteers. Neighbourhood and village centres and nature organisations have the most difficulty finding volunteers. Organisations in care indicate that it is fairly easy. It seems that a volunteer coordinator has a positive influence on finding volunteers.

Finding volunteers

Board and administrative positions are increasingly difficult to fill. The reasons given for this are: 'People don't want responsibility anymore', 'many people want to perform but don't want to be managerial', 'people have a wrong image of managerial work'. Positions for one-off activities, hostess/host, buddy and activity facilitator are easier to fill.

If we fail to attract new volunteers in time, activities drop out, tasks remain unfinished and other volunteers or staff become overloaded. There is a clear need for new volunteers. Most organisations use traditional recruitment methods for this purpose, such as word-of-mouth advertising, online job board and local networks. There is also interest in using digital platforms, including their own website and social media, to reach a wider audience.

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Binding volunteers

Retaining volunteers is proving to be a challenge. Organisations that invest in good supervision, appreciation and development opportunities for their volunteers are more successful in retaining their volunteers. A good atmosphere within the team or organisation also helps to retain volunteers. Of course, it does not always work out because people sometimes move house, or find a paid job that cannot be combined with volunteering. Also, many volunteers quit because of their health.

Amaryllis Volunteering and golden tips

We asked participants if they are familiar with us, Amaryllis Volunteering and what more we can offer them. It is nice to read that many organisations are satisfied with the work we do. There are organisations that still don't know exactly what we do. Here lies a great opportunity to present ourselves better! There is a need for more workshops and networking meetings. Further on in 2025 we will inform you about the actions taken for this purpose.