Transformative volunteering comes forward as a response to the challenges we’re facing in the 21st century, and whose objective is to intervene in the causes with which volunteers are deeply involved, leading them to solve problems in a sustainable and lasting way.

Human beings are programmed to help because it has helped us to survive as a species. Volunteering projects have been adapting in the 21st century to try to respond to broader social challenges and needs, such as those arising from climate change, technological progress, migration, changes in the working world, humanitarian crises and inequalities. In this sense, traditional volunteering has given way to transformative volunteering.

What is transformative volunteering?

Transformative volunteering is characterized by projects that aim to contribute to a social cause and, rather than carrying out isolated activities, intend to impact communities in a positive, sustainable and lasting way.

With transformative volunteering, all parties involved win. Because volunteers feel transformed by the causes in which they get involved and are themselves transforming agents.

Every day, all over the world, millions of people get involved in issues they consider relevant, in communities, joining organizations, with the support of the companies where they work, or on their own. The work performed by transformative volunteering is fundamental for us to take safe steps towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

According to the United Nations “2022 State of the World’s Volunteerism Report: Building Equal and Inclusive Societies”, in 2020, a paper published in the framework of the Action Plan for Integrating Volunteering into the 2030 Agenda proposed a new model for understanding volunteering practices in the 21st century. This new model takes a much broader view of volunteering, defined according to five components, each representing a dimension of volunteering:

1. Structure: volunteering can be carried out formally, through organizations, community groups or platforms; or informally, organized directly among volunteers.

2. Channel: online or physically, in the places where the actions take place.

3. Intensity: it can be occasional, with short-term effects, or regular and with long-term effects.

4. Expected results: this dimension includes development and support to communities, with direct contributions, with a view to broader social results (for example, the achievement of the SDGs). One of the expected results is also the self-development of the volunteers themselves.

5. Category: service, mutual help, participation, campaign or leisure.

What are the differences between transformative volunteering and traditional volunteering?

Chris Jarvis, one of the leading experts on corporate volunteering in the US, points out the following differences between transformational volunteering and traditional volunteering:

1. In the traditional model of volunteering, the goal is to provide a service for free, to respond to a crisis or solve a problem. In the transformative model of volunteering, the goal is, in addition, through the experience, to develop and strengthen empathy. The main focus of transformative volunteers is the change that occurs in the volunteers themselves.

2. In the traditional model, the success of an action is defined by the number of tasks completed (for example, number of boxes of food packed). The experience does not cause volunteers to question their beliefs and values, and there is no change in participants’ perspectives. In transformative volunteering experiences, the focus is directed toward the changes achieved and people impacted. This model leads participants to rethink beliefs and values and their place in the world. Many end up carrying new perspectives into their work, with a strengthened sense of purpose and a more empathetic attitude toward colleagues and clients.

What types of transformative volunteering exist?

Depending on the context, the cause and the objectives, volunteering may fall into the following types:

1. Social causes: developed with the aim of supporting communities facing inequalities and vulnerabilities, such as the homeless, refugees, children at risk, among others. The intervention aims to create effective and sustainable solutions to solve the problems identified.

2. Environmental causes: actions to protect the environment and mitigate climate change, pollution and biodiversity protection.

3. Educational causes: aimed at promoting education and training actions for young people and adults, in terms of literacy and the development of professional skills.

4. Health services: covering actions to, for example, provide access to palliative care or awareness campaigns on public health issues.

5. Information technologies: actions to promote digital literacy and to develop technology skills.

A study from the London School of Economics looked at the relationship between volunteering and happiness in a large group of American adults. The researchers found that the more volunteering people did, the happier they felt.

Compared to people who had never been involved with volunteering projects, the chances of being “very happy” increased 7% among those who volunteer every month and 12% for those who do so between two and four weeks.