An ageing volunteer base: sustaining your community and engaging the next generation

Look around many places of worship and you'll notice the same pattern: the people who set out the chairs, count the collection, run the lunch club and keep everything going are, increasingly, the same loyal faces — and they're getting older. This isn't a criticism of anyone; it's a quiet structural challenge facing faith communities across every tradition. The volunteer base is ageing, the pool is thinning, and the next generation isn't stepping in at the rate the last one did. This article looks honestly at the problem and, more importantly, at what can be done.

The picture: real, and more nuanced than the cliché

It's tempting to say "older people volunteer and young people don't" — but the data tells a richer story worth understanding.

It's true that older adults remain the backbone of volunteering: people aged 65–74 are the most likely of any age group to volunteer regularly, while those aged 25–34 are the least likely. But two trends should concern any faith organisation:

• The decline has been steep and broad. There were around 1.16 million fewer people aged 50 and over doing regular formal volunteering in 2024 than in 2019 — a post-pandemic slump that simply hasn't recovered. Even the 50–64 group, historically the dependable core, has fallen sharply. The volunteers you're relying on are not only ageing but fewer.
• Young people are disengaging — and even unaware. Youth volunteering has fallen, and strikingly, awareness of what social action even is has dropped. You can't recruit people to something they don't recognise or feel invited into.

Layered on top is the cost-of-living squeeze: people working longer hours to make ends meet have less time to give, and in the most deprived areas, the expense of volunteering (travel, costs) is itself now a barrier. This isn't about a generation that "doesn't care" — it's about real, structural pressures on people's time and money.

Understanding this matters, because it points away from blame and toward practical responses.

First, value the volunteers you have

Before chasing new people, look after the ones already giving. An ageing volunteer base is still a precious one, and it's often quietly overstretched.

• Recognise and thank them — genuinely and specifically. People sustain effort when they feel seen (this echoes our guidance on supporting your treasurer, and applies to every volunteer).
• Don't burn them out. When the same few do everything, exhaustion follows. Spreading load protects both the people and the work.
• Make it easy, not onerous. Reduce unnecessary bureaucracy; reimburse expenses promptly and fully so cost is never a barrier.
• Adapt roles as people age. A long-serving volunteer may not manage what they once did, but their experience is invaluable — find roles that fit, rather than losing them entirely.

Engaging younger people: what actually works

Here's the heart of it. Engaging younger people isn't about gimmicks; the evidence points to some clear, practical principles.

Design for two kinds of volunteer. This is perhaps the single most useful insight. Some people want deep, sustained, skilled involvement; many others — especially younger and busier people — want short, flexible, low-commitment ways to help. The same structures won't serve both. If the only way to contribute is to join a committee for five years, you exclude most younger people by default. Create bite-sized, one-off, flexible opportunities alongside the traditional ongoing roles.

Connect to what younger people care about. Younger volunteers are drawn to causes — social justice, the environment, tackling poverty, community welcome. Framing opportunities around impact and cause rather than institutional maintenance resonates far more. "Help us run a holiday club for refugee children" lands differently from "we need committee members."

Link to life stage, study and career. Many young people seek experience that builds skills or supports their studies and careers. Volunteering that offers genuine responsibility, skills, references or a portfolio gives them a reason to engage — and gives you committed help.

Ask directly, and make the invitation real. People — of every age — often don't volunteer simply because no one asked, or because they assumed they weren't wanted. A personal, specific invitation is powerful. And younger people need to feel they genuinely belong and will be taken seriously, not tolerated as "the young ones."

Give them real voice and ownership. Younger volunteers stay where their ideas count. If every decision rests with a long-established group and newcomers can only execute others' plans, they drift away. Share genuine responsibility, and be open to doing things differently.

Meet them where they are. Promote opportunities through the channels younger people actually use, in language that speaks to them. Make the first step easy to find and easy to take.

Remove the practical barriers. Timing, cost, childcare, accessibility — the same frictions that keep families away (see becoming more family-friendly) keep young volunteers away. Lowering them widens the door.

Connect volunteering to the bigger picture

Engaging younger volunteers isn't a standalone fix — it's woven into the wider health of your organisation:

• It feeds succession — today's flexible young volunteer may be tomorrow's trustee (see legacy-building).
• It strengthens community engagement and cohesion — bringing in new people and energy (see faith and the common good).
• It needs sound governance — clear roles, safer recruitment and appropriate DBS checks where younger volunteers work with children or vulnerable adults.

A short self-audit

Ask your board honestly:

1. Do we know how old our volunteer base is, and what happens as they step back?
2. Are we looking after our current volunteers, or quietly relying on their goodwill until it runs out?
3. Do we offer flexible, low-commitment ways to help — or only long-term, high-commitment ones?
4. Do we frame opportunities around cause and impact, or around institutional need?
5. When did we last personally invite a younger person to get involved — and give them real voice?
6. Have we removed the practical barriers of time, cost and access?

The bottom line

An ageing volunteer base is a sign of decades of faithful service — and a warning that can't be ignored. The response isn't to guilt anyone, young or old, but to value the volunteers you have and genuinely open the door to the next generation: flexible ways to help, framed around the causes they care about, with a real welcome, a real voice, and the practical barriers cleared away. Do that, and the chain of service that has sustained your community can continue into the next generation — which is, after all, how every thriving faith community has always renewed itself.

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This article is general information, not advice. Approaches depend on your circumstances. Where younger volunteers work with children or vulnerable adults, follow safer-recruitment and safeguarding requirements. For governance support, get in touch and we'll help.

Sources verified (June 2026):

• Centre for Ageing Better, State of Ageing 2025 and 110 million lost hours of volunteering by older people (1.16m fewer over-50s volunteering regularly in 2024 vs 2019; 65–74 most likely to volunteer) — https://ageing-better.org.uk/news/110-million-lost-hours-volunteering
• Plinth / The volunteering crisis (50–64 decline from 23% to 16%; design for two volunteer types; reimburse expenses; cost barriers in deprived areas) — https://www.plinth.org.uk/debates/volunteering-crisis
• Civil Society / Youth Voice Census (decline in youth volunteering and in awareness of social action) — https://www.civilsociety.co.uk/news/number-of-young-people-volunteering-and-fundraising-declines-report-says.html
• Community Life Survey (England) — government measure of formal/informal volunteering trends.