Volunteer preferences are shifting away from traditional, recurring service opportunities in favor of one-off charitable experiences that have grown in popularity over the last year, says Steven Cutter, vice president of community impact at United Way of Spokane County.

"We're kind of at a pivotal moment right now," he says. "We're seeing a huge shift in the way that people want to show up and how people want to donate their time and money. It seems like people are doing more one-off volunteer gigs than recurring volunteer opportunities."

Traditionally, United Way of Spokane County has relied on workplace campaigns to generate funds and support. Campaign participation, however, has been waning, and many companies are choosing to follow the lead of employees to decide how and who to support instead, Cutter says.

"We've always been successful with our workplace campaigns that we run with businesses and that's how we bring in money that we give out to our community, but what we're seeing through workplace campaigns is those are decreasing," explains Cutter.

"The way that people want to give has dramatically changed," Cutter adds. "What we're hearing from the business community is that they have staff members who ... want to be out there, they want to see where their money or their time is going, and they want to physically be a part of that."

The shifting trends aren't too concerning, Cutter says, adding, "I just think that we need to switch up our approach." 

With an annual budget of about $3.4 million, United Way provides financial support to 29 nonprofits, including YMCA Spokane, Vanessa Behan, and Children's Home Society of Washington.

Although workplace campaigns are declining in popularity, companies still support United Way through group volunteer days in which community support is combined with team building, he explains.

"They try to get everybody out of the office to volunteer, and we're seeing a lot more of that ... and a lot less of the people who show up weekly to volunteer at an organization," says Cutter.

To help attract and retain volunteers, the Spokane-based nonprofit has a few ideas to renew interest and participation ahead of the upcoming 20th anniversary of Spokane Gives, that kicks off in April.

New executive leadership, an increased community presence, and a revamped volunteer website are currently in the works ahead of the month-long giving event.

United Way expects to name a new CEO this month and will select a new manager to oversee the volunteer initiatives and help bring stability to the volunteer programs that have experienced high turnover and have contributed to a declining community presence in the last year, Cutter says. 

"We haven't been out in the community as much as we want or need to, and we're trying to change that," says Cutter. 

A dedicated staff member will manage the Volunteer Spokane website. 

"We just need to meet businesses where they're at and understand what the needs are in our community," Cutter says. "It falls on us to get with the times and meet people where they're at so that we can capture their interest and get more people out there doing work."

Volunteer Spokane's website attracts three to six new agencies per quarter and provides support to organizations through a two-year grant cycle, Cutter explains.

Overall, about 300 agencies have joined the website and have offered over 300 volunteer opportunities as of March 6.

 Despite continued steady growth, Cutter says that the volunteerspokane.org website has been "coasting off of its namesake" for the last 1 1/2 years.

United Way of Spokane County had over 11,000 active volunteers on its website as of Feb. 28, up 10% from a year earlier, says Cutter. 

"There are more people logging in and checking out opportunities, but the number of volunteer hours that are actually being logged has actually gone down," he says. 

About 200 volunteers were recruited in 2022 and 2023 to join United Way's Volunteers in Service to America program, which is run in partnership with AmeriCorps. Volunteers contributed 1,160 service hours through the program during that period.

The VISTA program is designed to help nonprofits become more self-reliant, resilient, and better equipped to address the needs of the community by identifying projects, providing support, and ensuring long-term impact, according to the program's website.

Youths 13 to 24 years old comprise about 25% of United Way's 11,000 active volunteers, demographic information provided by United Way shows. The website overhaul will help streamline the types of opportunities these younger volunteers prefer and hopefully boost continued support, he says.

"What we're seeing with the younger generation is that they don't want to be told what to do necessarily," Cutter says. "It's become so much more individualized. The younger generation wants to see where their dollars are going instead of just donating to the pot with everybody else."

Cutter says many nonprofits are struggling financially, so boosting youth volunteer participation for one-off events, will make a significant difference for the organization. Specifically, volunteers help save nonprofits wages valued at  $37.63 an hour in Washington state, which many smaller nonprofits would be unable to afford.

United Way of Spokane County was founded in 1921 and works to improve the lives and future of all people in the community by supporting partners who are focused on health, education, and financial stability.

The nonprofit has 28 board members and 14 full-time employees, according to the Journal's 2023 list of Largest Social-Service Nonprofits in the Spokane area. United Way's offices are located at 920 N. Washington, in Spokane's North Bank neighborhood.

"One of our big goals is when people think of volunteering, they think of United Way," says Cutter. "(As people) learn more about Volunteer Spokane and United Way, we can capture that and build momentum off that year round."